La herencia de los vulnerables

Hi friends!

Abrazos from Ecuador! This blog post will end up being all over the place, but I hope to share a few activities and prevalent themes of our last few weeks work.

First, Mount Sinai made the news! Two all-star Hogar de Cristo volunteers from Spain and Chile presented their two-year collaborative project entitled “La herencia de los vulnerables” (The inheritance of the vulnerables). They first presented this to the presidents of the eight community groups in Mount Sinai one night in the neighborhood. Then Ecuavisa, a national and international television program, came to Mount Sinai to film interviews of the community leaders’ opinions and needs and take footage of the dire state of some sectors. The main topics covered were the legalization of land, quality of life, informal work, education, and the natural risks during the rainy season. This concluded with a book launching this past week at La Universidad Catolica de Guayaquil where the volunteers published their findings and presented it to a few government officials. Not only was it amazing to accompany the community and Hogar de Cristo throughout this exciting time, but the nerd in me LOVED all the presentations – I learned a lot!

A few people throughout the week told us what a big deal this publicity was. The only times Mount Sinai makes the news is for a murder or crime that occurs – and therefore the only perception most other Ecuadorians have of Mt Sinai is as a dangerous place to never visit. Never has there been a news crew here to film the actual state of poverty. To actually recognize the humanity of the people living here. It was an inspiring and humbling experience to see both the excitement and nerves the people of Mount Sinai had before going on camera (Mike and I gave out many hugs and high fives before and after). It had me questioning how often anybody actually asks them themselves what their needs are or their daily life is like.

El Universo, a newspaper, also published an article. (http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/09/04/1/1445/monte-sinai-vive-condiciones-vulnerabilidad.html). For you non-Spanish speakers, try popping it into Google translate to at least get the gist of it.

One of my other jobs here is as the Rostro de Cristo accountant. While I have never even taken an accounting class, I’m excited to learn. This past week I had my first closing of all August cash and expenses. I’ve clearly already adjusted to “Ecuatime” because I began going through the receipts around 7pm Thursday night when they were due 7am on Friday morning – as you all know, I am not typically the procrastinating type. I was bummed that I had to miss out on part of the volunteer dinner with the Santa Clara group in country and was dreading what looked like a couple hours of work after a long day of working. Literally as I pulled the first receipt out of the envelope, the power went out (happens often and at random times). All I could do in that moment was laugh and say “God does have a sense of humor.” So I accounted by candle light and entered the info into a little notebook. This was just another moment of needing to take a step back, recognize that most everything is out of our control in this year, and all I can really do is accept that and adjust. Ecuador continues to humble me – everyday things I’ve always taken for granted like consistent electricity or access to a computer is no longer a given. This small moment reminded me of a quotation from the book I just finished Gracias! By Henry Nouwen, an account of his 6 month stay as a Maryknoll missioner in Peru (highly recommend the book as well):

“All the functions of life, which previously hardly required attention, are complicated and time consuming operations here: washing, cooking, writing, cleaning, and so on. The winds cover everything with this layers of dust, water has to be hauled up in buckets from below and boiled to be drinkable, there is seldom a moment of privacy with kids walking in and out all the time, and thousands of loud sounds make silence a far away dream…Living here not only makes me aware that I have never been poor, but also that my whole way of being, thinking, feeling, and acting is molded by a culture radically different from the one that I live in now. I am surrounded by so many safety systems that I would not be allowed to become truly poor…I am not poor as my neighbors are. I will never be and will not ever be allowed to be by those who sent me here. I have to accept my own history and live out my vocation, without denying that history.”

Additionally, in accordance with reading the book Gracias!, I have been thinking a lot about gratitude and humility in these past weeks. I come from a place of privilege in a number of ways (health, economic stability, education, etc etc) and I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can humbly enter into this community and accompany through my work at Hogar de Cristo with gratitude. Last week during our spirituality night we reflected on a bible passage that for me really connected on this theme: “When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood’” (Luke 21:1-4)

This passage is so clearly evident in our everyday life here. People are constantly giving to us from a place of poverty. Even though they may be making it by day to day in terms of money, they will ALWAYS feed us a plate of food if we are visiting, and usually give us the largest plate. From their place of poverty, they not only offer us their endless hospitality and love, but what little they have to eat as well. Upon hearing this passage, I began reflecting on how I, as a volunteer, can give from my own places of poverty within myself as well. Not just participating in the community in the ways that come most easy, like joining into a soccer game with kids or cooking with the mothers, but giving in even those manners that are difficult or uncomfortable for me.

