In the “Un Techo para Todos” and “22 de Enero” neighborhoods in La
Matanza, HPHA continues to carry out the “Developing Neighborhoods
Project”. In the context of this
project, the “Seeds of Hope” construction event took place. The three families carefully selected to be a
part of this project are headed by Noelia, Johana, and Sonia who have
participated from the very beginning of the process. Over the two week event, we were able to get
to know them a bit better, and their stories are inspiring.
“ALL TOGETHER, MUCH
MORE CAN BE DONE”.
Getting to know Noelia Fernández
Noelia is the head of
her household. She is separated from the
father of her five-year-old son; and works in a co-operative which his trying
to recover a steel factory. She has
lived in “Un Techo para Todos” since she was three. Her story highlights the fundamental value of
the family and encourages other families. “For
my son to have a roof, a home that will still be here tomorrow, something that
is his…that has always been my goal” – with these words, Noelia, a very
outspoken young woman, makes her priorities in life very clear. And like other
fathers and mothers of the area, Noelia says that the main reason that has led
her to fight for housing has been to provide a better place to live for her
children.
At the moment Noelia
lives with her son opposite where her parents live. They are one of the
founding families of the neighborhood, and support her throughout this process.
For her, this sense of “family solidarity” as well as the support of her
boyfriend, has been crucial in achieving her goal of a home. Noelia says it has
been the family and the education that were instilled in her from a very early
age which allow her to continue the process of looking for better living
conditions.
Like many single
mothers in the neighborhood, Noelia believes that the role of women is critical
in the development of the area, because the values that will support children
in the future are grounded in family. Thus, the role of women in the
neighborhood is extremely important, since they are the ones involved in the
organized activities for the community. In the specific case of the activities
organized by HPHA, Noelia states: “Here
it really shows the power of women; I think much of what has been achieved is
partly thanks to women from the neighborhood that have children, those who
suffer in the neighborhood, and everyone fighting to improve. ..Obviously the
motivation will always be their children”.
Regarding the
importance of housing for families, Noelia points out that “when you think about starting a family, the first thing is the roof,
and now it costs a lot to have a house. It is impossible to buy a house because
everything is very expensive”. For Noelia, HPHA was a clear opportunity to
gain access to adequate housing, to prosper and thrive with the proposal for a
Seed House, which had begun to be built in the construction event. “I took part in HPHA talks and workshops and
I see that there is much more than a loan for you to make your house. It would
be good for all of the neighbors to learn so they can draw on that faith and
hope of doing things in this neighborhood for everyone”. As they say at
HPHA, “All together, we can achieve much
more”.
“I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING A DECENT HOUSE FOR MY
DAUGHTERS SAKE”.
Testimony from Johana y Pablo
Johana and Pablo are a
young couple with two daughters. She is a housewife, daughter of one of the
founding families of the “22 de Enero” neighborhood, and has lived her whole
life there. He works in a bakery, and comes from one of the many towns
surrounding Buenos Aires
For Johana, adequate
housing is characterized by having a space to be with her family, where her
daughters can play and develop freely. For her, family development and being
her own homeowner is an urgent need. “Everything
starts here; education, managing your kids, or teaching them good manners…it
all starts in your house, your own home. For me it is important to have privacy
as a mother with my daughters, so they will know I am the mother and so I can
teach them manners”. For Pablo, living in crowded conditions involves many
hardships, to the point that he says he prefers to stay out of the house. In
Johana’s case, there is a lack of privacy and although there is collective
support in maintaining the household that is sometimes positive, the space
issue interferes with her ability to be a good motherly influence and authority
figure for her children.
Both say that the work
done by HPHA is priceless, and is a reflection of altruism towards those in
need. Pablo says: “You never forget that;
I don’t know, I have no words for that, they are here, helping us! I have
always done it by myself, just me, and nobody has given me anything… we are
still speechless …”. For Johana, the work done by HPHA volunteers in
building their Seed Home is an example of generosity: “They show the solidarity they have with people, that everyone can do
it! These are people that I do not know but they are bending rebar so we can have
a new house, and that is an emotion that grabs you because nobody has ever
given you anything, no one came to ask me if I needed a house and HPHA has
given me an opportunity….”.
HPHA’s work
establishes a point of reference for other families that want to move forward
in projects for adequate housing; this, without a doubt, represents a very
important contribution to the lives of urban inhabitants and their attachment
and identification with the city that often tends to make them invisible and
push them to the side. Johana expresses this in a very heartfelt way: “I was
born here; my neighborhood is my world and cradle. The city is like the top,
the head, and we are the little toes, we are what no one wants to see.”
“A HOME IS A PLACE WHERE YOUR CHILDREN CAN FACE
THE WORLD WHEN YOU ARE GONE”.
Testimony from Sonia and Carlos
Carlos and Sonia are a
married couple who have lived together for 14 years, and for half of that time
they have shared a home in the “Un Techo para Todos” neighborhood. Carlos works
in the construction sector and Sonia is a housewife; they presently have three
children, ages seven, eight, and eleven respectively.
For Carlos, even
though some things like insecurity are not easy to handle in the neighborhood,
you should try living life full of optimism - “Since you have come to the neighborhood, you always think about the
good, to be in this place is beautiful above all things…” he says. Sonia
welcomes the opportunity to have her own home; however humble, it is a place
where they can be together. But she also knows of the drawbacks of living in
the area are mainly mud during the rainy season and the danger of going out at
night – “The trouble is that the
municipality doesn’t want to recognize the neighborhood, they always say it is
a settlement and that is why improvements fail”.
They learned about
HPHA through the Concordia Foundation, another community organization that has
a presence in the area. Carlos in thankful for the collaborative work given by
the organization, and knows it is not given with motives of economic profit
like a bank, but instead aimed at strengthening community efforts to build
decent living areas.
The work that HPHA
performs in these neighborhoods is, to Sonia and Carlos, a fundamental
contribution, because people with few economic resources can now have the
support and possibility to also build a house where “everyone can have their space to not disturb others, or where children
can do homework”, says Sonia, to which Carlos adds, “it is a place where your children can face the world when you are gone”.
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