One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

What we once saw as dirty garbage on the side of a Mexican highway we now see as a possible home. Dirty garbage bags and old mops, items we would have never dreamt to touch with our bare hands prior to last week, now held our roof in place. Cardboard boxes once filled with someone’s garbage, an item our mind previously didn’t even register sitting on the sides of the road, were now our floor; the only thing between us and the dirty ground beneath. It’s amazing how our instinct to survive will force you to do these things, use these items you would have never touched before. Shack week has opened our eyes to the world around us in a very new way. If you were to look at someone truly living in the circumstances simulated in shack week the first thing you would ask is ‘how do they live like that?’   

If you ask someone around this town, in Mexico, what the worst job is, most will tell you it’s working in the fields. After having worked in the fields myself I couldn’t agree more. The fields are both mind numbing and exhausting. You do the exact same motion for most of the day. Your back hurts, it’s hot, and it’s repetitive. By midday I just wanted to lie down in the middle of a row and sleep…but I would look up and see 100 people who do this every single day of their lives still working and would force myself to continue. I couldn’t comprehend how these people, some in their sixties, could work so hard while my 18 year old self struggled to even walk at the end of the second day. My experience in the fields made me so incredibly grateful that in Canada the worst job you could end up with is working at McDonalds.

The one job we did that was actually rather fun was clamming. Besides the fact that it was cold, dark, and smelled like fish I enjoyed myself. The main reason being that the clammers were all so positive, and joked around constantly. They kept our spirits up even though we were completely horrible at clamming. It was wonderful to see a group of people doing this horrible job at all hours of the day and night, who chose to see the positive in everything and would rather have a laugh than be upset about their situation. It was a nice contrast to the previous day when we had no one to talk to and even though we made absolutely no profit for our work that night I think we all had fun and learned a lesson in the value of positivity.

The other job we did was rock picking. Even though it was much less physically demanding than the fields, it was a million times more mind numbing. Spending 6-8 hours staring at rocks is definitely not my ideal day. I couldn’t imagine spending all my life alone staring at rocks. After some time, the rocks all looked the same and you struggled to even remember which ones you actually wanted. It was a very discouraging job, made even more discouraging by the view of the mansions on the hills. The idea that we had to go back to a shack while these people had houses big enough to hold 20 families made me sick. It was a very clear view of how our society works, poor people work hard in the heat for long hours while the rich sit up high and simply watch.

Shack week has made us all view the world around in a completely different manner. We once lived sheltered lives where poverty was only something you saw on TV, but now it’s something much more personal. We got a small glimpse of what it is like to not have enough food and not have a proper roof over our heads. We know what it feels like to work till you can no longer stand on your feet for a meager pay check, and now know the real value of food. We learned the value of staying positive and being a family even through times when we have nothing; it’s the most important thing we can do because our attitude towards a situation is the only thing we can control. We’ve also learned to watch what we throw away or call trash, because a pair of old shoes or a cardboard box that means nothing to us could mean the world to someone else. We’ve learned that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Brigitte – LiveDifferent Academy Student 2012

Wow, so that’s what work is!

The Academy students in Mexico go through a very challenging yet very rewarding week called ‘Shack Week.’ This is where they build themselves a ‘shack’ to live in, and work alongside the Mexicans in jobs such as field work, rock picking, and clamming. The students have just completed two days of hard work in the local tomato fields. Have a look at what they have to say about their experience.

Wow, so that’s what work is! Today was so tough, but I’m glad we all pulled through as a team. At times I just wanted to quit but then I reminded myself that some of these people come will back here everyday for most of their lives, so we can pull through two days. It is so different from the outside looking in thinking ‘that would suck,’ but then actually being there is such a crazy experience and you realize how fortunate you are. It makes me wonder what keeps them going. What do they look forward to? How do elderly people get through a day? I wish I could do more for the people here and I wish they didn’t have to live a life of struggle. I don’t understand why the world has to be like this, there are so many people who could help change things.

