Monday's Offering...Where to start?

I have wondered where to start...

view out our apartment dinning room window 

home life has taken over

already it feels like a life time ago

funny how life does that.

But my commitment to myself was to not forget...

thus the book that is to come

because not only do I never want to forget

I want others to be awakened

*

I thought I would start with some visuals

of what I saw each day

when we drove up to the center each day.

In Medellin they have a class system

ranging from 1-7

1 being the worst

7 being the best

where we stay is a 3

where our center is, is a 1

(though in my opinion it really seems lower than that)

We all agreed we would not want to stay

in any higher level of class

3 felt real and still offered us a level of safety

being that our apartment complex is gated

anything 4/5 and higher is much like home

too much like home

I have to say

I am amazed at the levels that represent

 the affluent

since poverty dominates the classes

but I have found that all over the world

there is a level of denial about

that which happens to those less fortunate

 in all areas of life

Medellin has a population of 3.8 million people

When I am there I am tornado-ed

into

 the sounds

the bodies

the never ending movement

that is this very large city

It is a place of sensory overload and stimulation.

It is everything I avoid in my everyday life.

But this place

has become a home to me

my Other Home

and each time I leave
it is harder
and more painful. 

The rainy season had started early

and the city was lush with green and blossoms

this was a welcome surprise

especially around the center

which is perched above the city on

the mountain side.

Our people up there

are now recognized as "displace people"

This is because

many of the ghettos formed are by

 those who came in from the country

escaping the threat of the Guerilla warfare.

The government is now recognizing these people

which is good

as they now have proper hydro power

and also

can apply for government relief.

But this also unpackages a problem

that is universal amongst the poor

-how to manage these grants

When you are poor

you have been stripped of many more things

than finical stability

the stability of clear thought is also taken

the stability of making a long term decision

is also taken

the living beyond the moment

is taken

So often this money is not spent with long term

plans in mind

thus

what could have been a help up and out

gets sucked up by the dry earth

that is poverty.

BUT

there is hope my lovelies

and you became part of that hope!

These are some of the things

that your donations helped with:

medicine

shoes

food 

clothing

cab fare and phone minute

 for one of our university students

this is for her safety as traveling alone

can be dangerous at certain times of the day

12 gift bags for the women who work at the center

special outing for some of the kids

youth out reach program

and the big one

we...you and I

bought an industrial dishwasher for the kitchen at the center

our hope is to add another meal per day

a dish washer would help greatly for this to become a reality

yes smile

yes hug yourself

I told them all about you

woman around the world

who gave

who care

who love

they were so amazed

dis belief and confusion

would often cross their faces

when my interpreter told them of you

Thank you

from me

from them

Love and Light