To wrap this up I’ll just list a few other things we’ve been up to: There are three Ecuadorian Jesuit novitiates working in our office at Hogar de Cristo for this month. Mike and I have had fun getting to know them and we have been working with them to run after school extra help in the neighborhoods (it’s nice to speak English for a bit as we help with English homework!). I’ve also been accompanying another volunteer who is giving a three-part workshop series on intra-family violence to groups of women in the community. Our first US retreat group from Santa Clara University was here for a week staying in Duran – we had a great day in Sinai with them introducing them to neighbors and our parish life. I’ve become the resident baker – we have been baking banana breads for birthdays and celebrations. Ecuadorians have never had it, but love it and call it “pan de gringo”. I’m also slowly learning how to cook like an Ecuadorian – our neighbors love to share recipes and cooking tips – we are all going to a neighbor’s home tomorrow for lunch to cook and eat Yapingacho (spelling? haha). There’s so so much more to share, but all’s good in Ecuador.

Love and miss you all!
Colleen

Photo Blog

Hi Friends,

All is well in Ecuador. Things have slowly picked up as we get into our routines and continue to meet new neighbors and friends. As a result, I haven´t had time to sit down and write a blog post, and thought instead I would share a few photos from our first month here in Ecuador....

The decision...

Orientation - the whole RdC/JVC crew

First dinner in our new home

First time swimming in the Pacific Ocean! (Day at Las Playas with all volunteers)

Visiting Grego´s family in Nobol

St. Narcisa de Jesus

Dinner with Padre John

Mt Sinai at night

Iguana Park

Maleconn lighthouse (Guayaquil)

Guayaquil at night - view from lighthouse

ALL PHOTO CREDIT TO MIKE - City of Guayaquil

 

Mt Sinai

Mt Sinai

Mt Sinai

Poco a Poco: Reflections on Our First Month...

View of Mt Sinai from Church Bell Tower

This past Wednesday (Aug 22^nd) marked our first complete month in Ecuador! It still feels a bit surreal, even one month later. At times I still catch myself taking in these surroundings as our new home as I see a new face or landmark. It is impossible to accurately paint a picture of what this month has been – to encapsulate the feelings of joy felt in breaking bread with our new Ecuadorian neighbors; sorrow in learning about the grave and often unjust situations Mount Sinai citizens experience; uncertainty as we take our first solo steps around the neighborhood and attempt to engage in conversation in Spanish; and excitement at each small success (and I mean small at times - like just nailing a new Spanish phrase) we experience poco a poco. The best I feel I can do at this point to share the experience is to share a few ideas and questions that I’ve been journaling and praying about.

First and foremost, it has been a slow transition process to our new lives here, especially to the level of poverty we will experience. I took a moment to jot in my journal: “We are halfway through our second full day in Ecuador and I cannot fully grasp that these surroundings will be my reality for the next full year. I see dirt roads. I see cane houses. I see trash burning in the streets. I wonder if I will ever be desensitized by the poverty that surrounds me. While it would make my daily life easier, I hope not” (7/24/12). However, it has probably taken me about the entire month to fully let the level of poverty here hit me. Often times these are the streets and the faces that get pushed aside, that get ignored, that people turn their heads away from. In order to enter into this year, I believe part of that is opening my heart to this situation and allowing my heart to be broken open.

One of the biggest obstacles I have faced in this first month, in attempting to live poco a poco and relish in every small success, is letting go. Letting go of the diet I am used to. To the exercise routines I had. To the comforts of home in the US. To my health at times. Honestly, to all control in general. However, that is the reality of the poor. While we live in the same neighborhood, attend the same mass, eat the same food, we will never reach solidarity with the poor. In this year I will never face the same fears and uncertainties. I will never understand what it is like to not know where my next meal will come from. I will never understand fear around receiving medical care. The best I feel I can do is to embrace this loss of control, this uncertainty as experiencing some sense of solidarity with the poor.

