Manuel Mesías, land and water defender in Ecuador, urgently needs support.
In March 2024, during a protest to defend land and water in Palo Quemado, Ecuador, Manuel was shot in the face by armed forces. A bullet shattered his jaw, leaving him in a coma for months and beginning a long, painful road to survival and recovery.
Today, he is still healing—and his family is carrying the weight of over $16,000 in medical and dental debt.
From New York, Turtle Island, we aim to raise $15,000 by mid-July 2026 to bring directly to Manuel and his family, easing this burden, supporting his continued recovery, and supporting the defense of land and water. When land defenders suffer, the whole world's water supply suffers, too. Community health is crucial to movement work. You can make a difference and support this movement by donating today.
BACKGROUND: This is not just one isolated incident. Manuel was standing alongside his community to protect their land from a large-scale mining project backed by foreign corporations and supported by the Ecuadorian government. For years, companies—primarily from Canada and Australia—have been expanding into regions like Palo Quemado and Las Pampas in Cotopaxi, moving forward without the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities.
But, these lands are not empty. They are home to fertile soil, páramos, wetlands, and vital water sources that sustain entire regions. Communities in the Ecuadorian Andes depend on this land to live, to grow food, and to care for future generations. When they rise to protect it, they are too often met with violence.
Manuel is one of the climate activists who have risked everything to protect life itself. A few months before being shot, his wife had given birth to their child. Since then, the family, including his sister Marta, has been navigating the immense emotional, physical, and financial strain of caring for their newborn while supporting Manuel through years of unstable medical treatment. Only recently, in early 2026, did his body begin to respond positively to care.
UPDATES: Now, as he continues to recover, the medical debt remains—and so does the need for community support. This campaign is an offering of solidarity internationally, recognizing that farmers' stewardship of land serves the cities in Ecuador and across the world, supplying us with the food we put on our table every day.
While the forces behind extractive industries are large and systemic, this is a moment where collective care can make a real and immediate difference in one family’s life.
THE ASK:
- Donate whatever you can ($1, $10, $20 makes a huge difference)
- Share this with your community
- Reach out with ideas or resources to support land and water defenders
Even $1 matters.
When we come together—across borders, across geographies—we remind each other that no one stands alone.
Your support helps Manuel heal.
Your support honors the protection of land and water.
Your support is part of a larger movement for life.
Thank you for being part of it. 🌱🤎🇪🇨
