Week 29: March Newsletter: Waste Land

Today I came across a documentary film that I feel really ties together with the type of situation and people I am working with here in Argentina. This movie inspired me and reminded me that one of the greatest ways of fighting injustice is through knowledge and education. Writing these monthly newsletters and blog entries are so important to me because sharing my story and realizations with you all is one of the only ways I can actually help the people I am working with this year as well as others like them. So far in my living life in the US, I find that sometimes I get caught up in my own life and daily schedule. This makes it easy to live in my own personal bubble where I do not know what is happening in other parts of the world and where I find myself not helping those in need in any way.

This year in Argentina, a zeal has grown stronger in me. It was always present but being here has fanned the small flames within me making a well-built fire. I am more passionate about changing poverty, inequality, child abuse, and environmental degradation. In the United States there is a common misperception that the causes of poverty are highly related to personal factors such as a lack in work ethic. I think that such a belief discounts the many structural factors that prevent people from excelling in American society. Factors that I think cause and perpetuate poverty include unequal access to education, a deficit of jobs, broken and/or dysfunctional families, health issues (including mental illness), discrimination, and language barriers. In order to truly address poverty in the United States attention to these structural factors is essential.

This year I have begun to put my dedication to work for social justice into action by working with marginalized children and youth in Argentina. However, one of the main things that I have learned is how complex and arduous it is to change such long-standing problems such as poverty and inequality. Often I feel that there is not much I can do. What can I do without inadvertently harming the person I intend to help? What long-term solutions might there be for problems like poverty? These are just a few of the questions I have been asking myself so far this year.

While many of my questions remain unanswered, I have learned that the injustice these children face every day takes a lot of time and effort to heal. Change does not appear over night as I might wish it could. This has been difficult for me to accept because it seems absurd that anyone on this plentiful earth should be starving. But this absurdity also makes it even more important to fight to end social injustice. For now I am giving them the only gifts I can, which are love and attention. I let the children know every day in whatever way I can that they are special, unique and important. I do this by motivating them to play soccer, giving individual attention to children by playing games, drawing, or just talking, helping prepare meals to serve to the children, and planning arts and crafts projects that the children can take home. Overall I try to make the children feel good about them selves in everything they do.

While in Argentina, I am realizing that I posses a deeper passion for fighting injustice than I initially imagined. Before my experiences here it was easy to get caught up in my own life and to forget that others were suffering. Now, after recognizing the empathy and compassion I feel for these underprivileged people and their undeserved situations I have decided that I cannot go on living my life without fighting against social injustice. In my eyes these people deserve a better life and I am willing to use my gifts and talents to help them in any way I can.

So after all that being said I recommend to you all the documentary call Waste Land. This movie is relates a lot to the community I am now a part of here in Argentina. Here in Buenos Aires there are people called “cartoneros” (similar to the “catadores” in the movie) who go around digging through people’s trash and collect objects to recycle like cardboard (cartón in Spanish). Like the people in the movie, they get money for collecting and this is how they make their living. Similar to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina does not have an organized recycling system.

Cartonero in Buenos Aires

The community center I am working at is located on land that used to be a garbage dump. Now the garbage dump is has moved farther back making this land available for living. In this area there is no clean water and they have to bring in water. Sickness is still a problem because the earth is still contaminated meaning digging in a garden could be toxic. I have never been to the garbage dump in the community so I am not sure how closely the documentary relates to that area. I think that the dump in Rio de Janeiro is probably a worse scenario but the situation here is probably not that far off.

Here is a Synopsis of the film that I got from the movie’s website which I recommend that you all check out. If you can't get a hold of the movie it has pictures and much more about the project (http://www.wastelandmovie.com/index.html):

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT and COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley have great access to the entire process and, in the end, offer stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

An example of one of the pieces from Vik Muniz's series made from garbage

Image from the garbage dump in Brazil

Week 28: February Newsletter: Living Simply and Sustainably

I try to reduce my ecological footprint as much as possible by recycling, reusing, reducing water usage, eating locally, and saving energy. I am not an extravagant spender and come from a middle class family where I have always had to work for things. As a young adult out of college, I have a limited income and try to save money and spend it wisely.

In Argentina, living simply and sustainably is a part of the YAGM program philosophy. We get paid enough to cover daily living expenses like food and simple necessities. Living in such an economical way has taught me how to work and live carefully on a budget. I closely keep track of what I spend and try to find ways to save money. One example of this is that I cook most of my meals and seldom go out to eat. I have found that little adjustments like this are useful ways to live on a budget.

This year I have been working in Argentina with an underprivileged community that lives mainly on a garbage dump. The experiences I have had here have shown me that living simply can also be a form of service to others. Gandhi once said, “live simply, that others may simply live” and I agree one hundred percent. I have begun to see what my comforts can cost others and I find it difficult to be at peace with consumer-based living when I know others are struggling just to find food to feed their families. Therefore it is imperative to live simply and sustainably so others can share in the world’s resources. It is also important to live in this way so that future generations can enjoy a healthy life and the richness of this earth.

Living simply and sustainably has become a spiritual practice as well as a socioeconomic statement. I find that having less and being more aware of my impact on this earth brings me nearer to God. I see the earth as a gift from God and spending time in nature is one of the ways I feel closest to God. Once we accept that the earth is part of God’s creation, like ourselves, it becomes evident that we are not superior to nature but a connected part of it. This means that the rest of creation is here to be interconnected to us, not controlled.

Consequently, living simply and sustainably is deeply tied to my faith and is a philosophy I promote. Living simply and sustainably has become a part of who I am. I have realized that I would like to more deeply engage in simple and sustainable living by continuing to uphold my commitment to sustainability, learning new ways to live more simply, and sharing ideas of simple and sustainable living with other.

Notable facts:

United States Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy.

United States Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily.

Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use.

884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people.

A United States American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typical person in a developing country slum uses in a whole day.

Suggested documentaries relating to this topic:

The Eleventh Hour
Food Inc.
Blue Gold: World Water Wars

This month’s quotes for thought:

“Cut off from nature, we get sick inside. We lose our sense of belonging to the earth. This belonging fuels the core of energy inside us that sustains our activism. And when we lose that, we lose drive and power. We are not able to be the tree that holds the learning. The more we draw the earthly into our spirituality, the more responsive we become, and our responsiveness calls forth the responsiveness of others.” Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank

This month’s scripture quotes for thought:

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? James 2:15-16

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4

They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. Jeremiah 17:8

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12