Statement - Gender Justice Conference
Leader of Flora Benavente Soup Kitchen, Elizabeth Ormeño, San Luis Cañete, Peru
“Flora Benavente Prado was our high school principal and we owe her so much” said Elizabeth Ormeño, a charismatic woman in her late forties, commenting on the name of the organization she leads in Cañete, 130 km south of Lima, which was heavily affected by the 2007 earthquake.
Ms. Ormeño is a beneficiary of UNDP’s economic recovery project and leads a soup kitchen that feeds over 80 people a day for about 60 cents, which costs a third of a regular meal in Peru.
Before the earthquake, Flora Benavente Soup Kitchen had been providing services for the San Luis community for 23 years, so it was only natural for her and the women in her organization to take the lead in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, helping the municipality deliver basic food provisions for thousands of families who lost everything to the tragedy and had no where to go.
“When the earthquake started we thought it was just a tremor until the entire wall of the neighboring church fell on our entrance blocking our way out. We ran towards the back, exiting while hearing people trapped in the church screaming. We did not have time to process feelings because within a few hours of the tragedy we were already cooking but this time under a tent,” explains Ms. Ormeño trying to describe how she felt that evening.
Flora Benavente Soup Kitchen facilities and equipment were entirely lost to the earthquake. Through the UNDP supported economic recovery project, Ms. Ormeño received a small grant to start the production of organic jam. She is now able to sell her produce to hospitals and municipalities in her region while keeping her soup kitchen functioning.
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