This whole
story of Más Por Ellos began for me, several years ago when I decided to go
with another friend of mine to India. With my tickets bought and the trip in
mind, I spoke to Alvaro and told him to join us, as he had just come back from
Kenya and was thinking of going to India. During our trip, we enjoyed the
essence of India; the colors, the aromas, and what in my opinion is the best
part of India; its people.
In Jaipur
we lived some tense moments when a young taxi driver invited us to have a
few beers with his friends. As easy as
we are to be deceived, we went with him to a ‘’not so safe’’ looking place
which looked like a carpet shop. In the shop there were around ten or fifteen
young men that began asking us all kinds of details regarding our trip,
especially the economic part; how did you pay for it? How much money are you
going to spend in India? How much money did we earn in Spain?…etc. At the end
of the interrogation, they told us a story in which they offered us $2000 if we
sent a package from India to our house in Madrid. Supposedly, the package was
going to be picked up by one of the guy’s cousins who had a jewellery shop in
Madrid. Also, theoretically, the package was small (less than 1kg) and
contained silver jewellery. Very cautiously we declined the succulent offer, as
the idea of spending time in the darkness of an Indian prison, was not very
desirable right now. After a few more intents to convince us, they decided the
party was over and that we had to leave. Safe and sound we returned and
continued our journey.
During our
endless train rides, Alvaro talked about his experience in Kenya and the idea
of, at some point, building his own project. I told him to count me in,
whenever it was that he would decide to begin his dream. In January of this
year, he told me that together with Alvaro Mesonero Romanos (A.K.A. Mesonero
from now on, to avoid confusions), Nacho and Elena they were starting to work
on the idea of creating something in Kenya. We talked about social
entrepreneurship, helping the development, orphanages, education, medical aid
and how we could put it all together as one project. From that moment, I joined
the team and we began to strengthen the idea, we talked with everyone that we
could, shared our ideas and listened to critics in order to give way to what
today is Más Por Ellos.
All these
months of work have given its fruits in the form of prizes and recognitions.
The path we have ahead of us is even better and the best is yet to come.
Now I want
to talk about the team, because behind a great project, there has to be a great
team, and without a doubt, this is one:
- First
of all, Alvaro Perez-Pla. Alvaro is the soul and motor of this crazy dream. It
was him who put us all together and it was him who has decided to leap into
thin air and fly with Más Por Ellos. His desire for everything to be perfect
and his tireless work is vital. Alvaro is a very passionate person and he
passes on that passion to the rest of us.
- Alvaro
Mesonero-Romanos or Meso is the free spirit of the team. He is our architect,
an architect in a thousand different ways. Meso puts order and sanity in the
team; he structures the work and the projects and guides the rest of us to give
the best that we can.
-
Nacho
is the happy and joyful man. His smile and his good character are always
appreciated, in the same way as his common sense is of vital importance in a
project like ours, run by young idealistic dreamers. Nacho is always willing to
work, whether its 4am or 11pm or whether we’ve spent the last 7 hours going
over the same topic.
-
Elena
is the female of the team. I’m one to think that behind a great team, there
must be a great woman, and luckily, we have ours. Elena is one of those people
that seems to have 40hour days instead of 24, because she does double what the
rest do, and she does it with a smile on her face.
-
Last
but not least, me, Pedro, trying to help in all that I can and how I can, and I
will continue to do so, as long as they allow me to.
It is also
worth mentioning, the help we receive from our ‘’Advisory Council’’ or better,
our experienced voice, our own Jiminy Cricket. They are Maria, Robert and
Mauricio, who, even if a little older than us in age, have the same or younger
spirit than we do. From the beginning we have consulted and presented to them
every little step we have been making and they, sparing us their time, have
advised us and guided us with patience and honesty. Thank you very much and we
hope to be able to keep counting on you for a long time.
Finally, I
want to thank our family and our friends. From the moment we began this, they
have supported us and believed in us. Thank you very much, and we will keep
working to change the world!
Pedro
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