Excerpt from the Ground #2: Showing Love with a 13 Dollar Soccer Ball

I never knew that a soccer ball could change a child’s life, but over spring break ’09 nineteen other Canadians and I got to see 52 fair trade soccer balls change hundreds of children’s lives. Working alongside Younglife and Love Tijuana our group of twenty got the amazing opportunity to spread God’s love to the people of Tijuana, Mexico. During our six day trip we built a house in Terrazas, gave food and milk to families living at “the river” (poorest part of Tijuana), gave out 76 school bags, and 52 soccer balls.

Something I will never forget was an amazing experience where our group got to give twenty soccer balls to a school. Once the young students of the school saw what we had brought it was nothing short of a mob, who knew that twenty fair trade soccer balls could make over three hundred kids jump and scream to the point where we were all overwhelmed and even a little scared. What was so amazing was knowing that the balls we were giving to these kids were fair trade- no child labour, and the company’s factory is in Pakistan and pays all their employees fair wages. It was great to give a gift that you knew in no way had been part of exploiting someone by not treating them fairly.

There is no feeling like giving a soccer ball to a child who dreams and talks about being a soccer player, but doesn’t have the money to buy a one. To them, every gift we gave was so much more than it appeared to us, it wasn’t just a ball, it was hope that someone cares about what they go through every day and is willing to do something about it. To see the kid’s faces light up when they got a soccer ball and to see the tears of joy in their parent’s eyes brought the trip in to perspective. What does twenty Canadian teens and leaders travelling thousand of miles to come to a place where hope is strong but means are not look like to a family who received a house, to the families that were given food, to the kids who got school bags and to the neighbourhoods of kids that now have soccer balls to share and enjoy together?

The gift we all got from giving joy to those families and children far out- weighs the true fact that our group couldn’t help everyone and that we couldn’t give to everyone we saw, because we just didn’t have enough, but that feeling swells up in you and makes you want to go back and have twice as much to give. So maybe one day everyone will know that they are worth so much more than the property the government won’t let them own, or the food they can’t always give to their children. They need to know and be shown how precious they are, and we need to show them.

- submitted by Cordell W.

Excerpt from the Ground : No Esperenza

On the last day of our trip our group went to the River, a place called No Esperanza, or No Hope in English. It was a shanty, an illegal squat filled with families that technically weren’t allowed to be there. Each year the Government comes in with bulldozers to flatten the squat, leaving dozens, if not hundreds of families to rebuild annually. Most of the adults in No Esperanza work in the massive factories in the surrounding area. These factories hover around the edge of the squat, always visible. I remember thinking what a slap in the face it is to have those factories right there; it is most people’s worst nightmare to be employed in one of those factories, with such terrible conditions and meagre pay, and yet it is the only job most could ever hope to have. The job that they are so desperate to run from is the only job they have to turn to; now with the economy like it is many factories are shutting down and the workers are cut off from what little pay they had. Big corporations like Nestle and Panasonic are just a couple of the companies whose factories exploit the local people in and around No Esperanza.

It seems ironic, but as we were walking through No Esperanza, handing out beans, rice and milk, along with soccer balls and backpacks, I didn’t feel like the situation was so very hopeless. Looking around I felt sad because the living conditions were atrocious, but it really didn’t feel like the people had lost all hope. They seemed strong, like they were willing to do and were doing everything in their power to get food on the table for their families. Some homeless people are in their situation because of choice they’ve made; these people were just born into their circumstances. It’s not at all fair, but I guess that’s life.

After giving out food, etc., we sang songs and did a drama in their small church building, followed by some soccer in the street. I went out and sat on one of the rocks that lined the street, only to be swarmed by a bunch of little girls. We took some pictures together; they absolutely love seeing themselves on camera! Then the simplest, gentlest thing happened: the girls grabbed my hands, held them, touched them, played with the ring on my finger, and kept saying, “Blanco! Blanco!” in reference to my fair skin. We counted both our own and each other’s fingers, 1-10 in both Spanish and English for about 20 minutes. All the while I had at least one girl on my lap and two or three holding on to me, sitting as close as possible with my arm around them. Their mannerisms proved that they were so starved for human love and touch; their eyes conveyed this desperation to be held, to be shown genuine love and affection. As I showed love to them they so freely loved me back. There we were, one white teenaged girl with a group of Mexican children, separated by language, age, race and social class, and yet there was such a connection; there was no need for words. Their love was so pure and unconditional, with such innocence that only children possess. This moment was the most defining point of the trip for me; I kept coming back to the fact that, although building a house is a practical and amazing gift, among the poor, the needy, with the children is where you would find Christ, and that is definitely where I want to be found.

