Merci : a job devotion

Serafina Hernández Rodríguez began sweeping streets when she was very young. SHe took her first swab in 1987, and has not stopped sweeping since then. Her philosophy: the common feeling; her goal: social welfare; her addiction: coffee.

Merci, as neighbors affectionately called her, wakes up every day from Monday to Saturday at four in the morning, and about five o’clock she is already sweeping the street until mid-morning. Then in the afternoon, after one o’clock, she continues another work session, but less arduous. She jokingly commented that “sometimes she starts later because people are already awake and she can say hello and talk a little to people.” She is enthusiastic about morning greetings.

She gets a pair of gloves every six months and the swab is replaced every few months. She wears a headscarf, boots of rubber or material, depending on the rain and the weather, and also wears a garment that covers the mouth and nose protecting it from possible infections or some bitter stench. She carries two sacks in her iron wagon to hide everything she collects and handles him with the skill that forges the experience. It’s as if Merci goes for a walk instead of working .

Some people may thing being a street sweeper it is boring, but it is socially useful and in Candelaria township villagers have been aware of it and respect the work of men and women like Serafina, who has been recognized many times by the Municipal Assembly of the People’s Power, and by the district where she works.

Due to the effort she has made for 30 years and her work quality , she is in charge of the urban area, some 5,500 square meters including the park, and the main local political and government institutions. Everybody wants Merci to be the one who sweep the street, although workers of the sector in Candelaria has learned from her that every day effort and devotion make work useful , that is why Candelaria could be considered an outstanding municipality in the care and maintenance of cleaning.

“The holidays are the worst, but I get up at three in the morning so that when the sun rises there is less work and there is not too much garbage ,” says Serafina, a woman who has achieved with her youthful spirit, her charisma of twenties, dedication and respect for others, earn more than a cup of coffee every morning when she goes out to clean the world she shares with others.

TRANSLATION BY LMMS