July 4, 2015 – Following a discussion I led yesterday regarding effective leadership and a sustained partnership with Santa Ana, two questions came to my mind.
1) How are we helping this community?
As we approach the upcoming end of our voyage, I realize that most of our daily “work” in the impoverished Santa Ana barrio has consisted primarily of painting furniture or murals, serving food at the local soup kitchen, playing soccer with the Paraguayan students, and conversing with them in Spanish.
We must thus ask ourselves: what kind of an impact do our simple daily activities truly have?
In terms of international development, we are undeniably doing little to support the community’s economic and social wellbeing. We can’t solve the pervasive systematic issues that plague developing countries like Paraguay. Especially not in 16 days. For example, rife political corruption, poor infrastructure networks, inconsistent governmental services (e.g. trash collection), and a dependence on foreign aid are factors that deepen the socio-economic disparities of the country and therefore contribute to Santa Ana’s situation. Frankly, we just can’t do much to solve any of these problems.
On a more spiritual level, however, we are definitely touching the hearts and minds of all the people with whom we interact. Our mere presence in such a neglected area of Paraguay is embraced as a gift of hope, compassion, and joy.
I believe though that the most powerful impact we can create comes from the relationships we build. Human connection transcends everything. For instance, I think all of us can agree that we were most moved by the charm of a young nearly-homeless young boy named Mario. His disarming laughter and smile left a mark on us all.
We also can help broaden the horizons of the Paraguayan students and of ourselves. The world is much more than our own respective spheres of comfort and habit. Together, we can come to this realization.
2) How can we help this community in the future?
Our priority should be to promote sustainability and long-term development. That’s why we were discouraged from stuffing our suitcases with material support for the Centro Comunitario in Santa Ana: school supplies, health equipment, cheap gifts, etc. Our goal should not be to simply put bandaids on Santa Ana’s bruises. These bandaids expire and will constantly need to be replaced.
Instead, we must strive to adopt a more sustainable model. Yes, this concept sounds ideal and is much harder to achieve, but it must be our goal. This could mean maintaining alive our relationships with the youth in Santa Ana or simply encouraging other American students we know to come on this transformative trip next year.
We could also raise money to help local entrepreneurs similar to Domingo launch their own small businesses or offer a valuable educational scholarship for a Paraguayan student.
If the best ways to support communities such as Santa Ana were simple and evident then the problems would probably no longer exist. In fact, the solutions to such multi-layered issues are rarely obvious.
I hope we can continue searching for simple ways to support our Paraguayan friends in Santa Ana.
Thomas Bernhardt-Lanier, LearnServe Intern 2015