Exploring Oaxaca and Beyond

Peach’s Blog on Oaxaca Trip

"Esperanza International cultivates global citizenship through international service experiences in working toward a better world."

March 28, 2011

As an intern, I have been invited to observe and research a new study abroad program option with Esperanza International in Oaxaca. To get a good introduction to the work of Esperanza and the missions of Esperanza International (EI) and Fundacion Esperanza de Mexico (FEM), I began with attending the board retreat at the Posada in Tijuana. We drove across the border in a van belonging to FEM, and I spent the weekend getting acquainted with volunteers and board members who have been coming here for years. The following are thoughts generated as I head into Mexico on this journey.

3/17-20

My last trip across the U.S.-Mexico border at Tijuana was decades ago, when people were able to cross more freely. Most significant to me now is the apparent distinct line of demarcation. Today there are two fences to cross that the U.S. Border policy has created between those who have privilege and those who are not welcome on “our side.” Friendship park was once a meeting place for both communities and it is now on the U.S. side and provides a barrier region for border patrol. San Diego is beautiful, groomed and green at the start of spring, March 20, while it is already dry where irrigation is not so common here, where water is at a premium. It is so much hillier than I remember as we drive through the city on our way to La Gloria, the suburb that is the home to Esperanza in Mexico.

I came to the retreat desiring to understand what motivates the people to participate and to learn how they understand the new mission to create opportunities for individual growth in global citizenship. I am also interested in the process of transformation that occurs as people participate in this program and plan to lead a group from Seattle University through a “reintegration” process as they digest their learning from a week with Esperanza in Tijuana. They arrived on the evening before we left and we will meet upon my return. Father Ted, from Long Island University, and board member shares his definition of transformation: “it is about the human connection across and through the experience of common humanity.”

What I understand volunteers experience here is an opportunity to meet and work alongside people they would not normally come into contact with. A positive outcome is that they are impressed by learning that we are more the same than as different as one might believe from mere appearances. In considering the value and impact of such an experience, he says it is difficult to measure the ineffable. Several others I question say that this process often happens months or years after such a profound experience, but it does inform a person’s choices.

Another group leader, Sister Colleen, from the Providence Health Systems in Los Angeles says her cohort usually creates a way of giving and marking the experience. Recently, they put together a cookbook of recipes from the communities they have served. These have become a very popular means of fundraising for future trips. Another participant and intern, Hana Truscott, was motivated by her experience with Esperanza last summer, in the pilot volunteer program. She leaves soon for Macedonia with the Peace Corps. Marcel, EI board president, shares his goal for the weekend as an effort to build strong roots in Esperanza. This is symbolically illustrated with the logo, a tree of life.

Tijuana is peaceful from all appearances. Car and truck drivers seem to defy the lines meant to create order, yet people are amazingly polite and attentive to others on the road. I wonder about all the pedestrians crossing everywhere, but none seem to get injured despite close calls. While hunting down a recently rained out dirt road, we ask for directions, laughing that we look like we are lost “gringas” who took a wrong turn at the border, we realize the irony of this, that it is not so easy for people coming from the south wanting to wander around in U.S. territory. It does not feel unsafe here, however, and long term residents confirm their confidence in the people of Tijuana. Government housing marches up the hillsides in textures and colors, lending a sense of order within chaos. I am excited to go to Oaxaca and celebrate the completion of the first 23 homes.

3/21

Oaxaca CityArriving by plane via Mexico City, we are excited to be in Oaxaca and head out for an evening adventure in the purple jacaranda tree-lined parks and cobbled streets of this colonial city. Our adventure begins with eating an exotic dinner in the center of the main market place, where we sit with the locals and watch our food being prepared. The food is fabulous—mole, a legendary sauce for meat, is made from as many as 14 ingredients and each cook has her secrets. The sauce I have with my roasted chicken tastes like a spicy semi-sweet chocolate sauce. The tamales are as big as a dinner plate and wrapped in a banana leaf before steaming. We have met up with Chris Larson, also from Seattle, who has a knack for finding humor in almost everything. He is excited to share a bag of roasted crickets with us. “Chaupalines” are also a local delicacy and I am told they are collected from the alfalfa fields in large sacks. I have never seen so many crickets and so many different sizes. Bells toll at all times of day, calling people to mass in one of the beautiful old churches.

