Giving to Guatemala Poca a Poca

 

 

Giving to Guatemala Poca a Poca: Creating big change through sustainable health, education and community development   

Join the Alternative Break Program this spring break, March 12th- 18th 2017, on adventure to Santa Catarina, Guatemala. Our community partner, Small Change 4 Big Change, started in 2012 focusing on sustainability through health, education, environmental issues and community development. One in four people in Guatemala are illiterate, with the average school time consisting of only 3.5 years. Our English classes will help give students an advantage to combating illiteracy. With over 85% of the population living in poverty, our work in the gardens, building of stoves and tilapia ponds will put food on their tables, provide goods to sell for extra income and help battle malnutrition, which plagues half of the population. Our health course will help families with basic hygiene, as the doctor to citizen rate hits a low of 0.0009:1. Accompanying high poverty rates is deforestation due to wood as a large source of income. The ecological stoves we will build use 65% less wood and we help replenish the forests by planting various trees.  Our overall focus is sustainability through these various social issues and how we as a group can directly contribute to the overall well-being of the local population of Santa Catarina Barahona. 
 

A brief summary on our community partner Small Change 4 Big Change

"Our goal is to assist rural community development and connect donors with humble Guatemalan families interested in changing their future. We work in the small town of Santa Catarina Barahona in two main areas: health and education. Education includes school supplies, English classes, cooking classes and the reading room, a safe place for children to spend their afternoons with books, puzzles and activities. Health includes ecological stoves, gardens, chickens, the goat co-op and tilapia ponds.
We believe strongly in ongoing support for each family and project, and we ensure that all resources are utilized to their maximum benefit. We are constantly in touch with people involved in the project- visiting supported families, checking up on progress, and developing meaningful relationships with people. We have no plans of expanding into other areas; we would prefer to add more programs for the people here in the town of Santa Catarina Barahona and raise the community up poco a poco."
You check learn more about this organization at: http://bigchange.net/history/

Before and after the trip

Before the trip all participants will join together to bond and learn about our social topic by attending educational, volunteering, social and fundraising events. After the trip, we will all come together for Active Citizen week to learn how to continue to fuel our passion for social change and ideas about how you can continue service.

Impact Story-Participant Ivy West

Ivy West was a participant on a trip lead by Ciarra Sutton. The trip traveled to Fort Myers, FL, where they helped with the building and restorating affordable housing for low-income families in the area through Habitat for Humanity. The group  also worked alongside Community Cooperative, an organization that strives to fight the root causes of hunger and homelessness through food, education, and social service programs. They assisted them in their Community Café, helping to prepare/serve meals to their guests. The following is Ivy's testimonial.

"I am so happy to be able to say that I was a part of something that not only benefited the people we volunteered for but also the community as a whole. The experience that I and ten other people in the “Breaking Barriers between Hunger, Homelessness and Ourselves” group was an eye opening and unforgettable one. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the small tasks we completed felt impactful and supportive towards the community of Ft. Myers. Considering that first off I was unsure and somewhat hesitant of joining the Alternative Break Program, I can now say that I am more than happy I was able to volunteer with so many great people and who shared similar views on hunger and homelessness. Although we only spent a few days in Ft. Myers, I learned so much more about the social issues than I thought was possible! Being around people that truly care about volunteering and aiding in the well-being of others was so heartwarming. Every aspect of this volunteering opportunity has allowed me to develop a better understanding of hunger and homelessness. Overall I wouldn’t have wanted to learn about these social issues any other way than through the Alternative Break Program and through the people that helped make this such an incredible experience!"
-Ivy West

Alternative Break Impact Story-Christa

"I truly feel so blessed to have been apart of this ABP trip. Serving Damar, an organization for children with developmental disabilities, came with laughs, tears, reflective moments, songs, awareness, and memories that will forever make this a truly meaningful experience. As an engaging opportunity to see how the organization works in many different ways, we had the chance to be with the children, to make them smile, to provide hands for an event to appreciate the staff, and to work on some behind the scenes tasks to simply help out. Ending each evening with impactful conversations about social and environmental views on disability and a recap of our days made us not just a group of individuals wanting to make a difference, but a family. Thank you UCF and our coordinators for making this trip possible, because it  really was impactful not just for Damar, but for me! 