Since we have arrived many neighbors we have visited ask us why we came or what work we will be doing here. At times, it feels discouraging to think of the many needs this community has and question what a bunch of recent college graduates can do to address them. However, week by week I think I discover more ways that God intends to use my community mates and me as an instrument of His service. For instance, this past week we had Silvia, the coordinator of church programming, over for dinner. During the school vacation the church hosts a type of camp and invites each of us volunteers to come and teach workshops or skills we may have. She went around asking us what talents we have, giving the example of music and dance from years past. When she got to me I laughed saying I definitely have no musical or artistic talents, but I can play soccer and basketball. She didn’t know why I was downplaying my ability to play sports as a female. She said what an impact seeing a female playing sports with confidence could have on the younger females. This gave me some seed of hope. That while I can do nothing to combat the deeply rooted machismo culture of Latin America, that I may somehow be able to serve as a role model for young girls on their ability to break gender norms, to live empowered lives, and to be symbols of strength.

In my own opinion, half of any friendship or relationship is just showing up. Just sitting in the stands of a sports game or concert with a smiling, supportive face. Or giving a high five after a small success. Words aren’t even necessary. Due to our limited Spanish vocabulary, I have both been embracing this idea and noticing the beauty of simply being present to another. While at times it is easy to feel useless amongst the countless needs the community has, maybe there is value in just our physical presence. Maybe there is value in being an example of a strong female figure playing soccer with the boys. Or a smiling face as mass willing to be dorky, awkward, and stupid stumbling over the words and accompanying hand motions of songs. Or just a willingness to sit in the homes of our neighbors and simply listen. One book that I have been slowly rereading during our time here is Tattoos on the Heart by Greg Boyle. One thing that stood out to me when I first read it a few months ago was his ability to remember each homie’s name. What power there is in being called by name, in recognizing the innate human dignity we all possess. So, while at times I’ve questioned what we are doing here, what we can complete, how we can assist the lives of our neighbors (especially without fluency in Spanish yet!), for this first month I have really just focused on saying hello to every neighbor I pass, calling them by name, and trying to convey my willingness to sit or to walk with them.

While this in no way can summarize what a month this has been, I hope that this better paints a picture of what has been running through my mind as I’ve taken my first steps in Ecuador.

Love and miss you all,

Colleen

Más de una casa, un hogar (More than a house, a home)

Sun setting over our neighborhood; taken over our wall

 Hi friends!

Week 2 in our job placements is going well and we are all starting to find our niches and get into a routine. Mike (the other Rostro vol working in Proyecto Misión) and I have been working out a schedule and reading a lot this week on the Hogar de Cristo organization, the demographics of Mount Sinai, and the National Development plan of President Rafael Correa. Additionally, all of us are helping out once a week at Ana´s after school program called Ave María (I go every Tuesday). It services children in the Mount Sinai area whose parents work very late or who have very rough home situations. And lastly, I am the Rostro de Cristo accountant and hope to learn more through this position on the inner-workings of an international non-profit.

I wanted to focus this post on my primary placement, community organizing at Hogar de Cristo. In order to understand the work I will be doing, it is first important to grasp the situation we live in now.

Mount Sinai is an invasion community that is 5-9 years old and has about 50,000 inhabitants. Plots of former farm and swamp land were sold by a pseudo-owner and residents from the city and mountains flocked here for the opportunity to own their own land. Although the residents paid for their land, the government does not recognize the land as legally theirs because it was sanctioned off for agricultural use before the land-trafficer sold it. Working towards legalizing the land with community leaders is one of the primary objectives of my office.

These communitties face unique challenges as it is not recognized as legal land. We have no running water - water is delivered by a truck to our home about once a month. We have only one paved road leading up to our neighborhood. In the dry season the dust causes many lung related issues and in the rainy season the mud will make some roads inpassable. We have no electric meters in Mt Sinai. Most all electricity is stolen, and frequent power outages are common. The homes here are most often single cane houses built on stilts for protection during the rainy season (Hogar de Cristo provides cane home for $25 per month over 3 years and donates them to those in desperate conditions).

The target group of citizens living in Mt Sinai of the project live in grave, difficult, and complex conidtions. 8% of people over the age of 10 cannot read or writeñ a grave difficulty in finding work and earning wages for your family. Only 7.2% of the homes have access to water through the public network - 87% have access through water trucks, wells, etc which pose health risks. 45% work in commercial jobs, domestic jobs, and in informal manners. 24.9% homes make less than $200 per month and 57% make between $200 and $499.

In collecting the above data, the (translated) objective of the project of my office is to identify 200 vulnerable families from the Mt Sinai sector to participate in a process of changes in order to better the conditions of life in their territory and to take advantage of teh existing resources and opportunitites for development.

