Marie-Angela Como, teacher at Bourdelle high school in Montauban, launched the operation to create masks during the first confinement. A gesture of solidarity in the image of this sporty and committed 50-year-old, who withstands the trials of life.
From the pitfalls that life has put in its path, Marie-Angela Como has always emerged stronger. This professor of fashion professions, who officiates at the Bourdelle high school in Montauban, has yet experienced trials, long before this Covid-19 crisis. “We are a family of eight. Three of my sisters were affected by cancer. One of them died. At the time of confinement, my mother was bedridden and disabled. She is no longer today. this world. And two of my nephews and nieces are also disabled, “identifies, moved, the fifty-something.
So inevitably, when the coronavirus crisis breaks out and the lack of masks for caregivers is felt, Marie-Angela Como cannot stand idly by. “I was all alone in my little T2 and I couldn’t see myself ruminating for two months. I wanted to help in my own way these extraordinary people, the caregivers and nurses, who took care of my loved ones and whom I When I saw that they were missing masks, I said to myself that I absolutely had to use my know-how to help. “
She then got in touch with Laurence Pagès, the nurse of the establishment also deputy mayor of Montauban in charge of social policy. “I really wanted to help the city cope with this lack of fabric masks. I didn’t want to make them in small quantities but really to be able to produce them for the greatest number, both professionals and individuals. that’s where the adventure started, “recalls Marie-Angela Como. Thanks to the facilities of the Lycée Bourdelle, to donations from hospitals, hotels, individuals and even the army, it manages to obtain the raw material, the fabric, necessary to produce masks in industrial quantities.
“It’s not only my own story. I spurred this momentum but in total, more than 150 volunteers were present! Either in three workshops at the Lycée Bourdelle, when they could come while respecting sanitary measures, or at them after coming to get sewing kits from high school. I also sensitized the students I had in class to involve them in the operation. ” One way to use the difficult situation as a teaching aid. “If my role as a teacher is to provide know-how, the transmission of a certain savoir-être is also close to my heart. It was important to involve my students in this spirit of citizenship.”
The wave of solidarity has not abated. “I was even a little overwhelmed, I must admit. There was a lot to do. I had to refocus on the technical part, where I was most useful”, explains Marie-Angela Como . Namely on the production line.
“A very strong personal commitment”
The teacher spends her days in high school. She doesn’t count her hours. Some mornings, she arrives there at 7 o’clock. Not to get out until 7 or 8 p.m. “And on top of that, I had to teach my classes! Some days I would finish sending them to my students at one in the morning! It was a very strong personal commitment.” Maybe excessive even, when you think about it in the aftermath.
But she’s like that, Marie-Angela Como. She goes beyond herself without counting. “It’s my competitive temperament. When there is a challenge, I like to take it up”, smiles this former captain of her basketball team, who has also practiced swimming or gymnastics, among other things, and who loves, today, continue the three-hour sessions of cross fit four to five times a week.
As a symbol, the operation of making these thousands of masks stopped at the end of May because of a suspected case within the team of volunteers. The end of a two-month parenthesis and a hard return to reality this summer to take care of her mother, who has since disappeared. “The summer was difficult, I had a certain backlash, admits Marie-Angela Como. But today, I found meaning in my life. In my job, I have always been in the shadows. For once, I had the recognition that I have always secretly hoped for, ”she concludes. A recognition that she especially deserved.
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