juntos en accion - together in action - agir ensemble

My name is Nelson. I am 16 and I have been working at the town market in San Felix, Bolivar State, Venezuela, for four years. I live in a very poor neighborhood in San Felix with my mother and my siblings. I work every day from 5 am till midday, without a break. I earn around 35,000 bolivars per day ($16.2), which does not allow me to study, save money, or buy medicines when I get sick. What I earn is just enough for transport, and to help pay the food at home and buy some personal things. At the market we are mistreated by the police, the customers and the managers. They do not value our work and we have no benefits as workers since we are self-employed. We have no place to rest, to go to the toilet, or to take clean water. This is very disheartening.
My dream is that our work is valued by everyone at the market because we are the ones who carry the goods. I dream that we have a canteen where we can eat, rest, and have clean water, medicines if we get sick, and an organization to know our rights and defend them. We are already making progress in this respect thanks to our YCW friends (Wilmer, Marcos, Yarlin, and others) because we have meetings to discuss our problems and possible solutions. They have given us t-shirts, we have shared meals together, we are taking a computer course at the YCW Youth Action Support Office, and we are preparing some workshops on values and on health and safety at work. In this way, things are improving and we will continue our struggle as carters.