What we accomplished in our Quaker service projects in 2001

 I found this report describing what our Quaker youth service project accomplished in 2001, a pretty typical year. Being coordinator for this program was one of the high points of my life, and undoubtedly made a difference in the lives of those who participated, and hopefully those we worked with. I have posted a series of pieces I wrote during this period describing the origin and the philosophy of Quaker service. 

¨  Construction work at an orphanage called the Casa Emaus, located midway between Tijuana and Tecate  on a hill overlooking Maclovio Rojas, a colonia (homesteaders’ community) where we have worked for the past five years. Padre Lino, a priest from Tijuana, is building this orphanage for street kids in TJ. When it opens, this orphanage will be the first in TJ to address the needs of this particular group. Our youth learned how to put up drywall under the guidance of Alan Edgar, who does home renovation for a living.

¨  Painting and other jobs at a playground and school in Maclovio Rojas.

¨  Painting and installing crosses to commemorate Mexican who died trying to cross the US/Mexico Border. These crosses have been used at various demonstrations (see the July-August cover of Friends Bulletin) sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee. The community at Maclovio asked us to place the crosses on the periphery of a new cemetery which is being dedicated to the victims of misguided US policies such as Operation Gatekeeper. This project was undertaken under the auspices of the Border Arts Workshop (http://members.tripod.com/~zopilote/mr_ut698.htm).

We also heard various speakers:

¨  Hortensia Hernandez Mendoza, one of the leaders of Maclovio Rojas since it was founded in 1988. Jailed several times for her efforts, Horensia has led her community in an heroic struggle for dignity and justice. Articles about her have appeared in many newspapers, including the L.A. Times, the NY Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Peter Jennings recently did a segment on Maclovio and interviewed her and Michael Schnorr. During the week we were working at Maclovio, she was called to appear before the police in TJ on dubious charges. She swore that if she were jailed once more, she would go on a hunger strike. We learned that international attention (and the presence of groups like ours) helps to deter the government from depriving the Maclovio comunity and its leaders of their rights.

¨  Michael Schnorr, a professor of art from San Diego’s Southwestern College who has done art projects at Maclovio and various other economically deprived and politically oppressed communities around the world.

¨  Roberto Martinez, director of the AFSC US/Mexico Border Program in San Diego for the past 20 years, considered a leading expert on human and civil rights abuses along the border.

¨  Juan Santiago, a Native American shaman from Encinadas. This 70+-year-old spiritual teacher shared with us Native American spirituality and wisdom, including the secret of longevity.

¨  Padre Lino, a Catholic priest and founder of the Casa Emaus. Deeply committed to working with Tijuana’s street kids, he has received no support from the church or from the government for his work. All the funds raised for the projected orphanage has come from private individuals.

The youth also placed soccer and attended a fund-raising dance sponsored by the residents of Maclovio. On our day off we went to Rosarito and participated in a Native American sweatlodge.