3/22

The next day, we take a bus ride over the rough and winding roads to the coast. Puerto Escondido, or the “hidden port” is a former fishing village turned surfing town, though tourism is down due to the economy. The beaches and hotel are fairly empty, giving the impression of a sleepy town. After a long trip and late arrival, we are all tired and ready to crash that night but happy to wake and walk to the beach in order to indulge in the beautiful warm water and easy waves.

It is the beginning of our work week and we have lots of interviews planned, including one for lunch with local Rotary leaders. The Rotary clubs have been big supporters of Esperanza projects and we invite them to visit Rio Grande for the upcoming celebration and to see the “Adocreto” (Adobe+Concrete) brick maker, which was purchased in part by the Del Mar Rotary. These local club leaders are excited about the work with Esperanza and suggest a contact at the local Universidad del Mar for us to explore our idea of creating a study and service program model for students seeking meaningful travel and service experiences.

Rio Grande is approximately 45 minutes up the coast from Puerto and we are picked up for the ride by FEM Director, Josefina Pataky, and Clara Nova, the FEM social worker who organizes the communities in the region. Clara explained to us that there are now up to 100 families in some stage of the process of becoming homeowners with Esperanza. Much has been accomplished by the local families with the help of Rigo, FEM technician, since the last group was here, according to Aimee Khuu, Program Director of Esperanza International. She is so excited to see that the water has receded in the “Los Olivos del Sol” neighborhood, as well as around town, where the first group of homes are almost finished. The town is dusty at the beginning of this dry season, and masons are working to put together the brick homes made of the soil and the labor of this coastal town.

Flagging down one of dozens of moto-taxis, we are given a ride around town to locate one of the finished houses. Coincidentally, it is the home of Aimee’s friend, Jesse, a single mom who has recently returned from Mexico City to live with her relatives. She is one of many who are benefiting from the assistance of Esperanza’s community development model. Others in her neighborhood are in the second group organizing to begin the process of preparing materials for the building of their homes.

Esperanza is a perfect name for this organization as we see the hope in the eyes of the folks who look forward to having a well-built home that they helped to construct. These homes are not only good sturdy shelter but they are rumored to be cooler than the local concrete homes because of the insulating ability and are made with some aesthetic design and concern for function. Large arched windows bring in breezes and covered porches offer a place to rest and visit with neighbors. Homeowners in Los Olivos also are able to purchase extra lots for adding gardens and fruit trees.

3/23

As I meet people of the communities in Rio Grande and talk with leaders from these groups as well as FEM, I am conscious of the mission to cultivate global citizenship. Though implicit in the work that is accomplished in the crossroad between the community and volunteer work, this EI objective is unfolding in the transformational process of developing these communities. The partnership between EI and FEM has created a way of bringing together people of diverse backgrounds and creating opportunities to learn from each other. The objective is not to teach and lead from one direction, but to work together and share with one another.

As I progress in my visit, I find that there is much we need to learn about how people operate in Rio Grande. Meeting with leaders Clara Nava, Javier Pacheco and Susana Torres, Don Sergio, Dona Tina and Rigo Rodriguez; FEM staff and local community organizers, sheds much light on this subject. Beginning with Clara, the social worker, we were introduced to the regional mangrove swamp management and tourism programs. Next, I discovered the long-lost Rigo, who has been missing from Tijuana over the past nine months. The construction and home building process has been directed by construction technician Rigo, who has worked with Esperanza for the past 8 years. Throughout this past year, he’s become a member of the Oaxaca community of Rio Grande in the production of the beautiful homes we celebrated this week.