I´ll end with a quotation from Padre Alberto Hurtado, S.J. (founder of Hogar de Cristo) that really resonated with me during our orientation:

Ante cada problema, ante los grandes de la tierra, ante los problemas políticos de nuestro tiempo, ante los pobres, ante sus dolores y miserias, ante la defección de colaboradores, ante la escasez de operarios, ante la insuficiencia de nuestras obras: ¿qué haría Cristo si estuvieron en mi lugar?

-Padre Alberto Hurtado, S.J.

(Faced with each problem, faced with the greatness of the land, faced with the political problems of our time, faced with the poor, faced with their pains and miseries, faced with the defection of collaborators, faced with the scarcity of production, faced with the insufficiency of our works: What would Christ do if he were in my place?

Love and miss you all,
Colleen

Mt Sinai volunteers, old and new, at our last dinner together

This is our first week alone as Rostro volunteers, all the amazing ¨veteran¨volunteers left on Saturday. Last week we wrapped up orientation by discerning worksite placements for each volunteer after visiting them all, doing massive clean ups of the volunteer houses and had a fun day at the beach. For me and for many others it was our first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean - add in the peanut butter sandwiches we had for lunch and it was a perfect day!

I am excited to share that I will be working at a Jesuit organization called Hogar de Cristo in the office Proyecto Mejoramiento del Habitat y Desarrollo de las familias de Monte Sinai (basically community organizing). The organization approaches development and sustainability from many angles - some other offices include health, pastoral ministry, education, microfinance, and social agriculture. I´m hoping to have the opportunity to attend some of the workshops hosted by the microfinance office and collaborate on a few projects. It should be a great learning experience. I´m hoping to be able to explore all the different offices because I love the mission of the organization. We just learned yesterday that the vision of Hogar is ¨Estamos contribuyendo a la restitution de los derechos de las personas en mayor situacion de pobreza, vulnerabilidad o exclusion, incidiendo en transformaciones estructurales hacia una sociedad mas justa, equitativa, e incluyente en el Ecuador¨ (We are contributing to the restitution of the rights of people in situations of poverty, vulnerability or exclusion, influencing structural transformations towards a more just, equal, and inclusive society in Ecuador).

The first week at Hogar is going well - yesterday we had an all day orientation to the organization filled with many introductions and presentations. The woman leading the day said one things when speaking on the importance of the Jesuit identity of the organization that really resonated with me. She said that when she first began working, one of the Jesuit priests asked how she arrived here. She listed previous worksites and contacts at Hogar who helped her. The priest corrected her saying ´you are here with the accompaniment of God -this is exactly where God needs  you to be¨. She really had me questionin how often in the past few months as I´ve been questioned why I am choosing to volunteer for a year with Rostro de Cristo I have asked or responded to the questions ¨God why have you brought me here, what do you want of me? and then offered up my gifts in service.

Now that we are starting to settle in after our first two weeks of transition a few thoughts from orientation have continually resurfaced. First, back in Boston when we asked Rostro and JVC alums who came to present or hang out for advice, most had one similar answer - a smile, sometimes a chuckle, and ´you have no idea what lays ahead´. The alums were right - everything here is different than we envisioned and it´s interesting to think now, as we begin building relationships, how these neighbors will shape our year in Ecuador and our lives in general. While terrifying, yes, not knowing what is ahead, what a gift to be able to enter into this year with an open heart and and open heart with the most valuable thing we have to offer is simply our love.

Secondly, I was told ´you will feel alive everyday.´ These first weeks I have felt, I mean truly experienced, every single moment with all 5 senses. Feeling even those intangible concepts, like love, in tangible ways.

Lastly, an Ecuadorian phrase that we´ve heard repeatedly and are all trying to embrace is ´poco a poco´. (little by little) While we may daily express how nice it would be to wake up fluent in Spanish tomorrow, we can find life in the struggle in between. I am trying to slow down and embrace and appreciate each individual step of the journey.

While we are all doing well and enjoying our new placements and neighborhoods, I try to remain conscious of not romanticizing the poverty. The conditions many of our neighbor live in is grave and unjust. The land we live on isn´t even legalized by the government. Most of this first week at Hogar has been spent reading about the demographics and needs of the community and at some point in the future I hope to put together a summary to share with you all. So while it is easy in this honeymoon phase to almost envy the love, hospitality, etc of the poor, I am trying not to romanticize the situation tha they do not want to be living in. I cannot come into community organizing with any solutions either, just a willingness to accompnay and empower others to foster change. I think it will be a difficult, humbling, yet growth-inspiring process.

