Time is flying by here in Santa Ana, the poorest neighborhood in the city, located just a quick 10 minute drive from the hotel. Whereas our time in the schools of Isla Pucu was a little more focused on relationship building and simply spending fun time together, here in Santa Ana we are hard at work all day here diligently trying to complete the projects by the end of the week. The time here in Santa Ana is giving students a good perspective on just how impoverished some people live. I think it was harder for students to understand the poverty in Isla Pucu because the simple, slower-paced lives of people in a very rural community was so different in itself and people came off as very happy with their lives. One student noted that he wished his whole school was here for the experience, because it is something you simply have to see with your own eyes and it leaves you changed forever.
Here in Santa Ana, students are taking in a strikingly different reality than what they know and have seen so far, especially as it relates to our discussions about poverty. Not only can they now compare the rural poverty of Isla Pucu to the urban poverty of Santa Ana, but they can also compare the class differences of their San Jose High School host families with their Santa Ana lunch families. The life and environment here in Santa Ana is jarring. As my lunch host mother put it, ¨The homes and lives of the poor are messy.¨ Today the mother and I spent two hours in conversation at lunch about poverty, politics, education, etc. She talked about the ignorance of people in the community because of the lack of education and opportunity to leave the neighborhood for a better life. I have found that our students are coming to the same conclusion and are finding a lot more value in the quality of education they get in the US.
The other aspect of our time here in Santa Ana that stands out to me most is the good examples of leadership that our students get to see here at the community center. The projects we are working on are completely student-led. Santa Ana kids spent the week before we arrived planning out projects that best fit the needs of their community. Now that we are here, they direct the work, organize students, keep projects on pace, and are hard at work themselves. The leaders of the Santa Ana group are truly inspiring in their drive to make change in their communities. My hope is that their model leaves a lasting impact on our students to do the same.
-Caitlin Reilly
One thought on “A Jarring Reality”
Thanks, Caitlin. I've always felt the Santa Ana experience is the most significant one for everyone especially as they compare what they see in relation to other parts of Paraguay and to their own lives. I agree with you–I hope our kids can model the examples of leadership they are seeing in Santa Ana and bring those lessons back to their own schools and communities.