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Global Urban Trek 2008
What’s the Point?July 26, 2008
So what have we actually been doing to help people here?
Well, we taught English classes – one with two ladies who had already been taking an English course through World Vision, and another with 20 middle to high school-aged students. We also helped with the "curso de verano" (summer course), where we played games and made crafts with younger children.
Although these classes were fun, I wasn’t sure we were doing any good. How much can it change a person’s life to be able to name some fruits in English, especially when no one else speaks the language?
What’s the point? They’ll probably forget most of it anyway.
After listing the problems in our communities at the mid-project retreat (things like bad sanitation, violence, lack of services and education), Katye, Danielle and I discussed which of these we were addressing by working in Tulpetlac this summer.
The “curso” was designed to teach creativity and recycling. We made baskets out of newpaper, pencil holders from toiled paper tubes, and finger puppets from old felt. After making bookmarks, we encouraged sharing by having them trade.
The curso was also a good opportunity for kids to get to know each other and make new friends. Plus, it built self-confidence as everyday they would show us their crafts and we got to exclaim about how creative they were! It was also an opportunity for some to get away from bad situations or big responsibilities at home and to just be kids for a while.
English classes were primarily practical because students have to take English at school anyway. Hopefully, by having a fun class with games and activities, we helped convince them that learning doesn’t have to be dull.
The class also helped students build relationships and meet new people. It helped build self-confidence, as by the end they could form basic sentences in English and were able to communicate with us to some extent, which was a pretty big deal. Also, people here see English as a valuable skill and want to learn.
Finally, the curriculum we used focused on community building. The students drew maps, then discussed how to describe their communities right now and what they want to see changed in the future. It was really powerful to listen to them talking about both the good and bad and dreaming about a better place to live.
I soon realized that the classes weren’t pointless after all. Maybe we only made a small difference, but after years of similar groups coming, it is very likely that Tulpetlac will be changed for the better, and probably already has been.
What’s more, we have a God who is very good at using our pathetic efforts to do good in the world.
- Kara
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