Though the SALT program has many objectives, the heart of the program lies in voluntary service. My fellow SALTers (who are now far-flung across the world) are engaging in a wide variety of interesting projects ranging from teaching English to elementary students in Amman, Jordan to advising Ten Thousand Villages ceramicists in Siem Reap, Cambodia to working with an agricultural project in Lesoto.
I am working at a not-for-profit called INESIN (Instituto de Estudios e Investigación Intercultural). INESIN was founded almost 15 years ago (we´ll be celebrating our 15 year anniversary in May with three full days of festivities!) in response to incredible tension between Catholics and Protestants, a significant influx of Guatemalan refugees, the Zapatista uprising, NAFTA’s passage and a horrific massacre in Acteal, Chiapas. A group of Chiapans founded INESIN in response to this complex mix of difficult situations, and building ecumenical relationships was (and has been ever since) the guiding principle of this organization.
Today the work of INESIN has spread to three different areas. The first (and arguably most central work) is in theology and spirituality. INESIN does much capacity-building and it seems like every week there is a different workshop taking place on topics ranging from pastoral accompaniment in situations of family violence, to indigenous theology and positive conflict transformation. INESIN also has a strengthening communities project. Three workers (including a three-year MCCer) accompany almost 150 families in seven rural communities as they cultivate organic vegetable gardens. Our facility consists of three offices, a library, conference room, kitchen, two dorm-style bedrooms to host delegations, a dining hall and experimental garden all ringing a central courtyard.
I am working most closely with the institutional advancement team, though I have the great luck of plugging in with all three lines of work. Since I have been working here less than three weeks, I´ve yet to get a very clear sense of all I´ll be doing, but from all appearances it will be a wide variety of tasks such as translating newsletter, updating a quite outdated website, depositing checks in the bank downtown, assisting with basic accounting, serving as the contact person for INESIN´s English-speaking counterparts In the U.S., working in the library, attending workshops, teaching English and answering the phone. This last task is perhaps my least favorite. I really dislike talking to strangers on the phone and doing it in Spanish is even worse. Adding to my discomfort is the fact that our phone seems to function at ¼ the normal volume (and that´s being generous). Every time the phone rings I take a deep breath, trudge across the office and pray that the person on the other end has a loud voice, talks slowly and enunciates clearly.
Though I´m enjoying the substance and variety of my work, I feel so lucky to be working with the staff. To describe a few of my coworkers: there´s Martín who is our director, but is also the first person anyone goes to with a question about the photocopier. I´ve yet to see him with anything but a big smile on his mustachioed face. Natán, the administrator (and my direct supervisor), dresses as sharp as a tack and calls me “princess.” Abi gives amazing hugs and is a really stellar listener. Mariana, a volunteer from Switzerland, lives in intentional community and loves to play Settlers of Catan. Sandra started smoking a cigar to chase howling cats of the office roof one night at 2 am as we awaited the arrival of a peace caravan. Unfortunately, I don´t have the space to present a description of all of my coworkers, but I´m really impressed with them all. Whereas my host family seems quite traditional, my coworkers seem quite alternative. They are the first people I´ve encountered in Mexico to use gender-inclusive language, they are quite in-tune with the social reality of this country and they are truly dedicated to the creation of peace and justice. I’m lucky to know them
We work from 9-2 every day, though I quickly learned that if I arrive at 9 am, I am likely to be the first person here. My favorite part of the work day is the coffee break we take every morning. When the bell across the courtyard rings, we all gather in the kitchen, squeeze around the table and partake of coffee, fruit and sweet bread as we chat about topics ranging from Michael Jackson´s death to indigenous funeral rites to story-telling and analysis of Chiapas´ governor. And we laugh. A lot. One day last week as the coffee bell rang, Natán started chuckling from across the office. I asked him why and still laughing he told me that in Mexico, a ringing bell typically announces trash pick-up. I joined him in his laughter and we promptly answered the bell´s call.
No comments:
Post a Comment