Gerardo and Dionicia have dedicated their lives for more than 30 years to the creation and expansion of the Comedor Nuestros Derechos (Our Rights Dining Room), which operates in the Padre Mugica neighborhood, ex-villa 31. What began as an idea became an imperative need to address the food emergency affecting children and adolescents in the neighborhood.
The project grew in size and scope, becoming a school support center and trade workshop. Around 350 people attend the Comedor every day, most of them children and adolescents from the neighborhood. Its commitment reflects the need of the neighbors to organize themselves as a community to promote actions that guarantee the fundamental rights of the families in the neighborhood. This long journey brought Gerardo and Dionicia face to face with the need to take a step forward and formalize their space. From that moment on, they let us accompany them on the road to obtaining legal status, in order to be able to access essential benefits and have a legal framework that provides security, visibility and legality.
When we began our conversations to define the direction that the legal path for the Comedor would take, we learned about the simplified incorporation method offered by the Office of Corporations (“Inspección General de Justicia – IGJ”) for certain civil associations. This method, promulgated through General Resolutions 1/2020 and 7/2020 of the IGJ, offers an exceptional way to encourage the formalization of organizations with fewer resources.
This fast and free process is designed exclusively for associations that promote and attend to the economic, social and cultural rights of vulnerable groups, ethnic communities in situations of poverty and vulnerability, or that focus on gender issues. It also extends to those that act as cooperators of educational, hospital or other community services establishments, as detailed in the aforementioned resolutions. The main benefit lies in the exemption from the payment of incorporation fees, reservation of name, and the individualization and heading of obligatory books.
Thus, making use of the simplified incorporation tool, last December 6, we held before the IGJ the General Meeting that gave formal birth to the Comedor. This legal transformation not only provides security and visibility to the Comedor, but also paves the way for a greater impact and support to the community. Undoubtedly, the joint efforts between the organizations and the entities in charge of its registration is the key to ensure that projects like this one continue to make a difference in the lives of people in vulnerable situations.
