Women in Solidarity from San Carlos held a parade to benefit cancer patients.

After barely a month and a half of operation, she organized her first charity event . It was a parade to raise funds and purchase supplies for cancer patients. With this goal in mind, she sought to join the cause that local leader Lidia Nélida Masmud has been promoting for years. Nely is a nurse; she visits, cares for, and supports those undergoing this type of treatment, staying close to the patient and their family. She is already recognized in San Carlos, and every time someone wants to donate, they know that, through her, the aid will reach its destination.

"The goal is to collaborate with social causes that affect our department, to do our part beyond our individual work responsibilities," explains María del Valle Prieto, one of the group's founders.

According to Prieto, the group is made up of residents, municipal workers, and representatives of institutions such as the San Carlos Sports Club, the Pedro Asin Library, the neighborhood council, the Fortín Traditionalist Center, and the Tagarelli Hospital cooperative. All participants are women.

The group's first concrete action was the Solidarity Parade, held over the weekend. Ticket sales raised funds to purchase supplies for cancer patients in the department.

The bridge between the patients and the charitable purpose was Nely . A nurse at Tagarelli Hospital and a leader for her volunteer work since 2002, she said, "I met Nely a long time ago, when I was working at the Municipality. She invited me to help a cancer patient, and it was a deeply moving experience for me. I was able to spend time with him and his family in his final months. After he passed away, Nely continued with that work. When we formed the group, we knew this was the place we had to start," says María del Valle Prieto, a leader of the collective.

Women in solidarity

For the event, local businesses donated prizes and donations. Hairstylists, makeup artists, bakers, and residents from different districts also participated. “The girls from Pareditas brought alfajores, from Chacón, donuts, and from Chilecito, sponge cakes. It was an immense community effort, with an energy that still moves us,” describes María.

The Yellow Bracelets support network, created by Camila Pacheco with the goal of raising awareness and supporting those going through this disease, was present. Camila passed away last year, but her activism against childhood cancer left an unbreakable legacy. Her mother, Mabel Garrido, brought bracelets to Nely, who will distribute them to children undergoing treatment. “It’s a way for them to know they are not alone, that there is a support network that embraces them,” Prieto said. The nurse confirmed: “Yes, she gave me yellow bracelets for my patients. Although the project was Camila’s, as her mother says, she will continue it with all of her daughter’s classmates and friends.”

Lidia Nélida Masmud (54) has a degree in consulting and has worked as a nurse at the Tagarelli Regional Hospital for years. Her volunteer work with cancer patients began almost without realizing how transformative it would be for her life. It began in 2002, from the Human Development and Health area of ​​the Municipality of San Carlos. Its director at the time was Dr. Alejandro Morilla, current mayor of the department. According to Nely, that is the genesis of her current position.

She recalls that every patient who needed nursing care, clothing, diapers, groceries, medications, or transportation received help. Most were terminally ill, and the goal was for them to have a dignified death. She also emphasizes that Morilla, "Ale" to her, was key to that first care and assistance project: "Ale was always with us. For me, even though he's mayor today, he's still the town's pediatrician. He who goes to see a child, accompanies you, helps you, teaches you."

Since 2002, Nélida has been accompanying cancer patients “to guarantee them care, dignity, and companionship,” she describes. “I visit them on my days off. I don't have a physical location, but the community knows me. They write to me on social media, they call me, and I go. I always receive support from the people, the hospital, my colleagues, my family. I've never charged a patient anything in all these years. It's my way of giving back to God and the community for everything they've given me,” she says.

Nely has a phrase that serves as her life motto: "He who does not live to serve, does not serve to live." And she adds: "You have to learn to give without expecting anything in return. When you give expecting to receive, that is no longer solidarity. I also teach this to my grandchildren; I take them on campaigns because they need to see that there are other children in need. This isn't something you do outside of life; it's life itself."

Women in solidarity

Gentleness

Its objective is to collaborate on social causes affecting the department and to combine efforts from different spaces. The first meeting was in Villa Cabecera, where more than 70 women participated. The meetings later spread to other districts, and the number of participants grew. “At each meeting, we not only organize actions, we also share our stories. There are women who have suffered from cancer, mothers who have lost daughters. It's a space where no one feels alone. Sometimes, just drinking a mate is a form of support,” says María del Valle Prieto.

One of the group's members, Agustina Martínez, represents the San Carlos Queens Commission, explaining that the proposal came to them from the San Carlos Municipality, through a joint meeting with other groups in the department. She also happily confirms that "this journey is just beginning" and hopes to be invited to other charity events.

Currently, the group meets every two weeks at the San Carlos Civic Center. Among their next goals are obtaining legal status and creating a Women's House, a dedicated space to provide support to victims of gender-based violence, in coordination with the community's Women's Department.

Women in solidarity