Listening to one another.This was the spirit with which Gabriela Melo and Augusto Parody of the Focolare International Centre set out on their journey to visit the many communities of the Movement diffused in Latin America. They even reached Esmeraldas in Ecuador, on the Pacific Coast, populated mostly by Afro-Ecuadorians, and where the crystalline blue of the sky merges with that of the sea, making the luxuriant vegetation shine like an emerald. This enchanting landscape changes suddenly the minute you enter the town, and especially the view ends with the conglomerations of bamboo and galvanized iron huts in the poor districts like Isla Bonita, Pampon, and Puerto Limon.. The hordes of children play on the streets and on the beach from morning till night, and if they are not saved on time as adolescents and teenagers, they become drug or alcohol addicts, involved in “pandillerism” (the infamous metropolitan gangs of marauders). The spirituality of unity reached Esmeraldas over 30 years ago, and took root precisely among the Afro-Ecuadorian population of families, youths, priests and children who have made the evangelical news of mutual love the law of their lives. It is a ray of spirituality that has lighted up new hope, putting into action new ideas and forces. And this is what happened around Fr. Silvino Mina, who is also part of the community. Through the Ayudav group that formed in his parish he was able to solve many urgent cases of street children and teens, giving rise to the need of reinforcing these aid actions, also by calling the attention of the Institutions. This was how the Fundación Amiga (1992) was born, and with it, a school for kids at risk, with the aim of making their lives more dignified and helping them to face the future through suitable educational programmes. By focusing on their great sportive talents (Esmeraldas is infact known as the cradle of Ecuadorian athletes), they formed a soccer school, and also handicraft laboratories run by the former street youths themselves. «Today, the school has1,700 children and adolescents from 13 to 19 years of age  – Don Silvino explained – and with global educational projects, where one tries to put into practice what one learns, the whole educational community of students, teachers and parents is involved. All the children are offered a good meal a day, which for many is the only meal they can afford, together with vaccinations, medical treatments and education on health and Aids prevention. We also study the Afro culture and traditions, and not only these.» Ecuador, in fact, is a crossroad of millenary cultures (Quito was one of the two ancient capitals of the Incas) where they spoke various Amerinde languages (Quechua, Shuar, Tsafiki and others). The government’s endeavour precisely aims to recover local communities, cultures and religious expressions, to establish a dialogue which valorises their diversities in an enriching intercultural experience. This term appears at least eleven times in the new Constitution approved in  2008.«And if we added the socio-political demands–Gabriela and Augusto observed – we could also highlight what is happening in Esmeraldas, the commitment to live the Gospel, and the building of communities where the different ethnic, linguistic and religious components trigger a daily process of integration which is spreading quickly. This is a process which benefits the big intercultural workshop which is Eduador, a country that can really offer the world a unique and sustainable model of encounter and coexistence.»