WEBVTT

00:00:00.802 --> 00:00:05.549
I came many years ago
from my dear Santiago.

00:00:05.573 --> 00:00:08.942
When I was 11 years old,
I arrived here, in Buenos Aires.

00:00:11.883 --> 00:00:14.920
Because here lived a brother of mine,
Ramón was his name.

00:00:14.943 --> 00:00:17.942
And well, I arrived here
in search of Ramón.

00:00:18.170 --> 00:00:22.099
After loosing my mother, and my dad.

00:00:22.123 --> 00:00:27.269
My father had abandoned us,
and, well, we were just a few.

00:00:28.407 --> 00:00:32.147
There were 3 of us,
little Martin that was 13 years old,

00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:36.217
myself, 11 years old,
and Nilda, 7 years old.

00:00:38.266 --> 00:00:41.056
I arrived in Buenos Aires alone.

00:00:41.080 --> 00:00:44.993
Martín got up one morning
and said to me,

00:00:45.930 --> 00:00:49.414
"Gri, we're going to leave this place.

00:00:49.438 --> 00:00:52.458
You should go to Buenos Aires,

00:00:54.011 --> 00:00:57.259
and I'll go to Tobas to look for work.

00:00:57.922 --> 00:01:01.152
Some day, when we're older,
we'll meet again."

00:01:03.204 --> 00:01:07.179
Well, I had to leave Nilda in Añatuya,

00:01:09.484 --> 00:01:14.079
because we lived in the countryside,
uphill, in the timberyard.

00:01:16.041 --> 00:01:21.138
I did everything that Martin told me to,
and I sat on the train station,

00:01:21.162 --> 00:01:23.545
and I began to cry.

00:01:23.945 --> 00:01:27.933
Then the train arrived,
the Estrella del Norte,

00:01:28.610 --> 00:01:34.258
so I got up quickly, the only thing
I was carrying was a transparent bag,

00:01:34.282 --> 00:01:38.338
a little gossipy bag, as I call it,

00:01:38.362 --> 00:01:42.186
and in that little bag there was a dress

00:01:42.371 --> 00:01:45.904
with big flowers,
that my mom had made me.

00:01:46.681 --> 00:01:52.540
So, I got quickly on the train,
and I sat on the train's cargo wagon,

00:01:52.564 --> 00:01:57.750
and I arrived here in Buenos Aires,
after a 12-hour train ride.

00:01:59.961 --> 00:02:04.178
My idea was to get to José C. Paz,
where my brother lived.

00:02:04.202 --> 00:02:08.622
I thought that getting on
the train and arriving --

00:02:08.661 --> 00:02:13.357
That when the train stopped,
I'd be in José C. Paz.

00:02:13.386 --> 00:02:15.195
Not that I had arrived

00:02:15.220 --> 00:02:18.859
to the first and biggest train station
I had seen in my life,

00:02:18.883 --> 00:02:21.355
it was Retiro station.

00:02:22.804 --> 00:02:28.730
When I got to Retiro, after travelling
among the kid goats and chickens,

00:02:29.002 --> 00:02:34.812
because back then, people could send
live animals to Buenos Aires

00:02:34.918 --> 00:02:37.638
and the families would pick them up.

00:02:38.293 --> 00:02:44.420
I got off the train and said to myself,
"Ok, I'm here in José C.Paz,"

00:02:45.484 --> 00:02:49.348
I remember asking a man,
I can't recall whether it was a policeman,

00:02:49.737 --> 00:02:56.559
and he told me, "You have to get on
that train, and when you reach a big arch

00:02:58.418 --> 00:03:01.738
that says 'José C. Paz',
that's your stop."

00:03:01.762 --> 00:03:04.889
I got on board the other train,

00:03:04.950 --> 00:03:08.580
that left swiftly,
stopping in many stations.

00:03:09.465 --> 00:03:15.096
I remember that when it was just reaching
José C.Paz station, there was an arch,

00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:20.349
and he had told me "When you see the arch
saying José C. Paz, that's your stop."

00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:24.947
And I saw that the train kept going,
who knows where it was going to take me,

00:03:24.971 --> 00:03:30.096
so I did the best thing I could think of,
and jumped off the train.

00:03:31.086 --> 00:03:36.536
And well, that was the worst thing
that happened to me, because the next day,

00:03:36.670 --> 00:03:40.395
I woke up, without a single tooth,

00:03:40.885 --> 00:03:45.493
covered in gauze, because
I had broken my ribs,

00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:49.540
my little arms, my little knee,
I was very battered.

00:03:49.564 --> 00:03:52.064
The worst part was not having
any teeth left.

00:03:53.884 --> 00:03:58.416
But I did have my brother,
who was waiting there for me.

00:03:58.440 --> 00:04:03.946
At that time I believe that I didn't care
about not having any teeth or being sick

00:04:03.970 --> 00:04:07.418
and having two broken ribs,
it didn't matter.