Chey

In the morning the mountains were back-lit by the sun, which made their silhouettes vibrant. It was a nice sight before a long day of work. As we bent and strained our backs to search almost aimlessly through the green tomato plants, I tried to imagine what it would be like to do this monotonous job day after day, week after week. Shuffling positions, trying to find one that didn’t hurt, but every movement led to another pain in my side or a cut on my knee. All day I tried to maintain my mantra that it will be lunch soon – imagine living your life like this!

Every time I close my eyes I see row upon row of tomato plants. Every time I look at my hands I am reminded of the weeds and dirt and leaves that blackened them. Today was a rough day. Even though there is a language barrier and my Spanish is not good, I talked with an older Spanish woman. She said she had been working in the fields a long time. There were about 20-30 other elderly folk in the same situation. They pretty much live to work. I can already tell that this experience will leave me thankful for a lot more than I have been before.

Kevin

The workers are always so full of joy and willing to help you in any way – including insisting I stay in the shade while waiting for the toilet in case my skin got burned! Even though the work was tough, seeing all the Mexicans working so diligently  was encouragement enough to keep going. If we even thought about complaining about the pain, we just looked at the 70 year olds going at it with the hoe and we were proud of our youth. I will miss their warm smiles and care-free attitudes. Though it was the toughest work I have done in my life, I wouldn’t take back a single bit of it. It is an experience that has changed my life.

Jenna

October 16^th 2012, We left base camp at 0500 hours. We were tired yet excited for the task that lay before us. The walk to the pick up spot was rather nice. The morning air was crisp and the sun would be soon to rise over the hill. We were picked up by our captain and driven to our mission point. The work was hard. It is hard to comprehend how people get up that early every single day. I will never complain again. I can’t imagine how numb one must be, both physically and mentally. Around 1100 hours on our second day of field work I decided I never want to own a garden…ever! 9 hours of picking weeds is definitely enough for my lifetime.

When Canadians see Mexican fields on TV they would see what I saw at first, rows upon rows of crops each with a Mexican worker in them. It’s pretty beautiful especially with the view of the mountains in the background. However the thing you can’t get from your TV is how incredibly hot it is how long these people have been working, how physically demanding the tasks are, or even the ages of some of the workers.

Brigitte

It’s my second of two days working in the fields. Today I needed to mentally and physically tell myself to keep going. I would look up and down the rows of tomato vines and think ‘wow these people do this six days a week!’ I thought back to my life in Canada and compared it to the life these people have here. It amazes me to think how different it is. Some people complain about working in a fast food restaurant at home yet here I met an old man called Coyote who laughed and made jokes all day through this hard work.

Gail

Great Big Tiny Miracles…

On October 1^st, 2012, we entered the home and life of Kiryat.  This little girl, just over a month old, had a big problem.  Kiryat had a malignant tumor on the underside of her liver that grew more fatal everyday it went untreated.  Her family: mother, father, and grandfather had set a date for an operation in Tijuana, Mexico to have the tumor removed but had not yet gathered the 50,000 pesos (nearly $4,000 US) needed for the procedure.  To help the family raise money, Coca-Cola donated 40 cases of Coke to them to sell for 10 pesos a piece.  This loving donation did help them with their fundraising goal, but they were still short.  LiveDifferent heard about this little girl when a friend of her family contacted Santiago, our liaison in Mexico, and brought forward Kiryat’s situation.  LiveDifferent jumped at the opportunity to help.

Upon entering Kiryat’s grandfather’s house, a calm fell over our group.  We watched silently as the mother sat and cradled little Kiryat in her arms while the father sat next to her.  Both parents seemed to still be in awe of their fragile little baby girl.  The grandfather brought out chairs for us to sit and hear about Kiryat’s problem.  He brought out X-Rays that showed a baseball-sized tumor in the middle of Kiryat’s torso and told us of the startling rate at which it was growing.  He told us that when the mother was 8 months pregnant, an ultrasound showed the first signs of the tumor and although it was not cancerous, it would eventually be fatal.  He also recounted the fevers, urinary problems and pain it was causing Kiryat.  We hung on every word of our translator Santiago as he retold stories and described the emotional pain of the family.  But where there was pain, there also was great love.  The grandfather said he was going to sell his house and property to pay for the surgery if the fundraising goal was not achieved.  The stories and facts behind Kiryat’s problem left all of us in a state of shock.  But our feeling of unrest was quickly hushed by a simple glance into Kiryat’s eyes.  We each got a chance to marvel at the wide eyed infant as she lay serene in our arms. 

