Meet Karol Lainez and Alejandro Aparicio
Karol was introduced to ATD Fourth World when she was young, and Alejandro’s sister was a volunteer in the street library, in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras. Alejandro began working with Honduran teens who managed other street libraries. Today in Guatemala Ciudad, capital of the country, Karol organizes monthly meetings for extremely poor families and manages an art workshop and a poetry workshop for young mothers. Alejandro was in charge of street libraries and participated in a painting workshop with children and teens who lived in the street. For the past six months he has been in charge of administration and promotion of ATD Fourth World in Guatemala.
What did you family and friends think when you became a permenent volonteer for the ATD Fourth World Movement?
K. and A.: In Guatemala and the Honduras people find it hard to understand that you can devote your life to helping others. Everyone is trying to make do for themselves and think about their family first. Some of our friends think that we work for a Non-Governmental Organization, and that we make a lot of money.
What do the extremely poor people that you meet expect from you?
K. and A.: First of all, they expect us to be there for them and support them. In Guatemala Ciudad, teenagers living next do the municipal dump in very unsecure conditions participate in the painting workshop. The results are impressive. We also meet Dona Ester regularly, a lady whose life has caused her to be suspicious and closed to others. Little by little, we saw her open up to other people. People count on our presence rather than just our skills and know-how.
Is it hard for people to understand what kind of life extremely poor people have?
K. and A.: A lot of people have no idea what kind of life the extremely poor lead. But when they meet someone, people are touched. In Honduras, university students participated in our street libraries. It was the first time they saw extreme poverty in their country, and that touched them. Some of them then started working with us. Others don’t understand what we are doing. Unlike other organizations, we don’t build houses for poor people. But the ATD Fourth World Movement against extreme poverty is very important. They’ll always need us.
Text and photo courtesy of Jean-Christophe Sarrot
