Newsletter september

Our barrio is a desert. The earth splits in the heat and sun, and floods when the rain water cannot penetrate the rock hard soil. The land wasn’t always like this; in fact it takes only about 25 years for an area to transform into this. Twenty-five years ago a flood pushed thousands of people into Resistencia, the capital city of Chaco, from the surrounding areas of the providence. At one point 10 families per day were moving into the city seeking refuge as their entire lives were washed away with the flood waters, many were farmers. It is easier to build a homes in an area if you cut down everything first. Trees, flowers, animals were all sacrificed in this time of emergency to construct homes for this displaced population. Homes went up, people moved in and the uncovered earth dried up and died under the hot Chaco sun. Grass lawns do not exist in the barrio. Trees are few and far between. That lush green that invites us outside in our summers is not part of life in the barrio. Nature is so much more powerful and forgiving than we could ever be though. Change is possible.

Ofelia, my supervisor for the year, would spend her walks with eyes wide open. She would not be looking for dropped change on the sidewalks but rather trees which had taken root in the crack. These infant trees were pulled out gently, placed into a bag with water for travel in the bus, and that tree was the most important thing upon her arrival. Children, Elias, Alfredo, Adriana, would help her pick the perfect spot for that tree. They would use there imaginations to envision what that tree would grow up to be like. Many times that soil would break our shovels it was so hard. Days after many of these trees would get pulled out, stepped on, eaten by horses, and I grew frustrated, but I was reminded again and again of the power of hope and love as Ofelia would come walking up almost everything with a new tree, flower, or vine ready to replenish that soil. Ofelia never bought a plant; she just observed what the earth was offering her and used that to help others.

I get disillusioned often in searching for the cure all. I see poverty and I want to fix everything. I want to give them new roads, jobs, money, and when I can’t think of how to do it in that instant that is where I stop. We come from a society where everything is quick fix, and that is what we have grown accustomed to. We are a society that has the power to buy almost anything, any necessity at a whims notice. Hop in the car, drive to Wal-mart, home depot or well Wal-mart and everything is available. While this is an incredible power that we have, it is also a crutch. The problems we face today in our society, in the USA and worldwide are not problems that can be solved as quickly as just a trip to the closest mega store down the road. Patience is not easy, but those trees that Ofelia planted with those children matter. That is a very freeing notion to hold true. It means that your smile matters, every tree planted matters, every struggle, every pain, every victory matters. Anything that we have to offer, however insignificant to us, should be offered knowing that it truly will affect something, someone. In the face of so much darkness, any light which shines is important.

-james