Finally, nearing the end of our visit, the time came to make the donation.   I was given an envelope that I passed to the grandfather saying: “This is our donation, on behalf the organization that we’re all a part of.  The sum is 10,000 pesos”.  As Santiago translated, the grandfather’s face filled with joy.  “You have saved this little girl” he exclaimed, tears filling his eyes.  This donation would top off their goal and complete the 50,000 pesos needed for Kiryat’s operation.  The surgery was said to take 12 hours and was scheduled for October 8^th at 9:00am.  Afterwards, she would recover at the hospital in Tijuana for 2 weeks.   

LiveDifferent’s “Emergency Relief Fund” is used to help families in our community financially who have sustained hardships like that of Kiryat.  It is a collection of donations from volunteers and leaders who support our cause.  Without LiveDifferent’s “Emergency Relief Fund”, Kiryat’s operation would not have been possible so thank you to all of those who have donated to this over the years. You are really making a difference to those less fortunate than us.

Kevin – LiveDifferent Academy Student 2012

Mom! We built a house! And so much more!

What started out as just a concrete pad on the ground, turned into so much more…Build week isn’t all about just getting the job done; it’s about connecting with the family, giving out numerous capouchies (piggy backs) a day and building close friendships. The experience really teaches you about family and how fortunate we are. These Mexican families teach us so much about love, what life is about and shows us that there’s so much more to life than materialistic things.

This big family of 12 was shy and quiet the first few days, but their smiles were always bright and so full of life. As we started to progress with building, the father, Librado, showed great interest in being a part of this new chapter in his family’s life. He enthusiastically helped hammer in nails, put up the walls and paint. Slowly the children of the family began to help alongside their father and soon enough alongside all of us. Having the family be a part of the building is one of the best things to see and allowed for us to use what little Spanish we knew to build a small conversation with them each day. I had asked the oldest daughter and the mother what they were most excited about when they were finally in their new home, and they replied by saying, “We are excited to cook for our family, and just be together.” To some people, that may be so simple, but here, being able to do that is a huge thing and it’s a time that brings the family all together. Slowly, we were beginning to bond with this family.

Each day as we saw our progress, we saw how happy the family was every second we were there. The kids began to get more and more excited and they began to become our friends. Just the same as a child you would find anywhere else in the world, they loved to play, they loved to laugh, and they loved capouchies. Putting down the hammer for a few minutes was always a highlight of the day, it meant we got to spend time playing with all the cute kids. Hearing their laughs was the best sound ever, because by doing something so simple made them so happy. It’s crazy how much of an impact you can have on someone by taking a few minutes to spend with them. The kids here are absolutely amazing and are never seen without a smile on their faces.

Juanito, one of the children in the family, stood out to me like the brightest star in the sky. Where to even begin to describe this little boy… His love for his family was so clear and inspiring. He showed such love for every person in his family, especially his father. As I was in the middle of giving him a capouchie he saw that his father had arrived back home and right away he had an even bigger smile on his face, quickly wanted down and he ran to his father, hugged him and looked up at him with such a bright, loving face. It made me think about my family and made me wish that I was a little more like Juanito. He has such a big heart for such a little boy.

And then here it was – dedication day, the day we handed over a new future to a family who was so deserving of it and so thankful for it. Of course this is always the most emotional part, but also a really happy part. As we went shopping for beds, food and some toys we saw that concrete pad now as a home, a place for security and a place where they could have happy new memories. As we all stood outside their house sharing words of how much this week has impacted us and our wishes for them, I couldn’t help but shed a few tears- tears that were happy. I was so proud that I was a part of such an amazing thing and that we had transformed this families future. Building that house wasn’t work, it was something we all looked forward to each day; and in my opinion, one of the best memories that we will treasure from this four month experience.

