Day 1: Breaking Barriers
Eye-opening, inspirational, powerful, and motivating are just a few adjectives that describe our experience today. At 9:00 this morning, we stood in front of a beautiful garden with numerous flower beds containing various produce. We got our shovels and clippers, and were ready to go. Little did we know, we were actually going to be working on a fence 500 feet in the opposite direction.
The task was not what we expected; we were told to dig up tree roots and weeds to clear the gate. Though extremely difficult, we accepted the task. It was then that we realized that this must be the difference between serving, not helping.
Erin, our expert gardener, was one of the most amazing human beings that we had ever met. She works at 3 nonprofit organization for over 70 hours a week, and she plans to go to the Peace Corps. She is 1 of two employees, who oversee over 400 gardens that will feed a lower socioeconomic neighborhood that consist of what is know as a Food Desert. Nearby families are not fortunate enough to afford good quality food. Sometimes, they cannot afford food at all. Whenever they are able to obtain food, it is always unhealthy meals as they are cheaper. We found out that this is one of the main causes of obesity. It's a downward spiral that a lot of people do not realize. One really disturbing thing that Erin taught us was that some mothers are forced to give kids laxatives, because they cannot afford proper fibrous foods. It's crazy how these few facts put all of our lives in perspective.
Erin was very good at making us see the big picture. Midway through the project, she told us to step fifteen feet away from the bench. We all obeyed and found a clear metal fence before our eyes, the very same one that had been covered with tree branches and weeds. She made us feel like we had made a difference within an hour.
We dug, dug, and dug for a couple of hours. Some of us successfully pulled our trunks, some of us did not. Still and all, we embraced the task and worked together as one. There was a group of high schoolers at the site, who were actually spending their day off of school serving the community. We were beyond inspired by this. They worked so diligently and embraced so many MAB principles, and honestly, principles that everyone should possess.
Once Erin called it a day, we returned our supplies to her van a little upset. We wanted to continue working, to finish, to feel successful. The service was so indirect; we did not get to actually feed anyone, nor did we get to meet the people who would benefit from the garden. Once again, Erin made us feel valuable. After giving us a tour of the garden, she told us that because we had tackled the fence, the community could focus on actually growing produce. Of course, we needed to be reminded that Paris was not built in one day. It's the little things that equate to the bigger things.These sorts of projects take a lot of time and participation (poco a poco). We loved the overarching idea so much that a lot of us want to start out own community gardens and encourage others to do the same. See, that is the thing. These projects NEED MORE PEOPLE! The more people that reach out, the more families we can feed. Thus, we are taking it upon ourselves to participate in the change and not just hope for it.
Although we did not get to witness our contribution, we know that someday, the garden will flourish, and many family will be fed. Thus, that three hours that we took out of our day will make someone's life. That is what made us happy.
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One of my personal favorite stories today happens to be one of Bethany and the salamander. See, last night, Bethany ran out of the bathroom shower because a worm was in there. Needless to say, she is extremely afraid of insects and most things that move. Nevertheless, there she was earlier today trying to save a salamander while digging. As she picked him up with her shovel, she realized that she accidentally cut his body and half. Of course, she ran away because she saw his tail still moving.
Not only is this story funny, but it also shows how gumby my participants are. These individuals are really going after their comfort zones and challenging themselves. They have been fearless these last few days and have really embraced everything that has come our way. I am not sure if they will ever know how much they mean to Katie and me as a whole, but when we are all sitting together and playing hot potato, it just feels right.
I'd like to end this blog with a screen show of Jasmine's instagram post. This pretty much sums up our day.
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