Monthly Archives: July 2018

Finding New Growth in the Garden

Weeding the tomato plants with a volunteer group.

This week is my last week at Growing Home, so naturally, I have been taking more time to pause and reflect on my CAPS journey. Last week, I spent time in our Learning Garden which serves as a hands-on experience for kids to touch and taste the produce we grow. The garden is the responsibility of my department to maintain, so I’ve spent a lot of time in that space over the summer pulling weeds, pruning beets, and harvesting all kinds of vegetables: tomatoes, radishes, green garlic, kale, swiss chard, and a few strawberries, (getting to sample a few along the way, of course). While working in the garden, I was surprised to see how tall our pea plants had grown from when we planted them a few weeks after I started my internship. These plants, which were once pea-sized seeds, had climbed to nearly 3 feet in just a few weeks. As cheesy as it sounds, I cannot help but connect my personal growth through the CAPS experience to the growth of these plants. Just as it’s difficult to notice a plant’s growth in real time, my own growth wasn’t always apparent day-by-day, but looking back through this summer, that growth is undeniable.

Our growing pea plants

I am so grateful for the people and experiences that have supported my growth over the summer. One of those experiences has been the opportunity to work in each of the departments at Growing Home, which gave me a full experience and understanding of the organization and the work that they do. I mainly worked with the Community Engagement department hosting volunteer and tour groups on the farm, attending community events, and, lately, I have spent my time to helping prepare for Growing Home’s first Back to School Farm Fest at the end of August. This preparation has included everything from making a promotional flyer to creating 70 seed germination necklace kits that will be used as the kids’ activity to teach them about the beginning stages of plant life. Although I won’t be here for the event, it has been fun to see it take shape and to see the corner of our office pile up with boxes of in-kind donations, especially the 60 backpacks, full of school supplies, that will be given to children at the event.

 

Outside of my department, I visited the office where our development team works and learned more about what our development team does to keep the organization running smoothly and to raise the funding needed to keep the organization operating. I was able to learn about the process of organizing a fundraising event and helped create some social media posts.

 

 

Being given a variety of tasks and experiences has been one of my favorite parts of internship at Growing Home. I’ve learned proper way to bunch pieces of kale to form a uniform bouquet, helped with resume and job search workshops, acquired in-kind donations from local businesses, prepared weekly cooking demos, and recently created a short video for a grant. As a self-identified planner and sometimes overly-cautious person, these experiences have shown me my ability to take on new tasks or challenges and succeed, even in unfamiliar circumstances.

 

Taking some time away from the farm to hammock and read with my fellow CAPS Fellow, Emily.

Overall, my CAPS experience has stretched my perspective, not only on the work that goes into running a non-profit, but also on the many injustices in our food system and the amazing work community members in Englewood are doing to overcome the challenges and barriers they have had to face.

 

Although I will miss working with the talented staff at Growing Home and spending time with the Chicago CAPS cohort, I’m happy to have made lasting connections with these wonderful people who have supported my growth this summer in the same way the metal cage supports the pea plants ability to grow taller and stronger. Going into the next semester, I’m thankful for the personal and professional growth I’ve made this summer, but just like the pea plant, I still have plenty more to grow.

A Hot Commodity

My confidence is often borderline arrogance; however, I mean it when I say I’m a hot commodity at the American Red Cross. Not only do they literally want my blood, but my skill set has garnered a lot of attention throughout the region. I’ve been working as a Regional Communication Intern for the Red Cross, meaning I maintain their social media accounts, graphic design, and video. The last one is my focus, passion, and something that the Red Cross was very interested in. I think it’s important to stress that I am currently their only staff video editor in the state, as it is responsible for all of my stress.

My supervisor, Duchess has been very supportive of my editing passion since she interviewed with me, and I’m very grateful to have her constant encouragement and understanding of the process. I receive plenty of support from everyone in the office; however, supply and demand has come to create another barrier between myself and those who don’t have the same understanding. It hasn’t been negative by any means, but I’ve been nonstop for about three weeks and am still receiving pitches for video projects during my final days. In this fast-paced environment, Duchess and the Indy CAPS fellows have helped me prioritize, recognize my value, and work up the courage to be more assertive in the working world. I know the skill I have is valuable, and I don’t feel arrogant in saying so. My time at the American Red Cross has made me realized that my time and energy have high values and that I have every right to recognize that.

I no longer feel like I’m making an excuse when I say “I don’t have the time to pick up another project”, and I’ve gained confidence in discussing what’s top priority and what can wait a few days. My biggest inspiration regarding self-worth and negotiating expectations is Duchess. She has provided me with a professional means to carry myself as a leader without being overbearing. Thanks to her guidance as my supervisor and compassion as a friend, I feel comfortable admitting stress and asking others to help combat it. With the projects are clearing up now and the end of my internship is in sight, I can say with conviction that knowing Duchess and this experienced overall has strengthened me both individually and professionally.

