Community Cleanup

Sometimes I feel so inspired. Nowhere in the world are things perfect, but in some moments parts of life just seem to click so sweetly that you feel like there's some hope for the future. Organizing the jornada de limpieza (neighborhood cleanup day) this week, the strength of community amazed me. A group of about 15 or 20 kids from the Solidaridad de los Pueblos school and the youth group went door to door in their community, informing their neighbors about the cleanup day on Saturday and encouraging them to put out their garbage. To clarify, the garbage truck rarely passes in many areas of the neighborhood. How do people get rid of their garbage then? Burning it, throwing it in the drainage ditch, carrying it to places where the truck does pass, throwing it on the street. It sits in pools of water when it rains, becoming bloated and rotten. So we called and asked the mayors office to send a truck to the neighborhood to collect the garbage and they agreed. It's actually ridiculous that you have to arrange for the truck to come. It should pass regularly and help people manage their waste situation better. But very often here you have to call and demand to receive basic services, particularly when you happen to live in a poor area. So this was actually nothing of a sustainable solution, but a way to start dialogue in the community.

But the most beautiful part was wandering from street to street and seeing the kids really energized about talking to people about how to make the neighborhood cleaner. They ran from house to house, in the ridiculously hot sun of midday, racing to see who could reach the most number of houses. Kids inspire adults to action more than other adults... I mean who can resist an eleven year old engaged in positive activities. People have such a propensity to complain about the bad behavior of youth... But this day they couldn't complain...