Knock, Knock.....

One year ago a middle-aged mother called Maria cycled into our suburb. Unlike many others who knock on our door, she was not asking for a handout, but for work. I was surprised and impressed by this, and offered the only outside job I could find for a complete stranger .... she swept the pavement in front of our place for 2 hours (it is big, we live on a corner!).

The rate of pay was set by Maria, and it was not glamorous, but when she left, she had some cash and food to take back to her family.

Now Maria visits regularly. I don't always have work for her (the trees drop their leaves slower in summer!). She often asks for other used items, like a fan, a hedge cutter, a mattress ... perfume or deodorant for her daughters .... and the request for a mothers day gift really took me by surprise (surely that is the responsibility of her daughters??). I continue to offer the 2 hours of sweeping, some food and secondhand clothing to sell.

Yesterday Maria asked for a pay rise ... more than double the initial rate set just one year ago. With the beginning of a new year, costs in Argentina have risen dramatically (the bus fare, for example, has leapt from 1.50 to 2 pesos overnight). It is really tough for the average Argentine to cope with rising costs, whilst their pay rate barely moves.

So Maria and I have bargained a new arrangement for the new year. Uncomfortably for me, she will continue to call me her ´patron´... as someone willing to give an unqualified 40-something mum a chance. But it is Maria´s resourcefulness that is keeping food on her family´s table.

Posted by Julie