This trip taught me things that I would have never imagined. Going into it, I was nervous about working with people who have different abilities, but in the end I realized that they are no different from me. We like the same things, have similar beliefs and enjoy the same activities. The only thing about us is that we learn differently from each other. Not only did I have something to bring to them, but I think they had more to teach me then I could have ever imagined. I made some great friends along the way and conquered some fears, plus I got Culver's ice cream and fazolis so that rocked! I will be forever thankful for this experience."

When Volunteer Organizations Promote Gender Inequality

Some things that are happening in 2016 should be common knowledge for all people in America; gender equality, racial equality, gay marriage legalization, and the like. It always astounds me that someone can be ignorant and under a rock about social topics that are so often in mainstream media. It is even more astounding when it isn't just one ignorant individual but an entire company. This is especially astounding within volunteer organizations which should have a broad knowledge of diverse topics that are associated with the social topic they focus on. I have two stories in which gender inequality was promoted through an organization trying stop some sort of inequality.

Before I go into these personal stories I should state that names have been changed and organizations will not be named in this post. Additionally these incidents do not negate the organizations' positive work for the community at large. All the organizations I have worked with have done good reputable work in their communities but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement especially within their core staff's development discussed here. Now that that is out of the way--

The first incident is one that all the UCF Alternative Break Coordinators are familiar with as we were all present. Due to this I shall keep it brief but essentially on a coordinator break trip, we worked with an organization which builds ramps for disabled people so they have access to their homes again. The organization was represented by one person who would be our site leader. While he was very knowledgeable about the ramp building and the organization he represented there that day; he left a bad taste in a few coordinators mouths. This man, we shall call him Rudolph, was very caring and kind with old fashion values. Despite encouraging the women to use power tools he left a guiding lingering hand on us and made comments about our weight and his own ideals of beauty. Because I was not personally targeted by his comments, I cannot give you quotes from Rudolph but when we got to reflecting in the van about the day, his attitude towards women was brought up. We came to the conclusion that despite working for an organization which deals with inequality in the physically disabled population, Rudolph knew little to nothing about inequality in other populations and was perfectly blissful in his ignorance.

The more personal story is from a time when I volunteered with my boyfriend, Topher, working with a company which helps the homeless population in Central Florida. We were essentially in a home depot/warehouse type place, unloading stock, organizing, and cleaning for the time we volunteered. We were with a few other gentleman, we'll call Dasher and Dancer, and our supervisors were both men. One supervisor, who we shall call Blitzen, was in charge of giving us tasks for the last half hour of our shift. While I was out with Dasher organizing some light bulbs, Blitzen turned to Topher and asked,

"Where is the girl? I have a job for her".

Let it be known that I have not talked to Blitzen, he has not seen a resume, and he knows nothing about me that he cannot conclude from looking at my physical appearance and the way I organize light bulbs. Despite this he somehow knows he has the perfect job for me. Before Topher can answer his question a truck pulled in.

I will give you reader the knowledge that to this date I have loaded and unloaded at least 30 trucks full of heavy wooden sets, props, and costumes for various theatre competitions. I did this with about 10 other people, mostly female, in between 8-20 minutes depending on if part of the competition was unload time and if we were bringing in a full house complete with AstroTurf yard, or just a living room scene. Back to the story.

As the truck pulled in I finished my light bulb task and walked into the back room with Dasher.

"You, you, and you" Blizten said, pointing at Topher, Dasher, and Dancer, "Go help unload."

