IBARRA.- From outside its limits, the Azaya Centro neighborhood and the Guayaquil de Alpachaca parish are seen as a “red zone”. However, there are those who trust the talent that exists in this one of the most popular sectors of the imbaburan capital.
For this reason, an athlete of Olympic stature set up a social and sports project in the heart of Alpachaca. It is about Vanessa Fernanda Chalá Minda.
Having her own foundation with the aim of working in her parish was always the dream of Vanessa, who was one of the athletes who defended the colors of Ecuador in the “Tokyo 2020 + 1” Olympic Games.
“This has been the saving of my whole life. I have invested the savings from my entire sports career by acquiring a place that I know will serve the children of my neighborhood. I know that that free time that my children have should be invested in practicing a sport and not being alone in the park, exposed to being given any prohibited substance to try, ”said Vanessa.
Chalá feels identified with the young people of the sector. He grew up in Azaya and knows what it is like to be at home watching television at times. Then he believed that it was necessary to have a place where children spend that free time in something productive.
“The idea is to remove that Azaya is a dangerous sector. I want when people hear about the Azaya neighborhood to be known as the cradle of athletes. I know I’m going to make it. I know that the young people here are very talented. For that reason, I am going to work very hard, I am going to give all my knowledge and I know that I am going to bring out high-performance athletes, but above all to contribute to training good men and women ”, explained Chalá.
When Mayra Gualoto heard that Vanessa Chalá opened her judo academy in the neighborhood, she didn’t think twice. The citizen took her children to train with the Olympian.
“Imagine, she (Vanessa) stopped investing in a house of her own, to acquire this space, help children, encourage them in sports and get them, perhaps, off bad paths. All of this is very good for the neighborhood, ”said the mother of the family.
