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Newsletter “Voices” # 5 July 2009
This newsletter is true to its name “Voices.” I have excerpted some recent reflections sent in by some of the 45 Intercordians living in Eastern Europe, Africa, Central and South America. I trust there words will touch you and give you some sense of the beauty and pain that is evident everywhere in our world today and how it is affecting the students in the program. If you wish to read more stories or the complete text of the ones below, please go to www.intercordiacanada.org and scroll down to the Blog section. Peace, Joe
Kristen/Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Through my time here I have met children who are unable to receive an education, who do not have enough food to eat, and who work selling things in the markets to help their families survive. Being around these children has taught me so much about the realities of child poverty, and what it means to be a poor person in Honduras. Mostly it has taught me that the support I have received from my family and community throughout my life is not something to be taken for granted. The children I work with in the markets are not the worst off, and I see children suffering from even worse circumstances in my trips through the markets and city centre. On a typical day I get asked for money or food from several children, or alternatively get asked to buy something from them. I think about my own upbringing, and how I absolutely relied on my parents for things like food and affection and shelter. These children must find food of their own and have to take their survival into their own hands.
Tabitha/Sega, Ghana
There is a radio station here called “Radio Ada”, a station dedicated to empowering the Dangme people and keeping people informed about local and world issues, in their own language. They did a program once about poverty, going into local villages and asking people whether or not they believed they were living in poverty, whether or not poverty can be eradicated and how. I was told there was a mixed response, some saying yes, they thought they were living in poverty and others saying no. It was an interesting thing to think about, as by Western standards the people in the small communities here are definitely below the poverty line. Despite this fact, most people would say they are not impoverished. Although nutritious food and an abundance of protein is not always easy to come by, the people here always have food to eat. Living here, the thought of poverty doesn’t often cross my mind.
Daniel/Consuelo, The Dominican Republic
I work and play with children from Barrios 41 and Filieu, and they are so full of energy, joy, smiles and spirit. At “Casa Leandra”, a local school, kids from the ages of 7 to 10 are enrolled in spelling classes, mathematic and biblical lessons, and of course lots of play time with yours truly. With their big smiles, matching blue shirts and shoes, and lunch and snack time, I didn´t at first think that they were impoverished but just walking into their muddy pathed, multi-colored tin housed neighbourhood to meet their families definitely changed my perspective.
Tania/Mancini, Swaziland
Last Sunday, I woke up feeling ready to go back to Canada. I will be forever grateful for all that I’ve learned about the injustice, inequality, and the world. But being exposed to the terrifying realities of injustice and neglect has left me feeling heartbroken, useless, and ultimately, burnt out. I woke up and just couldn’t picture myself doing this any longer. The pain that comes from witnessing someone suffer as a result of barriers and inequalities that are so preventable and unnecessary is just debilitating and nearly impossible to cope with. However, although that morning I felt like I had had enough, at the same time, I realized that going home would be incredibly frustrating too. It will be frustrating to process and make sense of what I have lived here, in addition to recognizing that after I leave, it is extremely likely that the injustices that nearly drive me to insanity will still remain.
Brigette/Gornji-Vakuf-Uskoplje, Bosnia-Herzegovina
I used to think apartheid disintegrated with Nelson Mandela’s human rights movement in South Africa. I was wrong. While GVU is not divided in terms of ‘race’, it is divided in terms of ethnicity and religion, something like ‘religious/ethnic apartheid’. A single road divides the Muslim and Christian populations, as well as their homes, employment, and public services. They do not mix. This is also the case in many other cities and towns in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and these cities are microcosms of the country as a whole. This ‘ethnic apartheid’ is even manifested in beer. I wanted to try a “Sarajesko” beer last night (Hamdija, my host dad, says it’s the best beer in Bosnia) but not a single bottle of Sarajevsko was to be seen at Charlie’s, Cafe. Why? Because Charlie’s is located on the Croatian side of town, and Sarejesko is a Bosnian beer that Bosnians drink, not Croatians. As is such, I am excited to be working for an NGO with such an important mission: to build co-existence and trust between both populations. The Omladinski Centar (Bosnian for ‘Youth Centre’) is the only place in Gornji Vakuf where Christian and Muslim young people can hang out together. I feel my role coordinating activities for children and youth between the ages of 8 and 13 is important knowing that friendship and co-operation between Christian and Muslim children can stop prejudices from being passed on from parents to younger generations who represent the future.
Kim/Mancini, Swaziland
My host family has impacted me the greatest. Their concern for my well-being and happiness has warmed my heart, and the way they treat me has made me feel so accepted and appreciated. From the first day I arrived they treated me as one of their own family members. They accepted me whole-heartedly and their kindness has been such a blessing. They have invited me to share their home, and their hearts. They give me so much everyday. They do not have fancy things like I have at home, but whatever they have, they are willing to give. Their kindness and sincerity is so great. I never expected to feel such a close connection with people I hardly know, and who have such different lives. We laugh, joke, and smile together often. Since there is no television in my home, we often spend the nights conversing and just being together which is very enjoyable and heart warming. These experiences with my host family have opened my heart, and have created within me a greater appreciation for relationships in my life. I have realized the important role that family, community, and friends play in life. Life is not all about what we can do for ourselves; rather, it’s about what we can do for the people in our life. It is not important what we have in our life, but whom we have in our life.
Jessica/Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Perhaps it is easier to do for others – and just being with others is much more of a challenge. There are many times when I think I know best, or times when I want to explain the way we do things in Canada. But I am living in a very different culture, and therefore this community has taken on a different shape and form, a different way of doing things. I am here to be with these people, to learn from them and to build relationships. One of the people I spend time with named Juan, makes it easy to just be with him. He is 15 years old and has lived in the home where I help out for most of his life. Juan doesn’t speak but has one of the most expressive faces I have ever seen. He is teaching me to just be – to live and to share life with him and the others. That is all he is asking of me with his expressive eyes, his smiles and his ever-moving hands. I am learning to just “be,” and to accept that I do not always have to have the right answers or the knowledge to “do.”
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