'The shantytown it’s a landscape that leaves you defenceless. The first days I couldn’t find the words to describe it: all my parameters were inappropriate. I had originally come to run art workshops for the children living at the refuge; but I wondered whether my plans were going to be appropriate in this context. The idea to come here to teach something seemed really immodest at that point. ‘Creativity’ is a concept deeply embedded in this environment. Building a house with scrap materials is creative. Earning your living where there is no employment and nothing but poverty all around requires creativity. I didn’t feel entitled to teach art to them: I was afraid I was exporting a cultural model.'