- Submitted by Sarah K.

Notes from the Ground: Sept. 23rd. Tijuana

the view, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

An excerpt from my notebook-

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Sept. 23.o8

We ended up working on 4 different houses scattered across the hillside today – putting tarpaper and chicken wire up – cramped working conditions, and very rough living…

Last winter a mudslide left a few feet of mud and debris in some of the houses, one house up the hill has no floor (and probably that is the norm here), just a tar paper covering. The house next door to it has a tarp ‘roof’ that leaks whenever it rains. The other house has tarantulas coming through holes in the walls – they have young children…

It is very hard to look people in the eyes as they try to communicate their needs (after trying to translate in your head) and give them an answer that is worthy…

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Our team worked on the side of a hill that appeared like something out of the Middle East – It was rocky, sandy, and windblown. Some of our team had to lug bags of cement, wood, and tools up the hill in the hot TJ sun. The view was an amazing reminder that the living conditions here are not unique…at one point, I had to walk down the hill with a local lady to talk with Carley about trying to get her tarp roof replaced with something a little more stable (her house is the one on ’stilts’ shown below, and is highest up on the hillside). It was difficult to face this lady and tell her there wasn’t much I could do. Carley’s response was graceful but practical – we’ve already committed ourselves to help certain families on this hill, and we only have so much to go around, but we do come back, and we will do what we can.- This is definitely a hard lesson to learn…

-james

hillside, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

Notes from the ground 1: House Day – Sept. 24/08

death grip, originally uploaded by James Matthew.

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From my notebook:
What a day! Wow! I’m very tired, so I will summarize:
A house build, in about 7 hours! The foundation was done when we arrived in Lomas in the morning of what would prove to be one very hot day. So we put the house together, from framing to painting, trusses to tarpaper and shingles, trim, drywall, mudding, and electrical.
An amazing accomplishment! I was given the honor of presenting the keys to the family and giving a blessing on the house. A humbling and mind blowing experience – I am blown away!
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Imagine, if you will, a group of 28 people (24 crazy grade 12 students, and 4 even crazier adults) converging on a small cement pad at around 900 in the morning in the developing community of Lomas,TJ. We spent one amazing day there, working side by side, sometimes shoulder to shoulder, on a house that is a bit bigger than a two car garage. On a side note, it is an amazing thing that there were no injuries, as we were literally shoulder to shoulder in some spots, swinging heavy framing hammers, moving wood around, etc. When we arrived, the foundation was ready to work on, so our group did the rest of the house build.

At this point, I’ll relate that our contractor usually spends a solid day building this type of house with his professional team. Our group of students completed the house in the same amount of time as a professional team. Extreme Home Makeover has nothing on us!

By the end of the day, there was a beautiful red 2 bedroom house, complete with a sleeping loft and a great room, white trim, 4 windows, and a strong front door. By the end, there was a group outside doing an impromptu children’s program, while a small group was rushing to finish electrical and mudding, with Carley (our guide and host) popping his head in the door every few minutes to tell us how much time was left – it was hard work to the bitter sweet end, with the last few minutes being spent in one very sweaty loft trying to put the finishing touches on the mudding. I think I sweat out a few pounds in that loft.

The most amazing moment was having about 30 people cram into the house with the family to sing to them, and pray with them that their house would be a place of peace and happiness. I (james) was given the huge honor of handing over the house keys and giving a small speech and blessing over the house. It was an intensely raw and humbling moment.

Then there was laughter and applause, and many hugs and tears of happiness for our house family.
It still gets me when I think of this moment.

Thank you so much for helping us make this crazy dream a reality!
What a gift to give this family! Just a little note about them: Dad is a truck driver, and makes about 8 dollars a day. Mom stays at home and cares for their 4 beautiful children.
This house is our way of saying we care for the Reyez family – that we want them to be safe, warm, dry, and happy.

Stay tuned, I’ll post more notes from the ground, and our goals for 09 are coming soon (and I’ll tell you now, they’re pretty mind blowing!!)

-james