00:04:07.442 --> 00:04:11.779
The most important part was
that my brother was there.

00:04:13.612 --> 00:04:20.732
As time went by, I met my husband,
Isidro, relationship from which

00:04:21.765 --> 00:04:25.190
we have many children of the heart.

00:04:25.683 --> 00:04:31.488
We've also done something quite important
in our lives, that has been

00:04:32.167 --> 00:04:36.984
placing the soup kitchen Los Piletones,
where at the time

00:04:37.107 --> 00:04:40.070
when we came from José C. Paz,

00:04:40.147 --> 00:04:42.363
the idea was not to put a soup kitchen,

00:04:42.387 --> 00:04:45.951
because we already had one,
given we had 10 kids --

00:04:48.317 --> 00:04:52.756
So, it wasn't to place a soup kitchen,
but instead work to raise our children,

00:04:52.780 --> 00:04:57.383
to provide them with an education,
so we had to work.

00:04:57.607 --> 00:05:02.238
Both of us worked,
and in spite of it all --

00:05:02.544 --> 00:05:07.248
Well, the important thing was
to raise our kids, like I said.

00:05:08.222 --> 00:05:13.739
But also, when we arrived in the slum,
we saw that there were a lot of needs.

00:05:13.763 --> 00:05:17.231
The need was that there were a lot of kids

00:05:17.231 --> 00:05:19.739
that went out to scavenge
with their parents,

00:05:19.764 --> 00:05:22.865
in a cart, some pulled,
some with horses,

00:05:22.926 --> 00:05:27.384
and I didn't like that, that parents
would take their kids scavenging.

00:05:28.440 --> 00:05:34.104
I remember Isidro came home one morning,
like always, with his cart and horse,

00:05:34.128 --> 00:05:38.865
and the kids, the little neighbors
would come help him unload the cart,

00:05:39.080 --> 00:05:42.977
and on that day, October 7, 1996,
he told me,

00:05:44.081 --> 00:05:48.825
"Magui, why don't you make some mate tea

00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:53.996
and heat up the biscuits
and make breakfast for the kids?"

00:05:54.020 --> 00:05:57.269
They were 15, plus my ten.

00:05:59.082 --> 00:06:03.062
Isidro didn't finish the sentence,
and I was already lighting the fire,

00:06:03.086 --> 00:06:08.029
on a big clay oven that we had,
and I was already making mate tea.

00:06:08.136 --> 00:06:12.259
And after the mate tea,
there came a big lunch,

00:06:12.283 --> 00:06:18.499
for the kids, for us, especially for me,
seeing the kids sitting at the table.

00:06:18.523 --> 00:06:23.181
And among them was José Silva,
that was one of the grandparents.

00:06:24.041 --> 00:06:27.136
Thus we began with our soup kitchen,

00:06:27.136 --> 00:06:30.336
in 1996, feeding 15 children
and a grandfather.

00:06:31.130 --> 00:06:35.979
Today we feed 1500 people,
and they're not just fed,

00:06:36.003 --> 00:06:41.787
they also receive medical care,
where people get pediatric help,

00:06:42.523 --> 00:06:48.214
clinical medicine, gyno, dentistry --
in out own medical center,

00:06:48.804 --> 00:06:52.179
where we provide for it
with donations from people.

00:06:52.203 --> 00:06:54.900
There is no city
or national involvement.

00:06:54.924 --> 00:06:59.443
We just keep it with the help
of private foundations,

00:07:00.683 --> 00:07:05.406
like UAI that works
in clinical medicine and pediatrics,

00:07:06.642 --> 00:07:11.843
Maimónides works
in dentistry and psychology.

00:07:13.364 --> 00:07:16.144
And then we also have a day-care center
for grandparents,

00:07:16.168 --> 00:07:19.777
a library, a computer room,

00:07:19.801 --> 00:07:25.990
a kindergarten with 110 kids,
that's where we spend most of our day,

00:07:26.501 --> 00:07:29.062
and knowing the families

00:07:29.086 --> 00:07:33.471
getting to know the little kids,
that need so much love, right?

00:07:34.157 --> 00:07:40.147
And last year, we built a carpentry,
always with the idea of generating work,

00:07:40.684 --> 00:07:46.529
people need to learn how to work,
not have everything handed to them.

00:07:47.883 --> 00:07:52.041
And we've built the carpentry
to give work to people,

00:07:52.065 --> 00:07:56.667
but especially, to teach a skill
to the young ones.

00:07:57.765 --> 00:08:01.219
We built the carpentry, and also,
we made a big sewing workshop

00:08:01.243 --> 00:08:06.301
where around 15 mothers
attend everyday, to learn.

00:08:07.604 --> 00:08:12.889
And the sewing workshop's been in place
for some years now, around 8 or 9 years.

