Vered’s Blog

Love will not be the first natural word that we will use when describing most of our leaders. However, love is probably the most important value that comes with feminine leadership. Until now we didn’t hear many leaders using that word as their main tool to lead their vision or people, but here is an example how powerful it can become when using it in the right way, which means, without connecting it to our romantic association.

With a population nearing 3 million, Guayaquil in Southern Equador is home to more than 200 gangs and 60,000 gang youth. But the streets are a little quieter these days and considerably more safer, due to the divine workings of Nelsa Curbelo, a 66-year-old former nun and teacher and a true social reformer.

Unafraid to examine the inner workings of gangs in her neighborhood, for years she spent enmeshed with the gangs, asking questions, trying to understand. And instead of dismissing the kids she was meeting as delinquents, she took the time to find out about the positive aspects of gangs: togetherness, teamwork, camaraderie.

“By far the most terrible thing I learned,” says Curbelo, “is that assaulting, harming or killing others is a way to say, ‘I am here. What needs to be enhanced is the power to build life. So Ser Paz (her organization based on peace) offers the local youth a way to “feel present without committing a crime.”

As the crime rate drops in Guayaquil drops substantially because of Curbelo and Ser Paz’s social efforts, she has this to say: “Love is the greatest power in the universe. Love is more powerful than violence, more powerful than the atomic bomb. Love has the power to transform lives, to change cities and the whole world. Only love has this deep creative power. I am absolutely sure of it.”