3/24-26

Former subsistence wildlife hunters and turtle fisherman have been inspired instead to preserve the precious ecosystem that supports their unique way of life. These same families are now volunteering to patrol beaches along the coast where three turtle species nest year-round. We had the delightful privilege of accompanying eight of these men one calm and star-filled evening and saw three “golfita” Tortugas searching for nesting areas. Several of the nests gathered two months ago were releasing hatchlings that we accompanied to the shoreline as well as these females as they returned to the sea. One of the commitments of these leaders is to make sure the turtles have every opportunity to be protected from predators on the ground. Only one of every one-thousand hatchlings is estimated to return to the beach from which they were born ten years earlier; a wonder of nature is that they memorize the beach in those short moments from hatching until they reach the water.

Javier and Susana are elementary school teachers, who, together with educators from 30 other schools, have initiated a unique reading and writing program. Students publish stories about the environment as a result of one year of work, developing an ear for good story-telling and learning the elements of writing style. They are encouraged to create a supportive learning environment and have placed desks and chairs outside in the school garden, where students are able to read and write while in nature. “Profe” Javier is also a successful subsistence gardener, who raises goats and chickens, propagates trees to plant around town, and has taught the pupils about recycling. He and Susana and their three daughters live in a compound with their extended family.

Don Sergio and Dona Tina are the community leaders from the first group of home-builders in Rio Grande. They also live in a family compound and have paid to build a house for their daughter and her children to live nearby. The celebration of the first completed houses was held on their property and it was an inspiring presentation. 150 guests came for a potluck celebration complete with seafood soup, chicken en mole, beef brisket, fish tacos, ceviche, fresh coconut milk, juices made from hibiscus flowers, watermelon and more. A local band entertained the group and led local dance demonstrations.

All in all, it has been a fabulous week of adventures, learning and “convivencia”. I’m looking forward to seeing the fruits of our effort to expanding the volunteer program into the Costal Region of Oaxaca. Community members are delighted and awaiting the arrival of the next volunteers to the work sites. Stay tuned--It looks like Esperanza will be introducing the language study and volunteer group opportunities for volunteers this coming summer and fall.

holy land

Our first task in approaching
Another people
Another culture
Another religion
Is to take off our shoes
For the place we approach
Is holy.

Driving across the border last week into Tijuana, I felt like I was coming home. I found myself beaming with joy, honored to be able to return to a place that for me, can only be described as holy land. In the weeks leading up to my departure, I was surprised by the reactions of horror I encountered when telling otherwise well-meaning American citizens of my trip to Tijuana. Realizing the image in their mind's eye was so different from my experience, I felt compelled to share perhaps a less-known reality of this "horrific" place. The hillsides of makeshift houses made of scrap metal, plastic, tires, smashed corrugated cans, tarps, boards, cardboard, and the stench of raw sewage, that were once a shock to my system, no longer define this border town. When I think of Tijuana, I see the many families I've met who have so little, yet love so much. I see a people-to-people culture where I feel more loved, alive and beautiful than I ever have in the States. I taste the mouth-watering tacos and tortas that I crave for months between trips, made with the freshest of meats and vegetables at the nearby taqueria. I acknowledge the presence of violence, but see through the superficial security alerts that too easily become a crutch for inaction and complacency with fear-driven individuals. How easily we dismiss our neighbors.

The word "holy" simply means "set apart." Tijuana is a place set apart, a sacred space in the context of my development towards a compassionate human being and global citizen- it is where I first experienced a reality outside of my Idaho upbringing: of injustice and seemingly excruciating poverty, of a different reality co-existing on the same continent. To return to Tijuana is to remember a high schooler's transition from ignorance to awareness, symbolic of my first glimpse into a bigger world. I spent last week in meetings with Esperanza's board of directors, asking, defining and refining our mission statement. Who is Esperanza International? What does it do? How does it do it? The questions we were discerning for the organization morphed into an evaluation of my own personal mission statement. Who am I? What do I want to do with my one wild and precious life? How do I want to do it? I won't tell you my answers to these questions. But I will tell you that Tijuana is where my personal mission emerged, ever so subtlety, back in high school. I am extremely grateful for the St. Pius X Mexico Mission Trek that opened my door to this sacred place 12 years ago, and to Esperanza International who has kept the door open this past year by taking me on as their Development Intern.

The next time you hear mention of Tijuana, or the violence in Mexico, or anywhere that brings to mind horrific images for that matter, I hope you will remember that beneath the security warnings, there is a vibrant world of good, hard-working people who would show you the depth of their hospitality if you only dared to take off your shoes and walk into their world.

