I was thinking last night that some of you may not know about the students we have in college from Haciendita Uno. If you follow this link to the OLGC parish website, you can find pictures and a short BIO for each one in the paperwork there on the scholarship program. Just so you know, Maribel Ventura dropped from college this last semester and will be replaced by one of the students who were on the waiting list. When I get all the info on that person, I will amend the website.
http://192.168.1.4/files/communityoutreach/ES-2009SponsoredStudents.pdf
I took a moment yesterday and located a picture of the river that runs through the La Chakra area of the City of San Salvador and put it here so that you can understand why a “gone fishing” sign is not very appealing. See the river photo above.
I also located some pictures of some homes in La Chakra that are representative of this make shift housing so that you could see what a potential move to the city could mean for these kids if they don’t get a good education. See the housing photo above.
Fr John was teasing me about colleting money to keep me in the make shift housing. I told him to be careful or I would start leaving my plastic bottles and plastic wrappers from food gifts around the house and church lawn. He wondered why and I told him that would be more representative of the conditions in Haciendita Uno and the rest of El Salvador. There are very few garbage collection processes in the country. There are plastic containers scattered everywhere. Quite often, the community collects up trash and then burns it which causes a tremendous amount of air pollution. The La Mora Clinic down the road handles several cases of lung and eye infections and irritations from this kind of trash disposal.
I have been amazed at the number of parishioners who have stopped by and commented that they have seen this kind of housing throughout several foreign countries they have traveled in. They thanked us for making the visual here so that they could be reminded and that their children could become more aware of this kind of reality. I heard the comment the other day to a young boy from his mom that a lot of people in the world live like this. It struck me that when push comes to shove, it is possible that the majority of the world may live like this. I personally have seen these kinds of living conditions in the Mexico dumps, major Mexican cities, El Salvador and Uganda. People find whatever they can and try to make a shelter for themselves and their families.
A mom stopped by late last night to visit with us. She said she had just come from the kitchen at church and wanted to stop by. I asked her later what she had been doing in the kitchen and she said she was dropping off left over food from her daughter’s party for the PBJ Outreach Ministry. She later thanked us for what we were doing and said it was raising her awareness. I thought to myself, “This woman already gets it because she was here for PBJ and is aware of the local poverty in the downtown areas.” I remembered once standing along a railroad track in San Salvador and thinking to myself about the make shift housing that I was looking at, “This is better than what I just saw in the Mexico city dumps!” I was then hit with the realization than we cannot compare poverty from one place to another. Poverty is poverty no matter where it is. It smells and looks the same and the people suffer the same. This young woman was already aware of that.
I got an envelop last night with a good amount of cash in it. The woman who dropped it off said her daughter had collected it as part of a service project collecting pop bottles. Much of the money her note said had been given to a local hospital to help some kids but she wanted us to have the rest to help the kids in El Salvador. Generosity at its best.
A good friend of ours brought dinner for us last night. It was great spending time with her and eating the wonderful meal she prepared. She had called earlier and asked if there was a way for us to keep extra food as she would bring more if she could. I told her thanks but many people in El Salvador in this kind of housing would have no way to keep food so I did not think it was right to try and keep extra. It reminded me of the fact that the main staple for people even in Haciendita Uno is a small round 4 inch in diameter tortilla. They are cooked for every meal and often are the only snack the kids may have between meals. They taste great with some salt and hard cheese!
Everyone’s overwhelming generosity has been greatly appreciated. It reminds me of the time I was in Haciendita Uno and was making a map of the community. When I was done, the family I had met invited me for lunch. I was a little surprised as I had not seen any food when I was going from house to house. However, I accepted and walked to their home. The dad sent a young boy out when we got there and then he motioned for me to take a siesta in the hammock. About an hour later, the young boy returned with a small bag of rice and some beans. The mother cooked them and we had lunch before I left to return to Suchitoto. I have always been amazed by this kind of generosity and hospitality. It is good to see the same thing here each night in Plymouth.
My final thought today is about remembering. A woman last night said thanks for helping us to remember the needs of others. One of the main things the people in Haciendita Uno have told us that is of great value to them is that, “You remember us.” They live in a world disconnected from us in so many ways but they know they are not alone since the people of OLGC pray for them and keep them in our hearts. This is the true meaning of solidarity.
We have collected $14,231.47 and have only $18,768.53 to go!
Peace and all good, Deacon Don
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