< " Interviewing Olimpia Garrido By Andres Guenante " >

Introductory biography of Olimpia Garrido

This woman has a strong character; She is always willing to teach others, her teaching background began back in 1975. She has been teaching for more than thirty years, even though the last three years of her career, she has been leading with a very complicated disease, that has affected her performance as a teacher and as the principal of her elementary school.

The disease that she is leading with is very common in our country, it affects men and women of different ages. This disease is known as “Renal chronic insufficiency”, in simple words, she needs a kidney transplant as soon as possible.

“The key to be successful in life is: to be brave and to have faith in God,
No matter what…” (Mrs. Garrido)

By: Andres Guenante.

A.G: thank you Mrs. Garrido for giving me part of your precious time, could you please tell me about your childhood and how you decided to become a teacher?

Garrido: well, you are welcome, let me see… I was born in the beautiful city of Coelemu, I am the oldest of 5 brothers and two sisters. Both of my parents are dead, but they had the chance to see all of us working as professionals. Two of my brothers chose to become police officers, the other two chose to become mechanics and the last one chose to become a teacher like me and my two sisters. I chose to become a teacher, because back in the 80´s education was a need.

A.G: where did you study? And was it hard?

Garrido: I studied at the “Escuela Normal” in the city of Chillan for a period of three years, after that I decided to specialize in Spanish language at “Universidad de Concepción”. To tell you the truth, the first three years were very easy, but my specialization was a little bit hard, because of the civil war that was taking place at that difficult period of time.

A.G: when did this happen?

Garrido: This happened in 1973. I was in the middle of my specialization. It was an awful period of time, when I lost some of my dear classmates, I remember that I could not go home for almost two weeks. During that time, one of my closest friend took care of me and gave me shelter.

A.G: do you remember where you began teaching?

Garrido: of course I do, it was in a little town called Vegas de Itata near Coelemu city, and let me tell you that I still have my first payroll.

A.G: how much was it? And what did you do with that money?

Garrido: It was sixteen thousand pesos, I remember that I bought some groceries for my parents’ house, as a way of saying thank you, and I also started helping my brothers with their studies.

A.G: Now tell me, when did you get married?

Garrido: oh boy!, that was thirty one years ago, on February 23rd, 1977.

A.G: now tell me about your husband and your sons.

Garrido: well, my husband is six years younger than me, but that was a boundary for us. We are very happy, he is a very dedicated man, he is a farmer and he loves to worship God. We have three beautiful sons. The oldest is already married and will make me a grandmother some time around November. The middle one is following my steps studying English teaching, and the youngest is in middle school, bringing joy to all of us.

A.G: Which has been the happiest day of your life?

Garrido: well, I would have to say that many. To start my graduation from college, then my promotion from elementary teacher to principal of my school, where I am still working. Then, my marriage, the birth of my 3 sons and like 4 years ago, my students and I got the 3rd place nation wide on the results of the SIMCE Test. This situation brought the attention of the press and the community. They wanted to konw how such a small and poor school could have this kind of results, without using tools like computers, the Internet and some other usual types of technologies.

A.G: now tell me about your rough episodes

Garrido: First, the death of my father, that caused my mom to fall into a depression and later her death, and nowadays my illness.

A.G: how this disease has affected you? And how are you facing it?

Garrido: I was shocked, I felt into depression, I had never been so sick before and I started wondering why God sent me something like this. I was not able to keep up with my classes, I had to go to the doctor every week to take many exams to know how advanced the disease was. Then doctors told me that there was nothing to do, just wait for a kidney transplant or just go straight to dialysis. Since one of my doctors told me that there might be a chance for a transplant without waiting for an unknown donor we could try to search for someone that could be compatible with me; and guess what!!! My middle son is the perfect donor for me. At the beginning I refuse that option, but with time I came to the conclusion that everything happens for a reason and that if God sends me this , it means that I have to fight.

A.G: and to conclude this wonderful interview, what advice would you like to send to our readers?

Garrido: The key to be successful in life is: to be brave and to have faith in God, no matter what. Do not forget that all of us have a purpose in life, so make sure to give 100% in whatever you are doing.