Well, this is week thirteen - one quarter of the way through the year. It seems a good time to take a quick look back and see how things are going. As I think about all the people we have met and the things we have done, one thing jumps right out at me. What we are doing has changed from a commitment to a habit, in thirteen easy weeks! We don't struggle to find places to work, and we don't struggle to find the time to do it. Time that we used to spend in front of the TV is now time we go out and volunteer a little. We thought we would really have to carve out a space in our life to be able to meet the challenge of volunteering once every week, but what we find is that the current challenge is not to volunteer three times per week. We have great fun at all the places we go. We are making friends with and deepening our connections to the other volunteers, and we are helping lots of people. I have not added up all the numbers, but in thirteen weeks, we have been a part of helping literally thousands of people. I think it is safe to say that this has progressed past a New Year's resolution and is now in the realm of a hobby. I try not to make this too preachy, but I highly recommend giving volunteer work a try. We have found it to be incredibly rewarding, and I believe that anyone who gives it a chance would find it so.
This week we "caught up" with some opportunities we heard about last week. The first was Shakespeare Link Canada. This is a group that we gave to earlier in the year (see week five...) who takes actors into Mozambique and works to use the plays of Shakespeare to create a context for social change. A good friend of mine from grad school is one of those actors and is preparing madly to spend the summer in Africa. All of the funds for the trip need to be raised through donations, so he spends lots of time on talking to people and writing on social media sites to promote their work. In addition, he is learning Portuguese, which is the dominant language in Mozambique (they used to be a Portuguese colony). He faces a challenge there, because almost all of the programs in the world that teach Portuguese teach the version of that language spoken in Brazil. There are more Brazilian speakers of Portuguese than any other country, including Portugal. Since that dialect is drastically different than the way Portuguese is spoken in Mozambique, he is having trouble finding a way to learn that will teach him what he needs to know. I am just amazed that he is doing it at all.
Once they get to Mozambique, they will develop their show while working with local dance and theater groups. They will also do community outreach, all in an attempt to help change the societal views about how women are treated, about poverty, and about AIDS, which is basically epidemic in the community. I can think of no more noble use to which Shakespeare's words could be put, and Jen and I are committed to helping them reach their goals. They are currently running their second fund raising drive of the year, and would welcome any amount of support from anyone who wishes to help. See the bottom of the post for a link to their website if you are interested.
The other opportunity to give from last week came from the priest who married Jen and I. We still try to attend mass whenever he is presiding, and last week he told the congregation about his recent trip to Tuba City, Arizona. Tuba City is the location of St. Jude Catholic Church. It is a tiny church without a pastor or any staff priest of any kind. It is run by Sister Mary Rogers, DC, an amazing woman who cares for a very needy parish. This is because Tuba City is inside of the Navajo Indian reservation, and adjacent to the Hopi reservation. On these reservations, the people exist in a kind of poverty that is unknown in Chicago, even in the worst areas. Because the reservations represent their own governmental entity, they do not receive much help from the state or federal governments. Many of the services that we take for granted as provided by the city or county do not exist on the reservations, or must be paid for from private providers. Also, many of the aid agencies, either private or public, do not have any representation in this very small community. To top it off, there is virtually no industry or farming or any other source of income. Many of the women in the community weave traditional Navajo rugs which they sell to stay alive, but they do not make much on each of them, despite the legendary quality of the weaving. In short, this is a community in permanent crisis. Sister Mary and the church do what they can to help. They have a small food pantry that sees a lot of business toward the end of each month, as money runs out for food. She also offers whatever other help she can to these people, but it is a constant struggle. Fr. Cusick suggested that perhaps those of us in Chicago who don't not have to worry about the things that Sister Mary does might send them some help, and so we did. I can only hope that many of the others who heard their story did as well, and that, as a result, Sister Mary's job might be a little easier. There is no web address for this one, nor any pictures, but if you would like to help, you could send money to:
Sister Mary Rogers, DC
St. Jude Catholic Church
P.O. Box 248
Tuba City, AZ 86045
For more information about Shakepeare Link Canada, go to:
Shakespeare Link Canada
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