As I walk through the neighborhood and talk with my neighbors I have been saddened by the difficult stories I have heard. Life in East Garfield Park is a struggle for many. The despair is evidenced by the liquor bottles and empty crack bags strewn along the streets and in the parks. It seems there is broken glass and rubbish everywhere.
While I know we could bring in busloads of people from outside the neighborhood to clean it up, I recognize also, that the sight of outsiders coming in to work for a few hours and then leaving to go back to better neighborhoods can add to the sense of powerlessness of the residents. The issues we face are complicated and difficult.
So, we join in the struggle in small ways and we begin to see rays of hope.
Kids who would otherwise be roaming the streets are eager to participate in our Starfish studio film production classes. The reading levels of the participants of the Nettie Bailey Student Achievement program are continuing to rise preparing them for entrance into college and gainful employment. The mothers of our Breakthrough Beginners want to join the community of support developing around their children. Homeless men and women are engaging passionately with our Bible studies and devotions.
I think we all want to participate in something that is bigger than us, something worthy of our best effort, something that will truly transform the lives of those who live amidst the hopelessness. For me, that is Breakthrough. I love what involvement in this ministry does in me. My prayer life is enriched. My heart is made tender. I meet real heroes day after day. Jesus is at work here and I am so glad to be in the middle of it.
"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time ... But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." Lilla Watson, A Brisbane based Aboriginal educator and activist.
2 comments:
Life in East Garfield Park is a struggle for many. The despair is evidenced by the liquor bottles and empty crack bags strewn along the streets and in the parks. It seems there is broken glass and rubbish everywhere.
Great post, Arloa.
I have been one of those who came in "from outside the neighborhood to clean it up." I hope that there has been some value in that. I do often wonder, what will it take to turn this neighborhood around? I feel like the things Breakthrough is doing are a great start. The ball is rolling, but is it big enough or fast enough?
What do you think Arloa, what more will it take to turn a neighborhood completely around such that crack and liquor (as indicators of the area's health) were no longer a problem? Is it possible? What actions should we (Breakthrough and other invested parties) be taking?
This recent article in the NYT indicates that, sadly, troubles continue (maybe even are worsening) for black men in environments such as E. Garfield Park. I feel that these situations are closely tied together. Fatherlessness is not only a symptom but a cause of cultural erosion. Can more be done to counter this?
I did a bible study on Sarah and Abraham recently. God made promises to Abraham, yet Abraham and Sarah had a hard time believing the promises and being patient (Sarah did not have a baby until a very old age when one would doubt that having a baby is possible). God even repeated his promise and God's abilities ("shield") to Abe, yet there was hopelessness and lack of understanding of God's ways with Abe and Sarah. At one point, Abraham and Sarah took matters in their own hands and thus the Hagar situation.
Thus, I have come to realize that patience is a very hard thing. Also, when we do not trust and follow God and take matters in our own hands, bad things can happen. Sometimes God puts people, including me, in a very unbelievable and difficult situation so that everyone knows who (God) delivered.
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