“Here I have found myself, I have found that I am worth it, that I am a woman. The day I entered with my children was the first time I took a nap, in the three years that I lived with my sister after returning from Belgiumâ€. This is how Ghazlana remembers her first day in the Llars del Seminari house, at number 5 Maragall street in Lleida, from which she has just left so that another family can occupy it soon.
“There is a little stain in the bedroom,” he says, speaking of what has been his home. It is the mark of the paint that she tore off when she took off the post-it that her son Aymane had left her while she was sleeping, that June 30, 2020 after her first meal at home, kebab, traditional food from her country, Morocco . ‘I love you mom,’ one of her three children, Aymane, had written to her. That poster, which has been on the refrigerator door of one of the 18 houses in the Llars del Seminari for two and a half years, is now in her new house. She could stay for three years, but she has obtained another home through the Lleida City Council and has vacated the one on Maragall street so that she can take in another family while she continues looking for a job that allows her to combine it with taking care of her children. Before getting married and going to Belgium, she had a permanent job in a hotel in Lleida.
In the Llars’ notebook of memories, loaded with moving messages, Ghazlana has written that, for her and her children, the opportunity to enter a home “was a miracle.” “Here I have been able to rest, receiving all kinds of help to get up and find my wayâ€, she also says.
The project was born in 2012. On the PurÃsima bridge, the then Bishop of Lleida, Joan Piris, visited the premises of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages and offered a four-story Bishopric building to be rehabilitated and asked anyone who could for money to do it. contribute something. In 2015 the houses were opened, through which, according to data from the director, Inma AbadÃas, 59 families have passed. Those who can pay rent, 30% of their income, with a maximum of 300 euros and those who cannot, do not pay.
Every six months, two families usually leave and another two arrive. They share washing machines, activities and lots of time in common spaces. Boys and girls, if they need it, have review classes.
In ten of the 17 occupied women now live with their children, in another a father with his two daughters and in the rest fathers and mothers with their little ones or single people. The one that is free, she will take care of shortly when she refits.
The last family to arrive is Brazilian, Maria occupies a house with her two sons and her daughter. And as Ghazlana looking for a job. MarÃa, who also has a sister in Lleida, had a stable job. When she lost it and an eviction order reached her, she went to a social worker through whom she was able to access one of the houses on Maragall street.
“Finding a job that I can combine with the children’s schedules is complicated, I live alone and I have to take care of my childrenâ€, explains MarÃa.
Ana takes longer. She arrived with her husband and her children also due to an eviction referred by the social worker. “It was Christmas, it was very different from any other community, because this is like a big family, there are many more group activities, the children are more accompanied and so are we,†she recounts. She feels lucky. She is now hired through the 30 Plus program and is in charge of some tasks in the building.
In addition to the social workers, the project, coordinated by a board, has 16 volunteers. The director is one of them. She has been a lifelong teacher at Escola Joan XXIII, when she retired she wanted to do something for people who needed help.
“Personally, it has enriched me a lot, a lot. I see the families every day, I see all the uncertainties they have, all the walls they encounter, even if they want to get ahead. Here they have a haven of peace for a whileâ€, says Inma AbadÃas.
