"I want what this lady has!"

Olga Medina worked with Dora del Hoyo for five years. She describes what she learned from watching Dora in action, and how Dora helped her approach her own work in a new, more profound way.

My name is Olga Medina, I’m originally from Puerto Rico. I came to Italy to work for 5 years, and it’s where I had the great fortune to meet and work alongside Dora.

In our first encounter, she told me, “This girl has to gain weight!” and immediately I loved her, thinking, “This is like my Grandmother!” But I was so impressed with her work ethic: it was incredible. She was a professional “from head to toe” I would say. Everything she did, she approached it from the point of view of professionalism, and how to do things in a professional way. She knew everything you had to know about the work of the home.

She not only worked well, but you could tell that there was something behind that.

She was a hard-worker. I would say she worked with intensity, but not that kind of intensity that makes you feel so nervous, because you don’t know what to do… What I’m trying to say is that she was very orderly when she worked. She would finish one thing and then start another one.

I always thought when I saw her: what does this lady have? I want to have what she has!

She not only worked well, but you could tell that there was something behind that: she took her call to sanctity seriously. She wanted to be a saint, and she did it in very little ways. For instance, she would explain to me while we were working, “When you put the plate down to set the table, you can think of the person that’s going to sit here, and say a prayer for this person.” It didn't have to be big things: just little things. She would say that if you pray for a person, things can change.

She would say that if you pray for a person, things can change.

She loved every person, and made every person feel special: that was her. Because she was madly in love with God, she loved everyone the same way. If there's one thing I can say about her, it's her love for people. Because she saw that we were all children of God, and she would treat others as such.