So today was the group's last day in Nueva San Ysidro. A bunch of the families got together in the school after lunch and sat down with us to thank us. The group also had some donations (books, pencils, paper) to give to the school. 
A few of the men spoke. All of them were really thankful and said they hoped we would come back one day. A lot of the people in our group cried. I guess because they felt like we had done so much. Did we? And will any of us ever come back? I don't know.
This kind of experience is so different depending on which end of it you're on. So many of the people in our group were visibly moved. They seemed like they were really affected by the whole thing. But I wonder what the people in Nueva San Ysidro really think about us. We waltz in at the beginning of the week with our cameras and our candy and our ideas about how to help. And then we leave soon after, making promises to send money and promises to return. And then we disappear. Or at least most of us do. Were we just the gringos of the week?
Did we really make a difference in their lives, or just in our own?
You seem to be struggling with this concept. It seems to me that some difference was made in Nueva San Ysidro--if only to make progress on home building. Think if that hard work had to be done by the locals with no outside help. As long as gringos keep coming, I don't think it matters that they are different every time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope that your life has been changed by this experience. Even a small change--perhaps realizing how many material riches we have compared to Nueva San Ysidro. And making life-style changes to use fewer things and perhaps share our excesses with others.
Check out some Mother Theresa quotes, my friend. She says it better than I ever could. Do you know the story about the Kid and the Starfish? I'll share it with you if you'd like.
ReplyDelete