Lucelys Andreína Rodríguez Serrano is a 27-year-old social communicator from Anzoatigui State, a leader and social activist “by trade and by heart”.
By La Patilla – Javier A. Guaipo
Mar 8, 2023
She is one of those people who overflow with nobility when speaking, but with a firmness that has allowed her to stay on course through ups and downs.
She is a faithful believer that with constant training are built the solid foundations necessary to be up to the challenges of life. The multiple diplomas, workshops and programs that she has carried out endorse this conviction.
Although about seven years have passed since she began to have contact with social leaders, her desire to serve her has been in her for much longer. In fact, she chose to study journalism because she believes that, beyond a career, it is a way to train as a public servant.
“Working with the service has been a ‘seed’ that has been internal to my being. When I started this path through social work, I realized that this is was what I wanted to do. Nothing else filled me, but doing conferences for children, grandparents, etc. I think that what you gain from the spiritual world fills all spaces”.
She also believes that her love for helping others was born out of a need to do something for Venezuela, from where she was about to migrate in 2018.
At that time, she was selected to take a leadership diploma, which caused her to change her plans, and at the end of that year she was already a volunteer in the “Empodérame” organization, focused precisely on women’s empowerment.
“When the pandemic arrived (in 2020) we had to paralyze everything. After that, I made the decision to do social work on my own with friends and family. We started last year (2022) volunteering at the Divine Mercy Refuge in Puerto La Cruz. This idea was her own and arose with the purpose of celebrating a different February 14th with the grandparents.
She said they ended up embracing the idea permanently, and at least once a month they bring a full service to the more than 100 people who receive lunch at the shelter Monday through Friday.
“An immense job has been done. What began as an idea to celebrate a special date, has already translated into more than a thousand meals given in a year”.
And although it has become a real challenge to get food donations, because help is scarcer every day, she assured that: “when you do things with your heart and without expecting anything in return, the rest will simply come. Sometimes we have nothing, but we begin to organize and everything keeps coming. We know that it is God who places whatever is necessary in our path so that we can do it.”
One of the lessons she values the most is that we don’t really understand the “love thy neighbor” commitment until we put it into practice.
She added that when this is done, there is no other option but to get rid of prejudices, especially when it comes to dealing with people who are in a difficult situation.
-What motivates you to carry out each of these social actions?
– When you begin to see service as a way of life, the motivation is to help. That your passage through this plane is not simply a constant academic learning or satisfying your desires, but that you can also leave something valuable of yourself for others.
It motivates me that people feel understood, useful and help them develop. Maybe they won’t come out of depression with a plate of food, but they will begin to see you as a solution to some problem, even if it’s with a hug, which is what they often need.
There is also the fact of giving girls safe spaces to talk about their issues, their worries, their concerns.
-Is there something or someone that has left a special mark on you?
– Many people have left their mark on this path: teachers, mentors, priests. However, the story of Father Juan Bosco was the one that most marked in my life.
When you start working with young people, you realize that young people are so in need of attention, understanding, affection and care, but society ignores that. Bosco’s testimony with street youth and the opportunities he gave them is the example. I have tried to implement this in my life, but on a general level.
There are people who have not been given opportunities elsewhere and I have been in some way that servant (aide) who has been there so that they can consolidate some of their personal and professional goals. We all have a talent, but the same society limits itself to always calling the same ones.
-An anecdote that you consider has marked you for the rest of your life?
– In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I did a report in “Las Bateas de Maurica” (Barcelona community). I knew it was hard, but I didn’t know what I was going to face.
I interviewed a five year old boy. I asked him something he wanted and he told me “a bed”. I didn’t know what to answer or what to say. He had nowhere to sleep and he did it on the floor.
My life took a turn from there, because I forced myself to give more, I got involved in a radical way with the social issue. I did everything humanly possible to get that bed and many other things for this community.
-What do you think has been the key to keep doing social work under the current country situation?
– Perseverance, faith and passion. All together they have made me meet wonderful people along the way who are part of learning. It is difficult to do social work in Venezuela. It is an uphill battle to get the supplies to donate and have trusted people committed to this work.
It is difficult to dedicate time to something that does not leave you financial remuneration, because we live in a country where those who do not work, do not eat. There are many things that ultimately end up lowering the spirits and putting obstacles in the way, but when I have time without doing social work, I miss it. It’s something I need to be happy.
-Is there someone who inspires you on this path?
– A mentor: Esther Núñez. She is the founder of one of the organizations where I do professional work, which is the Training Center for Democracy.
She has marked my life, because her professional ethics for what she does goes beyond everything. She inspires me to keep going. She is a fundamental piece in volunteering with grandparents (elderly).
Do you have any social project that you hope to achieve in the near future?
– It is a broad topic, but I think that my projects in the near future will be linked to raising awareness on gender-based violence.
I am currently volunteering with the “Centro Venezolano Americano de Oriente” (in Lechería) and last year we managed to impact more than 300 students in their last years of high school with everything related to this topic.
I need this to be done in more institutions, that the voice reach more people. We are seeing many cases of gender violence, each day more follow and in larger numbers throughout the national territory. Perhaps we are not going to see the change right now, but it will be a change that we can see in the near future.
I have come across cases of adolescents who were raped continuously for some time and still suffer the consequences. It is something that commits me a lot. This is a cause for women, adolescents and girls of my country.
-A message for women?
– That we must continue to take advantage of all the spaces for participation to continue raising our voices and making ourselves heard. To this end, it is important that we maintain constant training and the development of capacities to be up to the challenges that our country and the world have.
You always have to think about the next step. You can become more than you already are without letting go of your responsibilities as a wife or mother. Let’s stop placing others above ourselves.
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