this morning at 5am halle and i moved to the car because we were dying from the heat!! we dont have a fan so it was pretty bad . we put on the ac for about 5 minutes then shut off the car and slept till 8- probably the best/worst idea ever. tonights mission is to steal the fan from the children's area for the night.
when i first came here in april i was pretty depressed by the conditions of the ninth ward and the folks here. for the first time in my life i was left completely hopeless. this time around im experiencing a lot of peace and inner hope. we are doing what we can to get by and i think that's all that one can do. my mind is constantly running tho on how to do more. i was thinking about what i would do if i had a lot of money to give to this place- where would i put it? it costs $10,000 a month for security... $10,000?!??!?!! That's just to have a giant light in the back and a security guard 24hrs which is very much needed. We are also serving 500 meals a day- thats a hell of a lot of money too- so basic security and meals and we have surges of volunteers to organize as well. there are so many steps to go through before we can gut a house or clean up a lawn but then the equipment is dodgy so we have to worry about that too. so would i spend money on vol recruitment and management? hire a grant writer? purchase food? buy equipment? pay utilities- the fans/window ac/refrigerator/lights/water etc all drain us. and then their are homeless people that could use housing, clothing, reading and writing skills taught etc. there is so much but fortunately i'm not bogged down by it all. just excited about all of the possibilities.
our friend lauren left today. it's crazy to meet people for 2-3 days and feel so connected. we talked last night about how this place changes ones outlook on what service is, what it means to be resourceful/asset based, how our work in other cities is affected by what we see and do here. also we shared stories about when we've been knocked back down to reality and realized our "cart before the horse" ambition.
everyone has a story man, it's nice to tap into peoples lens and check out the world through so many different folks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It's nice to see that you have taken this with a grain of salt, so to speak. Obviously, I can only imagine what is going on over there and the reality of the circumstance of these individuals and you as a volunteer are experiencing. I just wanted to comment that just having the desire to do more is what is important and not necessarily what you aren't doing but honestly what connections you are making and changing someone else's life, even if you don't see the end result. One step at a time man. One step at a time.
hey there-the evolution of your growth over the years is amazing. you stepped up big time and i certainly appreciate the life lessons you are learning and sharing with all interested. it certainly makes me rethink the current and future direction of my life. hang in there!
Post a Comment