Paz y Esperanza, (peace and hope)
Hana Truscott
Development Intern
Hana.Truscott@esperanzaint.org

Introduction from Long-Term Volunteer: Kimberly

Hey everyone,

So I realized that I never got around to introducing myself. Getting settled in and accustomed to the work has filled up much of my time, not to mention the fact that I am super self-conscious when it comes to my writing.

Sooo for those of you who haven’t met me through your group visits since mid-august… I’m Kimberly—Kimber for short. I grew up in Rhode Island and went to university at C. W. Post Long Island University. I recently graduated in May of 2010 with a degree in Social Work. My first experience with Esperanza was through the campus ministry at Post. I joined the trip not knowing a single person and not knowing at all what to expect. After an amazing week, I decided to continue working with the campus ministry and Esperanza by joining the trip each year. Every year after, the trip offered something different and I kept coming back.

I joined the Esperanza team down here in Tijuana as a long term volunteer this past August. I plan on being here until August of this year. So much has been done and I've learned even more about Esperanza with my time here. After I finish volunteering with Esperanza I will be attending grad school at Tulane University. I will be earning my MSW (Masters in Social Work) with a specialization in International Social Work. I can't stress enough the positive influence Esperanza has had on my life choices. I'm just so grateful to have this opportunity to volunteer long term.

I’d like to thank all the groups I’ve gotten to know since I’ve been down here. Here’s to you making this experience one of a kind –

Cline Family, FCC Bellingham, St. Louise, Bethel Lutheran, Trinity Lutheran, Team Hope, Providence Health System, Neighborhood UUC, Friends of Providence, Seattle U Campus Ministry, Long Island University, and the Bethany/Henderson Group! I don't want to forget my mom and friend Cindy who came down this past week! Thank you for experiencing something that holds a grand place in my heart.

I’m currently working on putting up some pictures of the progress we’ve made since August! Stay tuned!

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News from our Current Long Term volunteer- Eric Reutter

My name is Eric Reutter and I would like to take a second to introduce myself to the Esperanza community.

I am currently the newest long term volunteer for Esperanza International. I arrived in Tijuana in mid-February, and will be staying here until at least August. I participated in about a dozen week-long trips with my youth group and independent groups before I became a long term volunteer. I have a B.A. in Literature from the University of Washington and I hope to go back to school after a few years of travel to become either a teacher or a lawyer.

The reasons I have decided to become a long-term volunteer are numerous. In my previous trips to Esperanza I, like many other people, took part in an experience that significantly altered my world-view. These trips really underscored in my mind the fact that the people of Mexico are more similar to the people of the United States than I had ever imagined, and that the American dream was not something confined to the borders of one country. These trips also made it clear to me that there is a significant need to reduce the fear of our Southern neighbors created by disinformation and the incomplete picture of Mexico painted by mass media. I grew to feel that the program with Esperanza accomplished this task in one of the most effective ways possible, by having Americans and Mexicans work hand-in-hand to achieve a shared value: the dream of a brighter future.

My greatest hope for my time here is that I will be able to help Esperanza continue its mission to combat the “us and them” mentality between the United States and Mexico. This, along with the tangible construction of durable and climate-appropriate housing, are what I believe Esperanza does best. The American author Susan Sontag wrote that, “It is hard for people not to see the world in polarizing terms ("them" and us") and these terms have in the past strengthened the isolationist theme [in America]”. I believe that the Esperanza community formed between groups from the United States and the people of Mexico is one of the most powerful depolarizing forces available to us. In the end, I believe that the Esperanza program helps the people of Mexico as well as the people of the United States. From what I have seen firsthand and what I have heard from families in Mexico, I am sure that Esperanza is working toward a greater good in one of the most effective and powerful ways possible. I have already had my first opportunity to work with a group from the United States and it was a great experience for me. I look forward to working with all the future groups that will be coming down this spring and summer. If you are reading this and have not yet had the opportunity to spend a week with a volunteer group or to get involved with Esperanza, I strongly encourage you to do so.