Ste-Genevieve’s Collective Kitchens in the context of the October 19 press conference
October 27, 2016
It is with this cry from the heart that Maria Inostroza, a native of Chile, shared the experience of the visit that she and six other women from the Collective Kitchens made to Peru. The adventure began nearly two years ago when Humberto Ortiz, general secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Social Action (CEAS), a partner of Development and Peace, visited Ste-Geneviève de Batiscan. It was then that the idea took root that it would be interesting for women from the Collective Kitchens to share in the daily life of Peruvian women of the Populares Comedores. This idea led to the group of seven women making the trip to Peru during the fall of 2015.
We also heard the testimony of Linda Letendre who told us how the group helped the Peruvian women cook for 80 people a day - 80 people who would not eat without the support of these community kitchens. "They do everything with nothing!" she said. Having established this connection, the group of Quebec women have continued to keep in touch and follow the struggle of the Peruvian women. Ms. Letendre ended by saying that the experience gave the Quebec women the courage to help even more locally when the group returned to Quebec. A slideshow of photos and delicious Peruvian dishes contributed to set the mood and give a festive note to the press conference highlighting the presentation of the quilt patches by the diocese of Quebec to the diocese of Trois-Rivières.