Finding my place and getting to work...

Written June 20, 2008
Finding my place and getting to work…
I have been in my site for a little over a month now and the true colors of my responsibilities (present and upcoming) are beginning to surface. Recently, I have been attending a variety of local group meetings belonging to Participacion Cuidadana (Citizens Participation), the Junta de Vecinos Don Simon (Neighbors Club of Don Simon), and the Consejo Communitario de Salud y Medio Ambiente (Community Advisory Committee of Health and Environment). Surprisingly, (in contrast to what we were informed is the norm for countryside communities during training) there appears to be a large amount of local action and involvement in my community. Due to this local desire to act and initiate projects, I have found myself overwhelmed with invitations to events, meetings, and presentations. Practically everyday involves some sort of formal meeting, informal reunion, office visit, home visit, or planning for an upcoming visit or meeting. Just yesterday I attended an informal presentation by the doctor that heads the local policlinica (policlinic) which is not a hospital or clinic by any means. However, it is the closest public health resource where residents of low economic resources can go to at the very least have a face-to-face consult with a medical professional. Having never met the doctor before I was immediately surprised at his youth. He reminded me of Peace Corps volunteers, the majority of us just out of college, young, enthusiastic, altruistic, and willing to work for practically no pay at all. The doctor’s presentation focused on the common cold (which has been rapidly spreading) as well as dengue. At the end of his presentation, he took the time out to speak with me personally and request that I involve him in any or all of my major projects as he reminded me that health and the environment share a very delicate and codependent relationship.àI couldn’t agree more!
Last Saturday, all of the necessary conditions including good weather and public awareness enabled me to give a community presentation to explain what I would be doing for the next month and a half. Basically, now that I have lived within the community for over a month, I feel comfortable enough and am familiar with enough residents to do home surveys and most of the other components of the required community diagnostic. From now until August, I will be collecting a mountain of information about community groups/associations/cooperatives, public institutions, local natural resources, important and abundant crops, seasonal weather patterns, critical environmental needs and threats, etc. All of this with the final goal that by early August I will be able to make well-rounded recommendations for the most needed and desired projects; which will be my focus during the next two years of my service.
On another note, it has been two weeks that I have been teaching English to children and teenagers on Saturdays and Sundays. Honestly, teaching English was not something that I was planning to do during my service but my attitude at this point is... "if the community wants it…then Kimberly is going to do it" (limits of course would apply if personal safety and values would be compromised). I am happy to report however that at this point it has been a pleasure. I teach six different sessions which are each an hour and a half long and have a total of about fifty students. More than anything, giving English lessons has given me the opportunity to get to know the youth of my community on a much more personal level. One of the saddest discoveries I have made thus far is that a significant amount of youth in my community is illiterate. As children were rushing to register for a session of English with the "Americana", a number of them had to be turned away because they could not write their own names in Spanish, much less read or write. Obviously this has sparked my interest in discovering truly how many adults, children, and teenagers are illiterate and later initiating a literacy campaign and courses. On a small scale, I have already begun. There is young boy that lives a few houses away nicknamed "Pincho." He is ten years old and he can not read or write. He often skips out on school and instead goes out to work in the fields with farmers to earn whatever little money he can. His parents moved to the city and left him to live with his grandparents and an uncle. Honestly, it would be an understatement to say that they have overlooked the young boy’s needs emotionally and educationally. It is now a routine that anywhere from 7-8pm Pincho will arrive at my house, eat supper with me because he is hardly ever fed at that time, and will learn a new letter of the alphabet, its sound, and a few small words using that letter. There is so much motivation and vivacity in this young boy that has been so disenfranchised by his own loved ones and community. I can’t help but feel that it is I who is benefiting more from his company and example than vice versa.
Well, to close up this reflection on my experiences recently I would like to say that although sometimes I feel like a single tree trying to make a difference in a jungle…you then have experiences that teach you just how much you are capable of. For example, although I plan to involve myself in a number of projects and initiatives having to do with the environment, health and education, if all else fails and the only thing I manage to do is teach a young boy to read I would not look back at my service with regret.

It’s always a pleasure sharing…take care and keep me in your hearts as you are in mine.

Love,

"Kimba"…new nickname given to me by a fellow volunteer.