The Todos solidarios section and the pages of La Vanguardia talk daily about altruistic entities. Progressives, religious, independent… “Why not from our Endavant Mares Project?†Asks Isabel Joly, the president of the Fundación Pro Vida de Catalunya, undoubtedly sensing the prejudices of her interlocutor (“anti-abortionist fundamentalismâ€, “ Ultramontane Catholicism”). “Noise, a lot of noiseâ€, sings Sabina.
Pilar Argelich and Astrid Samsó, director and social worker of the institution, add: “There is a pro-life movement, diverse, stigmatized and with vociferous groups, but there is only one Pro-Life Foundation: the one behind this door.” The place is on the ground floor of Gran Via de Carles III, in Les Corts: wardrobes, pantries, multipurpose rooms for workshops, training, talks… And, of course, mothers who say: “Our babies give us strength”.
“Here nobody is judged or captured. There is no proselytizing or looking at the ID or passportâ€, explain the beneficiaries, most of them migrants and very young. This diary had been left for the photo with four, but the day before the son of the fourth died, as a result of a sudden complication of his illness just when it seemed that he was going to come out on top. Despite the blow, “behind this door” joy and positive messages reign.
No two stories are the same. Dora traveled alone to Barcelona to work and send money to her two little ones, who stayed in Honduras with her ex, a violent and abusive woman. But here she was kicked out of a rented room as soon as they found out she was pregnant again. “A baby causes discomfort and triggers the water bill,” they told him. She arrived at the foundation with a suitcase, her pregnancy and not knowing what to do.
Some time later, Dora wanted to thank her on Instagram (@endavantmares) for the help received, but… Isabel, Pilar and Astrid discovered that Dora’s baby belonged to someone else and they dissuaded her for fear of the reaction of her previous partner, who at that time he still had the children, now with their mother. The case of Nayeli, Yusaica and Esther, between the ages of 21 and 37, the protagonists of the photo, is radically different: they have good men by their side.
In December 20121, Esther, her husband and their two children traveled from Chile to Catalonia with everything in order and “in search of better possibilitiesâ€. In April, she discovered to her horror that she was pregnant. “I almost die. It was the worst moment: a new beginning on the other side of the world, with financial difficulties and a boy and a girl of 6 and 8 years. I wanted to abort. I think it is excellent and necessary that we have this option, but…â€.
“But with the same freedom with which I decided to have an abortion, I changed my mind. My husband told me: ‘It’s your body. Whatever you do, I’ll be by your side. I have great respect for those who have acted differently. I could not. I cried all day, wondering what would become of us. She believed that she was the only one in this situation. One day I discovered the existence of the foundation. I called on the phone, although I had to come. On the phone I could only cry.”
Endavant mares is not called that by chance. In Catalan, endavant is a polysemic word that means welcome, but also strength. Go ahead, mothers. That is what this project to help vulnerable motherhood conveys, with five programs with an average duration of 16 months (“we would like to extend our accompaniment further, but the resources are what they are and the places are constantly being renewedâ€).
More than 8,000 women have passed through here in 36 years. In collaboration with Cáritas, Banc dels Aliments or La Nau, among other entities, Endavant mares builds bridges. Housing in extreme cases, like Dora’s. And, above all, psychological and material help: nappies, milk, clothes, food and basic necessities… And childcare advice given by volunteers like the pediatrician Carme Valls.
Despite her 21 years, Yusaica has already lived a lot (“life goes onâ€, says one of her tattoos). Ill treatment and a toxic couple. For reasons that are not relevant, she had to spend a season in a juvenile center in Madrid. When she left, she wanted to go to another city and start from scratch (she was so young). In Barcelona she fell in love with a boy who helped her make something click in her mind. Today is another. And the. They were parents.
“Our little girl was highly sought after,” says this very young mother. She lives with her partner’s grandparents, to whom they pay monthly rent and help with household expenses. Yusaica has managed to combine up to four jobs: a telephone operator for four hours in the morning, a cleaner in a hospital for three afternoons and on weekend nights, as well as a caregiver in a private home. Her universe was her partner and her daughter.
“Sometimes I felt alone. She had no relationship with anyone else. I lacked social fabric, interacting with girls my age and a similar situation. This is what I find here. The biggest incentive for my visits is not the cart of products that I take with me, and that I am very grateful for, but what I learn, the talks that I have, the people I meet. It’s a little while in a bubble, like when I was a girl I went on an excursion â€.
Nayeli, mom to another precious baby, nods. She already had a son of one year and nine months. She wanted to be a mother again when at least three years had passed. But there was an oversight on her part and… People around her advised her not to take on children so young. Unlike Esther and Yusaica, who have lived through cloudy times, but have seen the sun rise, her immediate future does not look very bright for her: an eviction.
Nothing, however, erases his smile. “My partner and I will have to move. We have already received the letter from the bank, but we are healthy and we really want to work. For ourselves and for our children. Yusaica has shown me the way. If she’s gotten by and has had as many as four jobs, I’ll find something. That worries me more than the flat. Where did she get so much joy? From my children, without a doubt.”
Hydration, creams, allergies, atopic dermatitis. In an attached room, Carme Valls answers the questions of new mothers. There are six and only one, a teenager, has come with her partner. Many have made the same mistake due to excessive zeal and have sheltered their little ones more than necessary. The pediatrician will recognize later who these sessions enrich. “The one who learns the most is me. I learn from their courage.”
It’s true. There is a motley and noisy pro-life movement. And then there is a door that opens for those who arrive of their own free will, referred by social services or by word of mouth of other vulnerable women. Esther says: “Here they did not deceive me. They didn’t tell me they were going to fix my life. They told me that I would be excited again. And it’s true. Look at my regalona, ​​my queen, my illusion â€. And she holds her daughter in her arms.
