“I didn’t get so tired with the horse-drawn cart, but with the tricycle it was exhausting, because I had to pedal all over the city. Now I feel great, because I could buy a truck and an electric tricycle, which works with a battery. So I'm going to keep collecting recyclable garbage throughout the district.”
A communication channel with the communities
Like Ediodina, a total of 30 people from the Cart Drivers Association from resettled sectors appealed to Enel’s Complaints and Claims Mechanism, which is a communication channel with the communities, so that they can inform about the problems in their lives, and in this way, get answers in defined periods of time. The answer, for this case, was satisfactory.
“Our Complaints and Claims System is very valuable to communicate with the community, listen to their legitimate claims, and follow up on them; it is key in providing support for their needs. In the case of former cart drivers, they were told that they could present a project to start an enterprise that would allow them to return to what they had lost with the resettlement. Today we are proud that 29 of the 30 people opted to buy pickup trucks and equipment, which is allowing them to start a new phase in their work”
Javier Sánchez worked for more than 15 years as a cart driver. Like his colleagues, he gets emotional when he remembers: "I got sick after I sold my horse, because I worked with him, but now I'm going to have a better life with the project they gave me. Now with the truck I am selling potatoes and wood chips, similar to what I did before," he explained.
“I used to sell firewood and coal that I went to get at the coal mines. When I sold my horse and cart it was very complicated for me, so I worked as a cleaner. Enel invited us to apply for a project that is changing our lives. I had never had a vehicle before; this is the first time in my life. With this I will be able to do what I did before, but now with frozen products and in this way I will continue to support my family”
The proud former cart drivers are beginning to equip their new endeavors, with 4x4 pickup trucks, or ¾ ton trucks, to carry freight, to sell frozen products, firewood, or recyclable waste, thanks to Enel’s support to overcome the problems resulting from the resettlement.