(note: Topher is lanky and does most of his weightlifting training by picking up his phone to play Hearthstone on the regular. Again this is knowledge you can't assume looking at him but my point is Topher doesn't look like a bodybuilder, nor did Dasher or Dancer).

"Girl, come with me I have some bowls for you to clean"

let's just pause there....

bowls....

to clean....

just for me.....

who is being addressed not by her name....

by her gender....

I am sure you can spot the problem already but let's dig a little deeper here and look at the options Blitzen had:

He could've asked our skill set when it came to heavy lifting. I understand things need to be done efficiently and therefore asking for our resume might take too long but it was still an option.
He could've said who wants to clean bowls and who wants to unload, to all four of us.
Looking at the two tasks and the people he had, he could think to send some men in BECAUSE without knowing personal histories, the physical strength of the average man is superior to the average woman. I am not average in the slightest *hairflip* and know for a fact I am better at heavy lifting than Topher but without knowing the nurture, nature states that men doing heavy lifting is a better bet.

So Blitzen went with choice three which is annoying but saved time and was a quick way to get both jobs done... EXCEPT he wasn't looking at two jobs when he made me bowl-cleaner. Before the truck arrived Blitzen had specifically designated the bowl cleaning as a woman's job for "the girl". While technically the average man is stronger than the average woman, there is NO gender or genetic by birth predisposition to superior cleaning and attention to detail.

Peter Pan, the Never Ending Story, Resorts Wold Theater Sentosa 2014

Looking at someone there is NO possible way to determine who is better at cleaning unless Topher, Dancer, and Dasher looked like lost boys next to a spotless Me-Wendy who just dropped into Neverland.

But let's be real I'm way more of a Molly Aster type girl, especially after a day of volunteering.

Peter and the Starcatchers, Orlando Shakespeare Theater 2015

Now I did clean those bowls for 20 minutes while fuming and left fully intending to write this post and never volunteer there again BUT that isn't enough. I am an activist and I need some way to be active about this injustice. Reflecting on these two stories I have come up with a decent solution~ diversity training.

It is required at Volunteer UCF that coordinators, who are expected to pass it on to participants, who will hopefully spread it in their every day life. This in my opinion, should be an essential part of training for all volunteer organizations. There was nothing in the 10 minute volunteer video we watched on site about diversity and it could've been done so simply. The problem is it isn't even on the organization's radar. They are focused on the one issue that their work directly impacts without taking into account the other social issues in the world that their staff should be aware of. This better training will lead to a more successful organization. And this doesn't just go for non-profits, every business, household, and group would benefit from being diverse. We tell high school students to diversify electives and interests to be more appealing to colleges. We should also be socially diversifying ourselves to make each other better people in ultimately a better world. Expand your knowledge to create positive change.

Multipontiality and SCUBA - recognizing the benefits of embracing your passions

At our coordinator meeting this week, we did a reflection activity on this TED talk - a fascinating look at multipontialites and embracing all of the things that drive you. During our reflection, we talked about what passions we had or what things we wanted to accomplish in life that were unrelated to our majors or intended career paths. We each came up with a number of items, as I am sure that you could create your own list as well.

We talked about whether or not these hobbies or pet projects were useful to us, even if they have nothing to do with what we are studying or "what we want to be when we grow up." This got me thinking about an article I read on PADI's website earlier this week. You see, one of my goals is to become a SCUBA Divemaster. This has nothing to do with my majors, minors, or intended career. I love entering the incredible underwater world that waits just under the surface and learning the technical information that protects me and allows me to breathe while I am there. It is one of my favorite ways to relax - while I am diving, I am completely absorbed in enjoying the moment and taking in the experience. I could go on for a while, but I will spare you and just get to the point. I will probably never use my technical knowledge of enriched air gas blends or proper buoyancy control techniques in my academic programs or my chosen career path. However, as that PADI article points out, there are a lot of principles that can apply to life in general.

