The Leiria Unida project has been distributing kits of essential goods to villages in the municipality. From door to door, volunteers bring food, but also a little attention, as it’s not just the roofs that need to be repaired. Friday was the first day that Leiria Unida arrived in Monte Redondo, after a week through União de Freguesias das Colmeias and Memória.
The initiative is promoted by the Asteriscos association, together with the clubs Lobos de Leiria and ADCCMI. THE Filipa Sapinho, who is coordinating the work on the ground, seems to have no rest on the phone, while kits of essential goods are prepared which will be distributed during the afternoon by teams of volunteers, each with a list of houses they must pass through, marked by the Subprefecture.
Ricardo Henriques, who has been volunteering on the project since the first day, explains to the Lusa agency that the kits, despite being important, are “a kind of icebreaker”. “After we break the ice, the person opens up and we understand what they really need. Most of it just needs to be heard, a little affection, a hug, some attention, because the children are away and the Board, whatever it is, can’t reach everywhere”account.
In this work, there is no rush to contact each family you meet along the way. Going beyond the list of flagged cases, They try to understand at every door they knock on if there is damage to the house, medication needs, if there is electricity and water or if they need psychological support (in addition to the kits, the project installs a truck in the parish, with free psychology and physiotherapy consultations).
To Ricardo Henriques, what is most difficult for him to see, these days, “is people abandoned”. In Colmeias, there were many houses where the initiative first appeared to ask if something was needed, he recalls. “People are psychologically devastated”, says Raul Testa, president of Asteriscos, who decided to continue with the project after of hearing reports of “unspeakable situations” of those who went to areas further away from the urban center of Leiria.
Shortage
“We realized that the situation was really lacking,” said Raul Testa. He gathered support from companies, clubs and institutions, and went to the field, in conjunction with the social action of the Leiria Chamber and together, in a project that has already involved around 100 volunteers from across the country.
In Colmeias, they found situations of “deep poverty, which are now much worse” and without any type of support. Concerned about what could happen to these people in the future, the project compiles data from each case found, which will then be delivered to local institutions, so that there can be a continued response in the future.
“There are still people who live with rain falling inside their homes”notes Joana Gago, a teacher from Leiria who has been on the project for almost a week. “For me, it was difficult to see that for 22 days no one had gone to some people’s doors and that they had not yet heard ‘Is everything okay?’, ‘Do you need anything?’”, he highlights.
On the first day in Monte Redondo, the group knocked on each door without rushing and looking to help with whatever was needed. In the case of Vitor Pinto, 79 years old, the house had not been affected, but he was still dealing with the lack of electricity – which “comes and goes”. These days, he used “Our Lord”, a small battery-powered crucifix, which he had turned on on the night of January 28th and which has remained that way ever since, to help him get around the house when night arrives.
Now, he was left with a flashlight left by the team. “Thank you very much”, says Vitor, when saying goodbye to the volunteers. Martinha Oliveira, 19 years old, is part of one of the teams that travels through Monte Redondo and decided to participate in the project because she felt “useless at home”, in the parish of Cortes, most spared from the passage of depression in the municipality of Leiria. For the future, the social education student fears the impact on people’s mental health: “People need someone to talk to and vent to.”
Alexandra Carvalho has also visited several parishes in the municipality of Leiria, where she lives, to “give a little strength and courage to those who need it most”, in a period that is “very difficult on all levels”. “We see that we don’t just need to repair ceilings. Sometimes, one word makes all the difference – being there, appearing –”, says the 52-year-old teacher.
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