Noelia Garella, An Example Of Struggle And Resilience
Noelia Garella made headlines and quickly toured the world. His story has managed to move young and old alike. An example of struggle and resilience, she is the first Argentine kindergarten teacher with Down Syndrome.
She was rejected from school when she was just a child. Her cruel teacher called her a “monster” . Today, at the age of 32 and having never lowered his arms, he has his own class. His only objective is to fill each and every one of his students with love and sweetness, without any conditioning.
Noelia never gave up, nor did she let the ruthless comments diminish her. Far from it, he fought to the last consequences to achieve his dream. And she made it happen, becoming one of the few educators with that condition around the world.
The story of Noelia Garella, a symbol of struggle and resilience
In her hometown, Córdoba, everyone knows her as “La Noe”. That girl, who became the pride and emblem of the region, graduated in 2007 as a preschool teacher. Now she is surrounded by children of 2 and 3 years who watch her with deep admiration, but without knowing for sure her greatness.
Noelia Garella started working in 2012. But, of course, no one had told her that life would be easy. And it is that she was immediately forced to face the prejudices and doubts of many. Both parents and managers questioned his ability to take the teaching position.
In the beginning, she was exclusively in charge of the early reading stimulation program at Capullitos preschool. “Very quickly we realized that she had a lot of vocation and gave what the children of the maternity wards appreciate the most, which is love,” confesses Alejandra Senestrari, former director of that educational establishment.
Since January, Noelia has been in charge of the first year room at the Jeromito Maternal Garden. A smile is drawn on his face when he proudly refers to his experience of self-improvement and inclusion. All a testimony of struggle and resilience.
A very happy ‘monster’
“Now I am a happy monster , ” she says about her current life, but remembering that teacher who rejected and discriminated against her. “The sad monster is her,” adds Noelia. However, that school principal was not the only stone in the shoe that Noe’s parents, Mercedes and Delfor, had to get around.
“When Noe, our first daughter, was born, the doctor told me: ‘I have bad news to give you.’ I immediately asked if he had died, and he replied: ‘No sir, worse, it’s Down’ ” , says Delfor, before Noelia’s attentive gaze and Mercedes’s teary eyes.
With her smile as a banner she conquers every heart that has the fortune to know her. He showed himself to the world flaunting his antidote to get ahead. On the one hand, a brilliant bulletproof self-esteem. On the other hand, an enviable anti-prejudice optimism.
Still, he managed to earn the empathy and respect of his colleagues and superiors. He made upright educational communities reflect and dignified his dream with work despite his condition. Regardless of the emotional and affective wounds that he has dragged from childhood.
Fortunately, the past is far away. With struggle and resilience, their planets begin to orbit. Happy to have gotten as far as he did. And happy to be able to offer all her love and support to her students. Now he spreads that love among the little ones that, at the time, a real nefarious monster denied him.