I know the importance of preparation in new situations. Without a plan and proper research, a dive at an unfamiliar dive site could be dangerous or even life-threatening. Similarly, in life, it is usually better to make decisions after weighing all of the options and "doing your homework."

I know that I can't do it alone. Always dive with a buddy. You have each other's back the whole time. Trying to dive alone almost always has disastrous consequences. Having people that are there to support you in any endeavor helps to keep you going in the right direction and focused on what is important.

I know that "the impossible" is usually just a matter of perspective. Humans aren't supposed to breathe underwater. But, everyday, people strap on SCUBA gear and brave the depths anyway. All it takes is determination and finding the right tools to help you get the job done. Change the way you look at the problem, and the "impossible" very well could be accomplished.

Again, I could probably go on for a while, but I will start wrapping up. My point is that whatever you are passionate about, go do it. Emilie Wapnick, from the TED talk I mentioned in the beginning, said this, "It is rarely a waste of time to pursue something you're drawn to," and I agree with her. Whether or not it is "relevant" experience, if it is something you love, it is going to enrich your life. "We should all be designing lives and careers that are aligned with how we're wired." If you want to specialize, then go hard after that specialty. Become an expert, and change the world with what you learn. And if you are drawn in a million different directions by all of the things that inspire you, don't be afraid to try them all. You can change the world with your unique perspective, too.

The bottom line is that each of us is wired in a different and beautiful way, but somewhere along the road, culture convinced us that fitting into a mold was better. Don't let them fool you. Be unapologetically passionate about what excites you, and use what you find to make the world a better place.

Not Being Offensive This Halloween

I am sure a lot of you have seen videos buzzfeed has been putting out about cultures dressing up in the costumes that exploit them (if you haven't see below for the Japanese Geisha Video)

This stream of videos got me thinking about a subject very close to me....witches.

Personally I am wiccan which means that just as someone who believes in Catholicism is Catholic, I practice wicca and am a witch.
Now the biggest bad stereotype is that we are devil worshippers so let me throw out that we don't believe in hell or heaven and therefore don't believe in the devil. Basically saying that wiccans praise the devil is like saying a Jewish person loves Jesus.

Moving on to my favorite holiday, the upcoming Halloween.
Halloween, known to us a Samhain, is a holiday with a lot of stereo types of my culture as a wiccan.

For example,
the "classic" witch iconography of the ugly old green hag

 

or the "sexy" witch costume

In reality a witch looks like any other person.

Obviously it is all within reason. If you are being a Hogwarts student or one of the Sanderson sisters that is awesome and I hope you have fun, but generically calling yourself a witch just because you threw on a pointy hat? At the end of the day...you should just be more creative than that. So this Halloween remember that if you wouldn't want someone dressing up in a way that makes fun of your culture, race, or religion; you shouldn't dress in a way to offend anyone else, and that includes us witches.

Happy Samhain Everyone!-Megan

Losing your Virginity; Remembering your First

For some losing their virginity is a magical experience. For others, losing their virginity is an experience typically categorized by two distinct yet intertwined sensations: awkwardness and pain. As for me, it was definitely the latter. Regardless as to which category you happen to fall into one thing is for sure- your first will always be remembered. While I refuse to exclude any details for purposes you will soon understand, I offer you the opportunity to read the memory of my first, if you so choose.  

Doing ANYTHING for the first time is always a nerve racking experience. I always strive to do what I can to the best of my ability even if that means I lack the necessary experience to be considered "impressive". I did what everyone would do in my situation- I called in for reinforcements. And after a couple of failed attempts from Youtube tutorials my best friend came in for the rescue (After all, I watch her do it everyday). In no time at all my lips were plumped, my eyeliner was winged, and my head wrap was tied tight. That day I lost my virginity: It was the first time I left the house with characteristics that were culturally defined as female *pop*  

It was a social occasion among a group of my friends. In another light many of us were virgins as it was our first time going to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show. For those who may not be familiar with the culture of this cult, the first time you watch this show the cast openly categorizes you as a ""Virgin" as you stand on stage in front of the rest of the audience. Like most, we decided to best way to enjoy the show was in costume.  