Love and miss you all!
Colleen

First week in Ecuador...

Hi Friends,

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post in Boston, we are in the middle of a wonderful,but very busy two week in country orientation. When we arrived to Ecuador on July 22nd we were greeted at the airport with screams and hugs from all of the current Rostro de Cristo volunteers living in Ecuador. They have been an amazing example of our hospitality pillar and have accompanied us through our first steps in Ecuador.

This past week we had many sleepovers with the Arbolito house so that all 13 of us could visit each worksite. This week we are now in the process of discerning which worksites we all fit best in. So stay tuned....

In addition to visiting sites we have also had plenty of neighborhood time, as the veteran volunteers introduce us to those neighbors they spent the most time with this year. Again, the hospitality the Ecuadorians have shown us is amazing. Each family welcomed us with open arms and told us that their doors are always open.

The last major introduction we had this week is to the parish life of Mt Sinai. We can attend 3 different masses each weekend led by an Irish priest, Fr John. Each mass had its own unique population and feel - we honstely loved them all. Our group is also plannning to be involved in some of the programming like youth group, rosary, and catechism. 

Another update...I´ve had  a slight name change here in Ecuador. The name Colleen not only is nonexisent but many have difficulty pronouncing it. So we decided to shorten in to Colie so it still resembles my name. One of my community mates has affectionately created a nickname to explain the pronounciation: Coliflor (cauliflower in english), which always gets a few chuckles from the kids. 

Sorry I do not have more time now to share more about what an amazing and crazy first week this has been. I´ll end this with a poem a fellow communitymate (who loves quotations and poems as much as I!) gave me that I have continued to re-read in the past week as we all try to discern our work placements:

Called to become
You are called to become
A perfect creation.
No one is called to become
Who you are called to be.
It does not matter how short or tall
or thickset or slow
You may be.
It does matter
Whether you sparke with life
Or are silent as a still pool,
Whether you sing your song aloud
Or week alone in darkness.
It does matter
Whether you feel loved and admired
Or unloved and alone,
For you are called to become
A perfect creation.
No one´s shadow
Should dispel your spark.
For God delights in you,
Jealously looks upon you,
And encourages with gentle joy.
Every movement of the spirit
Within you.
Unique and loved you stand,
Beautfiul or stunted in your growth,
But never without hope and life.
For you are called to become
A perfect creation.
This becoming may be
Gentle or harsh,
Subtle or violent,
But it never ceases,
Never pauses or hesitates,
Only is -
Creative force -
Calling you
Calling you to become
A perfection creation.

Love and miss you all!
Colleen

Orientation is coming to a close...

I'm writing one last blog post from BC - the two weeks have absolutely flown by! We got back from our silent retreat last night and are all refreshed, rested, and getting excited/anxious for our departure on Sunday.

This week our days have been filled with more sessions focused on some more practical topics like leading retreat groups and teaching (as many of us will be teaching in some capacity whether that be in schools, after-school programs, or at our parish).

On Tuesday night we "entered into the silence" and then departed for the retreat house in Medway, MA the next morning. Besides meal time, we were given the two days to do whatever we wanted. It was a great opportunity to catch up on sleep, pray, and read. There were trails all over which I wandered/got lost in for hours at a time. Also, Fatima Shrine was just down the street in Holliston, MA so many of us ventured over there to walk the grounds and attend mass.

Tomorrow is our last day at BC. We are getting excited to leave, but it will be strange and sad to leave some of the JV's we have gotten to know so well over these past weeks as some venture off to their own countries and others will be returning home for a few months before departure.

It will be a long day of traveling on Sunday - we will leave here early in the morning, have a layover in Miami, and then arrive in Guayaquil around 10pm. We will have more orientation for our first two weeks in country and will be shown the ropes by the current volunteers living in our communitites. It will probably be a busy and crazy time as we try to learn our way around and most likely immediately  fall in love with the country in this "honeymoon" phase. I'll try to post again when I can.

Apparently the library closes in 5 minutes, so I need to cut this short. Love and miss you all! And below I'm attaching a picture of my Mt Sinai community!

Love,
Colleen