00:08:12.913 --> 00:08:16.352
Around 500 moms went through the workshop

00:08:16.376 --> 00:08:21.262
and they learned how to handle
a sewing machine, dressmaking, sewing,

00:08:21.286 --> 00:08:24.538
and also, they take with them as a present
a set of complete patterns

00:08:24.563 --> 00:08:28.302
of all the clothes
that they can make at home.

00:08:28.979 --> 00:08:32.469
And now, we're working a lot because --

00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:36.712
Well, we're always working so much, right?

00:08:36.736 --> 00:08:41.474
But we're working to get the women
out of household violence

00:08:41.498 --> 00:08:46.336
so that they don't have to wonder,
"If I leave my husband, what would I do?"

00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:50.478
So we're teaching them
how to make jewelry,

00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:56.339
teaching them to keep their minds busy,
so they can generate their own work.

00:08:59.003 --> 00:09:02.085
So that they have an important job option,

00:09:03.438 --> 00:09:05.925
because I always say,

00:09:07.464 --> 00:09:11.174
with no offense intended,
but I always say that

00:09:11.198 --> 00:09:15.140
generating work and working,
is not a sin, on the contrary.

00:09:15.164 --> 00:09:19.473
It stimulates you because today,
what we least want to do is work,

00:09:19.497 --> 00:09:24.823
because we are given everything,
so we can't really create jobs for anyone.

00:09:24.914 --> 00:09:28.020
So, that's why, everyday
we create new things,

00:09:28.044 --> 00:09:31.545
and are constantly with our minds busy,

00:09:31.569 --> 00:09:36.370
and keeping the women busy,
so they too can have a job.

00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:43.267
Also, in the soup kitchen we have a bakery
where we make bread on a daily basis

00:09:43.291 --> 00:09:49.139
so that people can have, it's not sold,
but they receive it with meals,

00:09:50.310 --> 00:09:52.279
everyday.

00:09:54.330 --> 00:09:58.458
We have 30 women working with us,
that I always say that are exemplary,

00:09:58.482 --> 00:10:03.302
because they don't get paid
and work completely for free.

00:10:03.830 --> 00:10:09.628
They come in at 6:45 a.m., and leave
at 8 p.m., every single day.

00:10:10.668 --> 00:10:13.815
They're an amazing group of people,

00:10:13.839 --> 00:10:18.773
that are with us on a daily basis,
ensuring that the soup kitchen works

00:10:18.797 --> 00:10:19.832
everyday.

00:10:20.970 --> 00:10:25.876
It isn't easy tending to 1500 people
everyday and feeding them,

00:10:26.660 --> 00:10:29.898
and worrying that we have
what we need for breakfast

00:10:29.922 --> 00:10:32.394
worrying that we have everything
we need for dinner,

00:10:32.418 --> 00:10:34.845
worrying that we have everything
we need for lunch.

00:10:34.870 --> 00:10:38.409
And that anyone that comes within schedule

00:10:38.433 --> 00:10:43.223
or outside schedule,
has a hot meal at their disposal.

00:10:43.750 --> 00:10:46.427
So, I'm going to tell you
a story, to finish up.

00:10:50.833 --> 00:10:53.973
I always say
that solidarity is not taught.

00:10:53.998 --> 00:10:55.577
You're not born with it either.

00:10:55.602 --> 00:10:57.858
But you can learn it.

00:10:57.883 --> 00:11:01.193
I've learned everything
I know from my mother.

00:11:02.090 --> 00:11:04.772
I remember that when I was a kid

00:11:04.797 --> 00:11:09.090
my mom used to leave a served dish
at the center of the table

00:11:09.115 --> 00:11:10.987
like a centerpiece.

00:11:11.012 --> 00:11:17.306
And one day, I asked why did she leave
that food there if we couldn't eat it.

00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:23.543
So I asked her, "Mom, can we eat
that food?" and she said no.

00:11:24.098 --> 00:11:26.193
So I asked her why.

00:11:26.382 --> 00:11:27.383
And she answered,

00:11:27.408 --> 00:11:30.804
"If God were to come and ask you
for food, what would you give him?"

00:11:31.365 --> 00:11:33.711
So I always waited for God to come.

00:11:33.736 --> 00:11:37.530
One day, I came home running
from tending the kid goats

00:11:37.530 --> 00:11:39.663
and I saw a man eating the food.

00:11:40.758 --> 00:11:43.772
So I ran up to my mom and said,
"Mom, he isn't God".

00:11:43.797 --> 00:11:46.890
And so she asked me,
"Do you know God?" "No".

00:11:46.915 --> 00:11:50.108
"So then, he is God".

00:11:50.133 --> 00:11:55.594
Maybe that's why to anyone who comes
to the soup kitchen, everyday,

00:11:55.619 --> 00:11:58.731
we never ask them where they come from,

00:11:58.756 --> 00:12:01.452
because I always say that's God,
that's come to eat.

00:12:02.410 --> 00:12:03.899
Thank you very much.

00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:05.534
(Applause)