Socorro Leal Schwiderski

My name is Socorro Leal Schwiderski. I was born in Brasília, Brazil, where I spent the first 20 years of my life. In 1983 I received an athletic scholarship and attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After I graduated in 1987, I went to San Francisco, CA, where I spent the last 16 years. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. I returned to Brazil in 2004. I believe that everyone is capable of changing or touching someone's life. I feel that everyone deserves a chance, respect and the opportunity to be included in a society. The women in the cooperatives might think that they have gotten something from us at Escama Studio, but I think the contrary. I have witnessed, first hand, what makes someone strong, hopeful and resilient. All of that is in their faces, in their everyday lives. I am the one that have gotten something from them!