Chey – LiveDifferent Academy Student 2012

Taco’s with a side of awesome please!

Day 38 of Mexican life and it’s been muy bien! I can still remember the day we met Kent, one of LiveDifferent’s Mexico staff, at the airport and we all loaded into the bus to begin our six hour drive to our new home. Some of us had been to Mexico before and were familiar with Mexican sights and cultures, but some of us had never been and everything was new. Regardless of experience, we were all glued to the bus windows with cameras in our hands as we crossed the border into Mexico. The exhilaration and anticipation of our upcoming adventure was evident on everyone’s faces!

Broken Hearts: Mission Accomplished

When facilitating the experience of the young people who spend four months in Mexico with me, one of my goals is that their hearts would break when they have to say goodbye. Not because I like to see people suffer, but because then I know that they have really experienced true friendship and the Mexican culture. The people that I have gotten to know here are some of the most generous, determined and resourceful people I have ever met. If people are willing to try new things and put themselves in awkward, unfamiliar situations, they are bound to have their heart stolen by the people and this place. This spring the girls have thrown themselves into this experience in a way I haven’t seen previous groups do. And now as they wrap up their time in Mexico, I can see that my mission has been accomplished. In some ways I wish I could take away the ache in their hearts as they say goodbye to the friends they have made. But in other ways I am proud of them for spending four months cultivating relationships with everyone they met. They no longer focus on the differences between them and others, but see the similarities and how we are each an important piece of a larger family. And I am proud of what they have learned about their world and about themselves.  When they talk about the things that they have done in Mexico, there is a sense of awe and pride in their voices. This is one of the best rewards I could ever ask for in my job.

On Friday we start the journey back to Ontario to spend a week with the other team and celebrate their year. From there some of them are off to university, others to continue doing humanitarian work and others will be working and volunteering. I will be returning to Mexico to lead another Hero Holiday group and to prep for a summer of building 13 more homes. While the girls’ hearts are breaking as they say goodbye to this place, all of them are venturing off with names and faces of friends that will be their inspiration to do what they can to make this world a better place. They are not going to be paralyzed by the enormity of poverty and injustice in our world. They may not be able to do everything but they have learned the power of small actions, and that when everyone does their part, it’s no small thing at all.

“Once we have experienced solidarity, we can never forget it. It may be short-lived, but its heady sensations remain. It may be still largely a dream, but we have experienced that dream. It may seem impossible, but we have looked into the face of its possibilities.” – Ronald Aronson

– Rose, LiveDifferent Academy Facilitator

Final Day of Shack Experience

Our final day in the shack began early in the morning, as usual. Yet as we set off to catch the bus at the highway, we all knew that today was different. Today, we had more than the end of the week to look forward to – it was Carly’s nineteenth birthday as well.

Our task for the day was rock picking on the beaches. While the task was undeniably mundane, we made up for it by joking, laughing and focusing on the evening ahead. Without our positive attitudes and each other, we weren’t sure how we would have made it through this entire experience. The fact that we had something to look forward to may have improved our moods, but it also reminded us that so many families down here don’t have a warm house or a birthday party to keep them going through the work day.

Soon our buckets were full and we made our way home early thanks to our focused teamwork. We settled down in the teepee to take a quick break- and awoke a couple hours later, refreshed but unable to believe where the time went! We finished our last job of the day, landscaping the bunkhouse yard with the rocks we picked, and finished final preparations for Carly’s birthday bonfire.

Neighbours and friends surprised Carly with cake, pizza and gifts, but the highlight was by far the giant piñata that ended the night. We managed to work hard, save our earnings and give her what we hoped was a memorable evening.

Our time in the shack is coming to an end. It’s been the experience of a lifetime, and we can truly say that we have walked in other people’s shoes. I think we’ll all go away from this week with a renewed sense of gratitude for our many blessings home in Canada, as well as respect for our neighbours. We will leave the shack questioning the consumerist mindset of North American societies, while also appreciating the support of our families and friends- the ones who really matter.

