Collaboration - lost - Rest in Peace
Christine Lester FRSA
Last Update 6 months ago
Some of you may know that I am in the process of putting the knowledge from the past 35 years into a Knowledge Base which I want to be my legacy. Out of courtesy I wrote to the partner collaborators I was still in touch with. Only to-day I received the sad news that my good friend with whom I have done 2 European projects on community engagement and the volunteering sector, has lost her partner and husband (Leticia Escardo - Jesus). Like my husband Ken Lester he was Leticias right hand (wing man). We are only able to do this kind of collaboration with the understanding and support of our dear loved ones and he was such a man.
Having had a completely different kind of working life beforehand long after he retired he supported Foundation Belen in Madrid which they formed in memory of daughter Belen (whom they had lost as a child) . It always amazes me that people who have lost so much are the ones who not only give back they keep on doing it.
It was Leticia Escardo and Jesus who introduced me to my first food bank in Madrid all those years ago. At that time I never thought I would live to see a food bank in UK but how wrong could I be?
Rest in peace Jesus, your time has meant so much to so many people and Leticia - although grieving for her loss - has the support of her family and has already applied for another European project.
Thats the kind of community engagement we were all building and we want to leave now whilst we still can.
Ken and I send our deepest thoughts & sympathy to Leticia and her family, how pleased we are to have had the opportunity to work with them, to form a friendship and contribute to some great work.
Our 2 projects we did together were called "Dinner is Ready" which was about inclusively supporting the parents of problematic children - and the first project was called "ESMV - Exercises to Stimulate & Motivate Volunteering" both have already been captured and will be available as soon as I can do it. In memoriam of Jesus & Leticia of Foundation Belen.
https://www.bizicard.in/ChristineLester