So the days continue ticking away faster and faster. Already my first week in El Salvador is complete. Since the last time I blogged not a whole lot exciting has happened, but I´ll try to keep you up to speed.
I´ve still been helping out with English classes and working in the clinic in CISNA. So far I have met several challenges. It has been difficult to communicate the necessities of what should be done especially for the health of CISNA and have the directors and teachers understand that we are coming from a postition of love for the kids and are trying to help them, not trying to change their ways of doing things from an arrogant American perspective. For example, today Lauren, Teddy, and I taught our first health class to some of the teachers and directors. It began well, but soon turned into a rant about how they did not have enough supplies and how though our suggestions were heeded they could not be implemented. This was pretty frustrating, but I was able to take command and communicate to them that it was their responsability to look out for the health of the kids, to set examples of servant leadership, and to assert authority to get things done. They seemed to shutup after that hahahah.
Anyways, I have met several boys at CISNA who I have begun to hang out with when I go. One of them, Carlos, I met sitting near the clinic all alone. He had been punched in the head and had to get stitches. He was crying when I met him. I got to talk to him and hear his story. He had been abandoned by his parents, hadn´t heard from them since he entered the orphanage and felt that know one loves him. I got to show him love and give him a hug and just talk to him. That was awesome, and even if I came to El Salvador for that one experience it was all worth it.
Additionally, I have been able to build some relationships with the boys in the house and have been able to exchange stories with them. This has also made the trip worth it.
For awhile, though, I have been feeling burdened just for the brokeness, the poverty, and seeming hopelessness. I have hope though that things will improve and that the work that I and the other interns do this summer will make a difference not only in others´ lives, but in our own as well.
Other than that, life has been tranquilo...peaceful. We even got to go to the beach for the day on Saturday and rest. We Americans are also growing closer which has been awesome! Love you all and talk to you soon...PS TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!! YIKES I´m gonna be an old man!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
And so it begins...
I´ve now been in El Salvador for 3 days and I´m already tired. The days are definitely busy, but I love the work that I am doing. I am living in a house with 13 youth from El Salvador, one staff person, and 3 other interns. Spanish has definitely been helpful here in trying to get to know the boys. I have met all of them and have begun to build some relationships with them, but it has been a little difficult with the language and the busy schedules. Every day, I have been waking upt 5 or 530 when the boys are getting ready for school. I then go to a meeting with all of the youth of the house and then with all of the staff. After this I have been teaching English or going to their soccer practice. In the afternoon, I have been going to CISNA and am currently working in the medical clinic. That has been quite interesting.
I am working with another one of the interns named Lauren in the clinic. She is in nursing school and already has some clinical practice so she´s been very helpful. We were set up the first day to go around assessing all of the facilities to observe any health risks and places where infection and contamination can come in. It was quite overwhelming because many of the most basic needs were not met. There were open food containers everywhere, standing water, mold, dirt, not even chlorox was used to clean the tables but only dirty water from the faucets. Tomorrow we are suppose to go over our findings with 2 of the directors of the center so that will be a task. Additionally, today we got to use some skills in caring for a boy with an infected leg. A glass bottle fell and cut him. Thanks to previous experience (an ingrown toenail) we knew to use betadine and hot water. It´s been a little awkward trying to tell the nurses and doctors there what to do because we don´t want to come off as arrogant Americans, but some of the practices that they do here are not the best haha.
Other than that, a lot of rice and beans and mosquitos. Alright, gotta run. See you in a few days.
I am working with another one of the interns named Lauren in the clinic. She is in nursing school and already has some clinical practice so she´s been very helpful. We were set up the first day to go around assessing all of the facilities to observe any health risks and places where infection and contamination can come in. It was quite overwhelming because many of the most basic needs were not met. There were open food containers everywhere, standing water, mold, dirt, not even chlorox was used to clean the tables but only dirty water from the faucets. Tomorrow we are suppose to go over our findings with 2 of the directors of the center so that will be a task. Additionally, today we got to use some skills in caring for a boy with an infected leg. A glass bottle fell and cut him. Thanks to previous experience (an ingrown toenail) we knew to use betadine and hot water. It´s been a little awkward trying to tell the nurses and doctors there what to do because we don´t want to come off as arrogant Americans, but some of the practices that they do here are not the best haha.
Other than that, a lot of rice and beans and mosquitos. Alright, gotta run. See you in a few days.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Qué onda amigos?
So I'm finally packed a ready to go and will be flying out to El Salvador tomorrow morning at 6am. I'm a little nervous since I don't really know what to expect, but I know that things will turn out for the best. I am excited to be able to use my Spanish and mentor these kids and teenagers, hopefully building some lasting relationships with them.
