Entry 6:

Feliz Navidad from the Working Boys Center! I apologize for the long absence between entries (about 2 months), December is a crazy month around the center and these updates were put on hold for a while. Now I am back and have much to catch up on.

            The last entry I wrote was shortly after Halloween. Since then I have been extremely blessed in that I have had my longest period (2 months) of health in Ecuador without any parasites or other maladies. The pace has picked up these last two months as well, so I feel all the more fortunate not having had to miss the activities. The month of November flew by, with the volunteers more or less hitting their stride as new teachers. We have all been guilty of complacency as well. By this I mean we have lost the initial vigor and thrill that comes with something new, and we have fallen into routines for better or for worse. Now I know they say, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it”, but the thing about complacency and routines is that small slips into laziness and apathy, such as poorly planned classes due to a lack of initiative, gradually accumulate into larger problems.   Thus the volunteer is largely ignorant of their fault, as many others may be doing the same thing, and the people in the center suffer for this reason. 

            I want to clarify that I do not consider myself apart from this problem, but it has occurred to me through reflection and I plan to take appropriate steps to remedy the places where I have made mistakes and improve areas which can be made better. For example, many volunteers view weekends as strictly their time. I understand their stance, as there virtually no free time during the week. The problem occurs when we have not planned sufficiently for Monday classes, which leaves little to no chance for successful classes the remainder of the week. 

            The sad part for me is that the kids are not disappointed when they are obviously slighted in one way or another. They have become accustomed to sup par treatment by society and, often, those around them that when someone gives up on them it is nothing to be surprised or ashamed of, it is expected. It is similar among some demographics here in the United States, where failure is the norm and success is the exception. What I love about the center is that they are focused on breaking the destructive cycles that so often classify the people and families who come from these backgrounds. Families where neither parent has completed the equivalent of a 6^th grade education, where alcohol abuse is pervasive, spousal abuse is common, living conditions are sup par and not conducive to any sort of learning, dads often leave the families, and the children who see this while being raised in these conditions accept this as, well, acceptable and often perpetuate the cycle. 

            After 23 years of observation and having traveled a decent chunk of the world, they keys to success for any individual seem to be a combination of accountability, discipline, and persistence. In the center these values are held in the highest esteem. For example, during the Christmas season the volunteers prepare bultos or bundles of clothes and presents for each family. They consist of clothes for every member of the family, along with some small toys and maybe a kitchen accessory. In order to receive a bulto, the family must fulfill certain requirements. For example, everyday the boys go out and shine shoes for a few hours (hence the name “Center for Working Boys) and they must save some of the money they earn. I am not sure if there are quotas they must fulfill, but the boys are then expected to turn in part of their earnings in a “bank” that the nuns here have which records how much they have saved on posters for all to see. It is pretty impressive, as some boys have saved over $700 if my memory serves me correctly. That over 2,800 pairs of shoes shined. I do not remember the other requirements for receiving a bulto. It was pretty sad for me the day we handed them out to the families. One of my favorite little girls, her name Ivon and she is one of four or five siblings to a mother who sells ice cream on the streets for a living and the father also recently left, did not receive a bulto because the brother was not working and saving. I asked one of the nuns in charge if they did not make exceptions for families who were not able to save that money due to economic demands, and she assured me that this was not the case. It broke my heart to see one of my favorite amigas looking through the bultos without finding one with her family’s name. At the same time, even though I know they will have a Christmas with less presents to go around, I also know that the son of that family will be busting his rear to save money for the next year. 

A quick summary of the last few months before I continue my pontificating. November was largely uneventful, and we had a large thanksgiving celebration will all the food to make us feel right at home. December was filled with festivities of all sorts. The Center celebrated a birthday on December 6^th, and the city of Quito also celebrated the founding of Quito with lots of dancing and merry making throughout the streets. The birthday of the Center was extremely fun, as everyone was invited and we spent the night dancing away to cumbia music with all our students and their parents as well. Its amazing how all the bad sentiments and tension from the classroom seem to melt away on the dance floor, with the kids who usually seem terrified of you lining up to dance. Most recently, we have had a medley of Christmas activities including special masses, plays by all the different grades, and novenas every night leading up to Christmas. Sadly, I had to miss Christmas Eve and Christmas in the center due to the restrictions of frequent flyer tickets during the holiday season.

            I am ecstatic to announce that I am the uncle to a beautiful, albeit a bit gassy, Luca Vricella. Even though I am sad to have missed the experiences of Christmas in Ecuador, I am glad I made the decision to some back and spend time with the newest member of the family. As we sat together Christmas opening presents, I couldn’t help but think that the amount of money invested in Luca in just the presents he received compared to the resources put into babies in the center. From the moment of birth and the care he received, he was on a path of privilege of which the majority of the world can only dream. 

Every person who performs missionary or volunteer work must consider the similar life of privilege they were born into. I feel like some of the volunteers I work with have a self glorified perspective of what we do. We complain about the hours and the frustrations of the daily trials we face. We complain about the stresses of choosing the next step after returning to the United States, the next step often being medical school or law school. We feign self-righteousness in our reflections upon our work.

We forget that only the rich are able to travel for pleasure. We forget that while we perceive ourselves as poor having just completed college, we have the assets of families and friends who are willing to support us as well as a level of education that sets us apart from an overwhelming majority of the population in the most advantaged nation in the world. We forget that we were raised being told that we are special and unique. Most importantly, we forget that we are lucky (I really want to emphasize “lucky”) enough to have been dealt the best possible band in life. 

Often I see the rich attribute their success to their own sweat and hard work, while the poor view themselves as having received less than their fair share in life. I will make no attempt to speculate as to why some of us are born with silver spoons in their mouths while others are born hungry.  I will attempt to expound some light on my own view of how I think I must act in my own life situation, for that is all I know.  I believe as a person of privilege, we have a humble obligation to help and serve those who have not been so blessed in life. We should not be boastful, or glorify our works, for we could have easily been born into a world in which the roles may have been reversed and we may have known true hunger and poverty.  We need to be thankful everyday for our lives of privilege we were blessed with, and use our gifts to ease the suffering of others.