Starting From Scratch Is Possible: 3 Testimonials

1. Change country

Believing that nothing is impossible and striving for an ideal is Alexia Vieira’s secret. In 2008 he went to Mozambique to create the Khanimambo Foundation from scratch, which provides education for 400 African children.

“I arrived with the wonderful strength of my twenties. It was easy for me to step out of my comfort zone. I have always enjoyed great freedom to dream and wanted to provide it to the most disadvantaged children. Only if they are allowed to dream will they develop their full potential. Education is crucial to achieve a real change in the country. If we open their minds, women will face abuse, they will start to prevent malaria … “, explains Alexia Vieira, a native of Lisbon from Madrid who 23 years old came to Mozambique with a backpack as the only company.

He traveled 5,400 km to meet the needs of the country. He obtained donations and bought a minibus to bring the children to school. The Khanimambo Foundation makes a pact with the families: a food package for a month if the children go to school and get the best grades they can. “We offer extra-curricular reinforcement and a comprehensive education. We talk with the children, we listen to what worries them and we try to solve it,” continues Alexia.

The principles were harsh in a country without water or electricity. “It was like climbing a bare mountain.’Re white and distrustful. The worst has been machismo and loneliness. Sometimes you think it’s impossible, but now I forbid that word. To achieve this must accompany your faith that you can. A someone who lives difficulties would say to him: ‘Get up and walk. Visualize how well you will be when you overcome it.’ In my year and a half of loneliness until Eric, my husband arrived, I learned that problems are always there, but that overcoming them is very beautiful. Africans have taught me that complaining is useless. I admire their inexhaustible strength and calm in the face of adversity “, says Alexia, mother of two daughters aged 3 and 5, who live with her on the beach in Xai- Xai.

“Entrepreneurship is a mental attitude of people who want to alter the future,” says Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art of Beginning (Ed. Ilustrae) and Steve Jobs’ right-hand man. He says that to innovate successfully the first thing is to have an ideal that seeks to improve the world, increase the quality of life, correct a mistake or avoid the end of something laudable. His words can be applied to the educational work promoted by Alexia Vieira in Mozambique.

2. Go from the city to the country

Cristina Serrano (36 years old) and her husband Vicente Urda consider that in the countryside people tend to be more supportive and dedicated than in the big city. Since they arrived in Foz-Calanda (Teruel) in September 2013 they have felt at home.

” It is our place. We are fascinated by the song of the birds while they feed their young; the mountains that surround us, the swamp, the smell of rosemary when walking, the fog, the authentic silence … We had always wanted to live in the countryside but we did not dare to take the step. For this reason, when I lost my job in the telecommunications company where I worked in Barcelona while the cost of living in that city was still very high, we immediately contacted the NGO Against Depopulation. it helped find a town that wanted more people, “says Cristina.

Her 14-year-old son has also adapted to life in this municipality with fewer than 300 inhabitants. “But such a change is not made only by economic imperatives: you have to like the countryside and the natural,” warns this marriage that remained low. While Against Depopulation continues to move their curricula through the surrounding towns, they offer natural therapies in Foz-Calanda (reiki, massages, reflexology, lymphatic drainage …) in exchange for contributions.

“We are happy. That is why I thanked the work he had for allowing me to live in Barcelona and also thanked when he disappeared for allowing me to come here,” confesses Cristina, who feels that the crisis has given her an opportunity.

Incentives to start

Different associations accompany and advise those who seek to start over in a town.

• Leader are funds from a European Union program to encourage the birth of businesses in rural areas. provides non-refundable grants that cover up to a third of the investment.
• Embrace the earth. It operates in Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla, León, Cantabria, Aragon, Madrid and Extremadura.
• Condinse works for the integral development of the northeast of Segovia and its 119 towns.
• The Iberian Ecovillage Network contains inspiring experiences.

3. Change profession

When her best friend died of cancer, Rosanna Mirapeix felt the urgent need to know how to accompany cancer patients and those close to them. He was 41 years old. “I started studying Psychology while working as a training coordinator in a company. When I finished I was 45 years old and I did a postgraduate degree at the UB in Psychooncology and a master’s degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. The most difficult thing was getting them to accept me to do the tests. Internship with 46. Now I am 50 and I am happy working at the Hospital Parc Taulí de Sabadell (Barcelona) as a psycho-oncologist and at the Institut de Psicologia de la Salut treating people with a chronic disease “.

He also published a story ‘En Joan té cuques a la sang ‘ (Juan has bugs in his blood, Ed. Miret) about a child with a brother who is sick with cancer. “To those who want to reinvent themselves, I would say: go ahead! I had to work very hard. But family and friends encouraged me and had a lot of patience. It is important to surround yourself with people who trust that it is possible and who encourage you to continue.”

Transform for change

Transforming is a process full of uncertainties in which all help is welcome.

• Reinvent yourself; your second chance. Mario Alonso puig (Ed platform). A classic to transcend limiting beliefs and focus on what you want and not what you fear.
• The internal dismissal. Lofti El-Ghandouri (Ed. Alienta). Guide to change when work feels like a prison.
• The black book of the entrepreneur. F. Trías de Bes (Ed. Knowledge management). The most common mistakes when starting a project.
• Ipyme.org. Personalized interactive services from the Directorate General for Industry and SMEs to create the business plan and access resources.
• Emprendelo.com is the center for entrepreneurs in the community of Madrid.
• Crowdsourcing.org all about this new way of finding collaborations for a project thanks to the internet.