Shack week has been an experience that has changed our lives. Through the hard work and rain, we found UBUNTU and a sense of community, and that will never go away.

Written by Academy student, Paisley Newburn

Strawberry Fields Forever

LiveDifferent Academy student, Jennifer Brooks, talks about their experience working in the strawberry fields of northern Mexico. In order to experience what life is truly like for many northern Mexicans, Academy students moved into a small house that they made from scraps that they could find. They worked common jobs and experienced the in’s and out’s of life in Mexico for one week.

Family Matters

We found a whole new meaning to garbage bags and staples on day five of shack week. A classic Mexican fence. We started work at 8am grumpy and tired, not looking forward to the long work day ahead. With intense team work we made it through shoveling, hot sun, making new friends with spiders and stretching plastic to its max and holding it in place with staples. By lunch time we were more than ready for our leftover pasta and were happy to split our two packs of M&M’s ubuntu style. With a little more energy, motivation and jokes we were ready to wrap the yard with some more plastic and staples. The wind picked up but we managed to get through with some laughter, dressing up with the plastic, giving away some scraps to a boy who wanted to make a papalote (kite) and zero spider bites (phew).

Although we were grumpy and exhausted in the morning, the sun brought out our smiles as always and we finished the job happy and sooo ready for breakfast for dinner – pancakes. Now this was a gong show! We discovered that pancakes don’t taste that well with sand and rocks, they taste better with a lot of syrup and that eating the pancake mix doesn’t taste all that bad.

It’s crazy when we think about all the little things that would usually bother us at home that we don’t even think about now. For instance, washing our vegetables, dirt on our plates and our dirty hands. Not sanitary at all, however this is the every day life of many families out here. The constant dust makes it difficult to live any other way. We have really been hit with the reality that we are so privileged to be living how we do back at home. We have family, entertainment, clothes, money, electricity, hot water and a warm, clean place to sleep every night, yet we still find little things to complain about. The only thing that really matters is having your family by your side, no matter what circumstance you are in. All the other worries are just extra. We have truly come together this week as a family, trying to survive with very little but still stay positive and happy with what we have, because there is no way we could get through without each other.
Ubuntu. <3

Water In A Dusty Street

We had planned to sleep in as late as possible today. One, because it was our day off of work. And two, because if we slept through breakfast we would only have to spend money on two meals for the day. But to our surprise we were all awake and out of bed by 9am. We figured we would start the day by bucket showering in our tarp shower. Even though there was almost no wind and the sun was shining the shower was cold and more of a chore than the relaxing luxury we are used to. After the showers we started doing our laundry by hand on a cement block. We have watched many families do this before but we definitely were shocked at how tiring it is. It is nothing like just throwing our clothes into a washing machine. There was a lot of thought that needed to be put into it. What will take the longest to dry? What clothes do we want to wear tomorrow? Do we have enough room to hang it all to make sure it dries in time?

After spending a good portion of our day washing clothes that we knew would just get dirty at work tomorrow, we figured we deserved a short break. But living like this there is no time for a break – we needed to figure out lunch with the little money we had. Thankfully generous neighbours helped us out once again and gave us a delicious lunch. After lunch we had the option of washing a truck and walking a dog for an extra sixty pesos. Normally we wouldn’t work on our day off for such a small amount of money but today that money meant more food, so we took the work happily.

After work we went straight out to buy dinner and collected firewood the whole way home by instinct now. On the way home Shayna found a ten peso coin (about 80 cents Canadian) on the ground. Normally we would not have thought much of it and maybe spent it on some chocolate we thought we needed to have. But instead the first thing she thought of was that it would be enough for a jug of clean drinking water. This is how the shack week is changing us – where as once we would have thought of our own selfish wants, we have now started to shift our priorities. Just like our neighbours here in Mexico we have learned how to be resourceful and how to place the needs of our group above our previous consumeristic, individualistic mindsets. Shayna could have quietly picked up that coin and treated herself to M&M’s. But instead she thought of how this money could benefit the group – she had found water in the dusty street.