Long-term recovery
Support after the spill is critical in Esmeraldas, a province with one of the largest Afro-Ecuadorian populations in the country. Local activists say that the crisis is not just an accident. It’s the result of a development model that marginalizes communities while prioritizing business interests.
“Even though the current focus is on emergency aid—mainly water, health, and protection—we know this environmental emergency will have long-term effects, up to 15 years down the road,” said Moreno de los Rios.
Scientific research confirms this: oil spills in waterways can damage biodiversity, trigger chronic illness, and unravel the social fabric of entire communities for decades.
CARE and Fundación Lunita Lunera won’t stop at providing an emergency response. They plan to support long-term recovery by strengthening livelihoods, preventing violence against women and girls, and developing strategies for promoting human rights and environmental resiliency. Legal training and community organizing are essential parts of the strategy, helping people demand justice and guarantees that disasters of this kind will not happen again.
While this emergency has revealed deep structural vulnerabilities, it’s also sparked powerful community mobilization and leadership. Pata’s story, and those of her neighbors, are reminders that dignity endures—even amid neglect and devastation.
The road to recovery will be long, but thanks to the courage and determination of local leaders, it has already begun.
Ramiro Urbino and Cristina Gordòn are Communications Officers at Fundación Lunita Lunera, a CARE partner in Ecuador.