For those of you who don't know. I will be in El Salvador from June 1 to June 28 working with an organization called Orphan Helpers. I will be working with youth-at-risk, orphans, gang members and juvenile delinquents ages 7 to 21 teaching English, mentoring, and helping to run sports clinics. For four weeks, I will be living with 15 or so of the older boys ages 15-21 in a halfway home called Faith House. At the Faith House, the kids have already been through the state sponsored program and are now receiving job training. I'm really pumped about this part of the work and plan on doing a little bit of profiling on the kids because the organization wants to begin setting them up with sponsorships in the States.
Some of y'all are probably worried for my safety after hearing the types of kids I will be working with, but don't worry because I won't be alone. There are 3 other college age interns traveling with me--Teddy, KT, and Chad. I will be working with Chad in the mornings teaching English to the boys in the Faith House, and with KT and Teddy doing sports in the afternoon at a center known as CISNA. CISNA is a government sponsored facility that cares for several hundred youth who have been either abandoned, abused, neglected, or incarcerated amongst many other numerous things. Finally, I will be working on Friday's in a detention center known as Ilobasco. As of now, I am unsure of what Chad and I will be doing there exactly.
I have had some experience working with gang members and youth-at-risk in the Latino community in Nashville, so I'm pretty excited to learn more about the causes of the cycles of youth violence and poverty in this community especially as it relates to gangs and what can be done in the US as well as what is being done in El Salvador to aliviate this problem and rehabilitate gang members. I hope to be able to use this experience to springboard and initiative in Nashville to do the same as part of my Ingram service work.
In other news, I found out today one of my spanish-speaking friends from Mexico, who I spend a lot of time with and is illegal and one of the people I mentor for Ingram service, was pulled over by the cops the other day for entering an intersection while the light was yellow. It turned red while he was in the middle. He doesn't have a license and was given a court day on the 16th of June. I'm worried about him and his family. And sad that he could and probably will be deported. I feel pretty helpless and can't really do anything because I'm traveling. I really care about him. Keep him and his family in your prayers. That'd mean a lot to me.
So this looks to be an exciting summer, and I will try to keep you all updated as much as possible. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers because I'll need it for sure, and feel free to contact me; my answers may not be lengthy, but I'll try my best to respond.
For those of you who don't know. I will be in El Salvador from June 1 to June 28 working with an organization called Orphan Helpers. I will be working with youth-at-risk, orphans, gang members and juvenile delinquents ages 7 to 21 teaching English, mentoring, and helping to run sports clinics. For four weeks, I will be living with 15 or so of the older boys ages 15-21 in a halfway home called Faith House. At the Faith House, the kids have already been through the state sponsored program and are now receiving job training. I'm really pumped about this part of the work and plan on doing a little bit of profiling on the kids because the organization wants to begin setting them up with sponsorships in the States.
Some of y'all are probably worried for my safety after hearing the types of kids I will be working with, but don't worry because I won't be alone. There are 3 other college age interns traveling with me--Teddy, KT, and Chad. I will be working with Chad in the mornings teaching English to the boys in the Faith House, and with KT and Teddy doing sports in the afternoon at a center known as CISNA. CISNA is a government sponsored facility that cares for several hundred youth who have been either abandoned, abused, neglected, or incarcerated amongst many other numerous things. Finally, I will be working on Friday's in a detention center known as Ilobasco. As of now, I am unsure of what Chad and I will be doing there exactly.
I have had some experience working with gang members and youth-at-risk in the Latino community in Nashville, so I'm pretty excited to learn more about the causes of the cycles of youth violence and poverty in this community especially as it relates to gangs and what can be done in the US as well as what is being done in El Salvador to aliviate this problem and rehabilitate gang members. I hope to be able to use this experience to springboard and initiative in Nashville to do the same as part of my Ingram service work.
In other news, I found out today one of my spanish-speaking friends from Mexico, who I spend a lot of time with and is illegal and one of the people I mentor for Ingram service, was pulled over by the cops the other day for entering an intersection while the light was yellow. It turned red while he was in the middle. He doesn't have a license and was given a court day on the 16th of June. I'm worried about him and his family. And sad that he could and probably will be deported. I feel pretty helpless and can't really do anything because I'm traveling. I really care about him. Keep him and his family in your prayers. That'd mean a lot to me.
So this looks to be an exciting summer, and I will try to keep you all updated as much as possible. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers because I'll need it for sure, and feel free to contact me; my answers may not be lengthy, but I'll try my best to respond.
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