Heard on “No Te Duermas”
Ana María Ariza from the Mil Flores organization spoke with “No Te Duermas” about the opening of soup kitchens and food centers, and her experience with elderly people.
By Ariel Fassio arielfassio@gmail.com
Ana María started by explaining how they obtain food: “This is managed by the Barrios de Pie organization and by the municipality of La Matanza. They have been managing this for a while, and we, as the Mil Flores organization, got in touch with them, worked together, and participated in a multisectoral meeting with several social organizations. From there, we are receiving help to work in the neighborhoods. Without this help, it would be impossible.”
“Additionally, there are several people with small businesses who contribute by donating bread in La Candela neighborhood, for example, which is one of the places where we have another soup kitchen, and in the Luján neighborhood, where we also have another soup kitchen. The solidarity of people who are not necessarily better off, but who are entrepreneurs trying to survive, is contagious, just like all the volunteers running the soup kitchens. This is about will and love for others.”
She added: “Currently, each soup kitchen assists about 30 families, optimizing what we receive almost as if it were in our own homes. When food is cooked and there’s not enough left for a family that arrives later or joins in, we try to at least give them something to help them prepare a meal at home. A package of pasta, some vegetables, some tomatoes—something so they don’t go without food that day.”
Assistance for the Elderly
Regarding the complexity of the situation, Ana María said: “Many are alone. Some cannot move to the soup kitchens. For these, we bring the food to their homes. There are other volunteers assigned to this task. Also, regarding advice on utility bills like electricity and gas, which for some were very high and initially they didn’t know how to handle the RASE or the subsidy.”
“Some didn’t know how to apply for the subsidy for bottled gas. We also provide advice on this. There are volunteers who work on this advisory and also on social security issues, because PAMI and the medications they are entitled to are constantly changing, and how to request prescriptions.”
“There are many things now done via phone, and some don’t have phones or know how to manage these things. Well, from the little we have, the volunteers try to help them. Some things are personal and can only be managed by them,” she explained about the organization.
“I am retired, and to interact with PAMI, I have to send a message to my primary care doctor, request an appointment to get a prescription for my chronic medications, and then I have to go pick up the prescription, but I have to be notified. Well, in these matters, volunteers help. Sometimes they let the elderly use their phones to handle these things.”
Milei and His Statements Regarding the Elderly
“He has never walked the streets. He has never listened to anyone in need. He operates in an elite of business people and the rich. I mean, I’m not saying people shouldn’t live well when they’ve worked and earned their resources honestly and legally. They deserve what they have. But others haven’t had the same opportunities in education, work, or housing, and they lack resources to continue living, especially in this worst stage where many elderly people are left alone or abandoned. Unfortunately, this is also a reality. They have children but they don’t take care of their parents. And he has never listened.”
She added: “Instead of listening, he has repressed. His policy towards the most impoverished sectors doesn’t exist. We have a minister in the Ministry of Human Capital who still refuses to distribute goods to the soup kitchens that were functioning well. If they found any irregularities, fine, don’t give goods to those in improper situations. But for those who were doing well, why not? Moreover, they tried to manage through a private organization to distribute these goods and couldn’t resolve it. There are constant changes and reversals regarding these issues. In my opinion, regarding the president, of course respecting his position but not his person, he is among the worst,” Ana María concluded.
“He doesn’t know, he doesn’t realize that there are kids going to sleep without anything to eat, or kids catching pigeons to eat, or kids catching frogs. And there are people who, a few kilometers away, gather worms by the river to sell for some money. Even recycling is complicated now because, with no consumption, there are no bags or boxes left on the sidewalk for recycling. Since there is none, the demand and the value of the items that can be sold have decreased. So, things can’t get worse. Unfortunately, they can get worse, but well,” she declared.
For those who want to help, Ana María provided the following information: “We have a page called Mil Flores, an Instagram page, a Facebook page with our name, Mil Flores, and there you can contact us via private message or visible message. Or you can use my number, which you have, to share with anyone who wants to get in touch and help us.”
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