The Venezuelan who鈥檚 feeding thousands of youths in his hungry country
| Caracas and Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Wilbert bursts out on a dusty street from his tin roof shack that in the midday heat feels like a burning oven. The boy, clutching a spoon in his hand, knows that in a few minutes he will dig it into a rice, beans, and meatloaf meal. 鈥淟unch is coming! Lunch is coming!鈥� he is hollering cheerfully.聽
This is Carucie帽a, an impoverished neighborhood in the city of Barquisimeto, the capital of the Venezuelan state of Lara. Vivacious Wilbert somehow doesn鈥檛 fit into the gloomy atmosphere of Carucie帽a, a parched piece of land filled with countless ramshackle dwellings.聽
More than 200 miles away in Caracas there is a young man who is indirectly responsible for Wilbert鈥檚 display of enthusiasm: , a Harvard-educated Venezuelan. Mr. Pati帽o has set up more than 100 free dining halls around the country in the past three years to feed children who might otherwise starve. One of those eateries is just around the corner from Wilbert鈥檚 shack, where up to 50 children receive lunch every Monday through Friday.聽
Why We Wrote This
Venezuela has been in a deep crisis politically and economically, and some children are in danger of starving. The more that Roberto Pati帽o saw of the situation, the more he wanted to help.
鈥淣othing is more unjust than a child that can鈥檛 eat,鈥� Mr. Pati帽o says.
Mr. Pati帽o has worked in impoverished Venezuelan communities for more than 10 years, looking at violence reduction and the youth vote, among other things. The more he saw, especially when he played a big role in a political opposition campaign in 2012, the more he wanted to help. That鈥檚 what led him to pursue related studies at Harvard.聽
鈥楧o you have anything to eat?鈥�
He first had the idea of providing sustenance to poor people early in 2016, when he and his colleagues were in the crime-ridden neighborhood of El Polvor铆n in Caracas. As part of activities to pull the community together, they showed a movie to the children.聽
At one point, a young girl named Fabiola approached Mr. Pati帽o. She grabbed his pants and asked a simple question: 鈥淒o you have anything to eat? I am starving.鈥澛�
Soon Mr. Pati帽o learned that most children in the poor parts of town didn鈥檛 go to school because their parents let them sleep until noon so they wouldn鈥檛 have to feed them. Those who did go to class often fainted from hunger.聽
In a state of alarm, Mr. Pati帽o launched a small humanitarian project in the Caracas slum called La Vega. This was the plan: He would supply the food while residents would provide the space for the project, gas for cooking, and volunteers to do the work.聽
Three years later, Mr. Pati帽o is feeding almost 9,000 children across Venezuela during a time of deep crisis for the country politically and economically.聽
One of the dining halls is in Carapita, a Caracas slum that has seen much violence. The eatery, which is perched on a hill, is run by Yusbel Castro, who has opened up her own house for the venture.聽
Ms. Castro, with a small team of other women, cooks for 110 children. The youths take turns, using two wobbly tables, devouring five meals a week. One day recently the children were munching on carne molida (ground beef), rice, sweet potatoes, plantains, carrots, and beet salad.聽
鈥淟eadership is about building the capacity of people to work out their problems in their own midst. It is not just about the leader gaining the authority and power in the capital,鈥� says Ronald Heifetz, founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Mr. Pati帽o took Dr. Heifetz鈥檚 course on leadership at Harvard, where he earned his master鈥檚 in public policy with a focus on violence reduction.聽
鈥淩oberto has a courage to go to often dangerous places that are far from his elite background. He is devoted to serving his people,鈥� Dr. Heifetz says.聽
Mr. Pati帽o鈥檚 drive to help others makes him an effective fundraiser. He generates the revenue to finance his project from three sources: donations from charitable organizations, contributions from the Venezuelan diaspora, and money flowing in from a social business 鈥� his volunteers sell lunches to companies and individual clients.聽
鈥淲e used to spend monthly $4 on a kid. Unfortunately, due to the hyperinflation, it is now $12,鈥� he says. Despite that, he predicts the program will soon feed 10,000 children.聽
It鈥檚 a drop in the ocean, he acknowledges. His volunteers share many heart-wrenching stories about tough decisions they make. All the children they meet are in precarious conditions, but only a few are deemed 鈥渆ligible鈥� because of the limited budget.聽
鈥淩oberto is no magician,鈥� Dr. Heifetz says. 鈥淭his crisis is simply overwhelming.鈥澛�
The government鈥檚 social programs
President Nicol谩s Maduro still sends to families in the shantytowns boxes that contain up to 27 products, including cooking oil, sugar, rice, and beans. The boxes are delivered to 5.6 million Venezuelans, according to government figures.聽
This raises a question about Mr. Pati帽o鈥檚 project. Isn鈥檛 he just copying the government system of social dependency? 鈥淯nlike [the Chavismo model] that is blackmailing the population for political reasons, we don鈥檛 discriminate. Our only criterion is a child in need,鈥� says Mr. Pati帽o, alluding to the state distribution of food based on favoring those who affiliate with Mr. Maduro鈥檚 party.聽
Sometimes Mr. Pati帽o collides with the governmental social programs. Ms. Castro claims that government supporters told her to shut down the eatery in her house. She refused and together with her neighbors successfully defended the kitchen.聽
The political opposition has been gaining ground in places like Barquisimeto鈥檚 slums.聽
鈥淧ati帽o鈥檚 eateries have opened the doors for us. We don鈥檛 come in just with words but with actual help,鈥� says Daniel Antequera, an opposition lawmaker representing the state of Lara who also oversees the eateries there.聽
Mr. Pati帽o and Mr. Antequera are longtime friends, having known each other since their student years. Both were involved in campaigns like the one against the constitutional amendments proposed by then-President Hugo Ch谩vez in 2007.聽
Mr. Pati帽o鈥檚 long history of political activism is the reason some perceive his humanitarian work as part of an effort to raise his public profile for future political gains.聽
鈥淭o people who are saying that Roberto is doing it for his own political agenda I say, What鈥檚 your point? Don鈥檛 you think it is worthy to save a child鈥檚 life?鈥� says Roberto Brice帽o-Le贸n, an influential crime expert who came to know Mr. Pati帽o through shared professional interests.聽
Mr. Pati帽o doesn鈥檛 hide his desire to run for office at some point. Perhaps Wilbert from the Carucie帽a slum might vote for him one day. But right now, for Mr. Pati帽o, the priority is to keep the boy alive and well so he can pursue life鈥檚 opportunities.
