Meet The Inspiring Laundromat Employee Rebuilding His Life One Ironed Shirt At A Time

"People tell me I'm old. Yes, on the outside, but inside I have the heart and will to move on."

Meet Enrique Alcántara, a Mexico City resident who survived the earthquake that hit central Mexico on September 19.

Yuriria Ávila

The earthquake caused enough damage that the laundromat where he was employed had to shut down. He had been working at that laundromat for 10 years.

The building that housed the laundromat was one of the first to be demolished by the Mexico City government, after the earthquake had caused part of the building to collapse.

Twitter: @ss_araceli / Via Twitter: @ss_araceli

The building also housed a grocery store, a barber shop, a deli, and six families in the upper floors.

Since he was only an employee of the laundromat, and not the owner, Alcántara was not able to receive government aid.

Yuriria Ávila

After being forced out, the building's residents and employees set up a shelter on the street to stow their belongings

Yuriria Ávila

That's when a neighbor gave Alcántara an iron for him to continue his work.

Yuriria Ávila

He was able to connect the iron to a power strip installed by the shelter.

In an act of solidarity, customers of the now-defunct laundromat continue to take their clothes to Alcántara for service.

Yuriria Ávila

Following his experience with the earthquake, Alcántara told BuzzFeed News Mexico that he'd like to own his own laundromat one day.

@Monse8080

"If you can help me in any way: please tell me where I could store clothes and continue ironing, even if it's a garage," he told BuzzFeed News Mexico. "People tell me I'm old. Yes, on the outside, but inside I have the heart and will to move on."

This post was translated from Spanish.