Leaving my house with this new identity left me both anxious and liberated. How would the public react? Specifically, how would other men react? How would my male friends react? It was a sensation I could only equate to the moments before boarding your first roller coaster. At that same moment I was given this unique opportunity to be uninhibited. With this new identity I had no clear defined cultural expectations. I was free.   

After an hour of enjoying my friends company in public I have come to realize any previous nerves were settled. There was not a single audible snicker, I did not face any distinct acts of violence, and while I did turn a couple of heads there was not a single face of disgusts. In fact, there were a few moments of praise. I started to question what this small segment of society thought was acceptable. I was pleased to believe that I was accepted.  

Sadly, this was short-lived.  

After going through a security checkpoint with about five security guards, getting my I.D. reviewed by another security guard, and passing a dozen or so more during my hour and a half of publically displaying my gender nonconformity I was approached.  Mr. Schmidt (not his real name) politely let me know that I must remove my head wrap. When probing for a reason why he simply stated "As a man, it is against policy for you to wear a head wrap." and of course, more questions ensued:  

Grace: What if he Identifies as a woman?  

Schmidt: …  

Ryan: Do I have to remove my hat?  

Schmidt: Your hat is fine.  

Annabelle: So a lady can wear a head wrap?  

Schmidt: Yes.  

Annabelle: And everyone can wear a hat?  

Schmidt: Yes.  

Me: But a man can't wear a head wrap?  

Schmidt: No.  

Me: How does your policy address gender identity and how does it define a head wrap?  

Schmidt: I am unsure, I am just doing my job.  

Me: Can you please connect me with someone that can answer my questions?  

  

For the next 20 minutes we waited and probed a bit more.  

According to Universal's policy a man wearing a head wrap is a safety issue as he could possibly be hiding weapons within the millimeter space between his head and the clothe. However, woman [obviously] do not posses that ability. Lets not fail to mention, it is IMPOSSIBLE to hide anything underneath a beanie, cap, or even a 10 gallon cowboy hat. All of which was observed within this waiting period without any speculation by Mr. Schmidt on their activities.  

After the 20 minute mark, I politely told him I refuse to miss the Rocky Horror Picture Show over this "issue". We walked away. We enjoyed the show.

 But I could not help but to analyze the situation afterwards. 

At no point in time did I not feel safe. I was surrounded by friends who were in complete support of me and my perspective. I have NEVER faced a situation like this, even as a proud member of the LGBT community.  

Why did I stand up to Mr. Schmidt? I am not sure if I would have questioned him at all if I was wearing a hat and he asked me to remove it. Was I subconsciously prepared to be in a controversial situation? Did I subconsciously want to be in a controversial situation? I don't know. 

What about the many self identified men that wear head-wear similar to head wraps for religious purposes? How does Universal accommodate them? Do they accommodate them? If so, why not me? Never was it determined what my religious background was. 

What about the many who identify as female even if they were born male? Is this a common occurrence? If so, I don't know how I would be as this one instance left me uncomfortable with myself. 

Was he really doing his job? 

If this is true, there is a policy issue for my previous stated reasons. There would also be a training issue as no other security guard stopped me before or after that instance. When asked if my scarf was okay to wear the typical response was a shrug and a yes. A security guard was even kind enough to take a photo for myself and my friends! 

If this is false, there is STILL a training issue. Did the security guards not get trained on diversity? How is a man able to hide a weapon under a scarf and NOT a cowboy hat? 

Regardless, this single event has left me both confused and disappointed with Universal as it highlights some very clear flaws. However, I am beyond proud of my fellow #ChangeAgents standing up for my rights OUR RIGHTS. 

Again, you always remember your first. So thank you, Mr. Schmidt;)