Caught in the Experience

As the summer internship comes to a close, I want to reflect on the experience I had at Indiana Humanities, a statewide non-profit that encourages Hoosiers to think, read, and talk. Over the past couple of weeks, I was fortunate to work big events and go to places that no other internship can offer.

My co-intern Julia and I paddling on the White River.

The Next Indiana Campfires Series is a program unique to Indiana Humanities. This program combines treks into nature with literature and campfire discussions. The series won the Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for Public Humanities Program in 2017, a national award given to the best humanities program in the nation. I was able to take a canoe trip down the White River while engaging in a conversation about literature. My co-intern, Julia, and I shared a canoe for the trip, and it was a bonding experience. I never thought that a four-hour canoe trip would change a relationship, but let me tell you, it definitely does.

One experience that specifically that brought us closer was having to work together when we got stuck between a couple logs and stopped moving. The river was very low, so not only were we stuck, but the boat kept dragging across the bottom of the river, making it hard to paddle out. Of course, with our luck, at the same time, it started to pour. At that point, we both looked at each other, decided to take a breath, and worked on getting out of the mess we were in. A few minutes later we were able to get free. About a half mile down the river we met up with the rest of the participants who were on a sandbank under trees trying to stay dry. Soaked through, we paddled up and joined them until the rain stopped.

As part of the program, participants gather to discuss the connections between nature, literature, and place. Kevin McKelvey, a University of Indianapolis professor, led our discussion. He read poems, short stories, and excerpts about nature in Indiana, and asked us to reflect on what we thought of the readings. Many points were brought up about how the White River is impacted by the current political climate both in the state and in the nation. Not only was it a wonderful (and wet) experience, I learned a lot about the White River and how the environment around the river impacts so many people.

The lake house pool with Hamilton lake behind it.

With Indiana Humanities, I was able to participate in the staff retreat. We stayed at the President/CEO’s lake house on Hamilton Lake in Hamilton, Indiana. During the three-day retreat, the staff discussed the successes and improvements of the current theme, Quantum Leap, which connects the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field to the humanities; the next theme and its programming; grant application changes; the strategic plan for the next couple of years; and a discussion on the book titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot.

 

The Indiana Humanities staff during the book discussion.

I found that the discussion of the book was one of the more entertaining parts of the weekend because we engaged in a deep, thoughtful conversation. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about Henrietta’s cancer diagnosis and how her stolen immortal cells, now referred to as HeLa cells, helped start a scientific and medicinal discovery period. Taken without Henrietta’s consent, her cancerous cells were used for testing that led to discoveries in polio vaccines and how many chromosomes people have. It also helped scientists learn more about the AIDS virus and leukemia. The book follows the Lacks family – how they struggled to overcome poverty, to accept the fact that Henrietta’s cells have outlived Henrietta, and how the family has not been compensated for the advancements her cells have brought to the field of medicine. We engaged in conversation about whether life can, or should, have a patent on it, if the Lacks family should be paid, and if Skloot was using her white privilege to share this story of the Lacks family.

 

 

The Indiana Humanities staff hanging out on Hamilton Lake.

The staff retreat offered me the opportunity to get to know my coworkers outside of the workplace. We played Mafia (the card game) and hung out by the pool. We went paddleboarding and kayaking out on the lake. It was nice to be away from downtown Indianapolis and enjoy time together on a boat just to hang out.

I only have one week left here at Indiana Humanities, and I’m going to make the most of it. The connections I have made with the staff and other interns are strong and I know that I will be in contact with them as I grow in my profession. Thank you, Indiana Humanities, for the wonderful summer that I have experienced here.

Focusing In

One of my boss’s three cats, picture taken from the desk in his house where I usually work

The majority of my time spent in Indy after my trip to El Salvador so far has been focusing in on what project I want to work on for the remainder of the summer. After some deliberating with my supervisor, we decided that I would work on researching ultraviolet (UV) water purification processes and their potential compatibility with water system projects that CoCoDA has been implementing in Central America.

I didn’t have many, but one of the concerns that I had going into this internship process was that I would end up just doing busy work for the summer. This is work that could potentially be useful, but in the end is just a made up task to keep me busy. In this scenario I still would have done all the wonderful learning and reflecting that I knew would come with the CAPS style internship, but without really contributing to the organization. I had no idea that on top of the learning and reflecting I would be doing research for the organization that could change the way that they do water projects in the future. This research could really contribute to providing a more sustainable water system to families, and that is an exciting concept for me.

The current method of purifying the water in the systems that we have helped implement so far is through chlorine tablets, a method that works, but with a couple drawbacks. The first drawback is the upkeep. A trained person has to apply the chlorine to the water in regular monthly or weekly intervals throughout the year. This also comes with the regular purchasing of the chemical to purify the water. The second major drawback is the change in the water’s flavour. After shocking the water with chlorine, the flavour of the water becomes quite bad, providing a motivation for the people to put less chlorine in the water. The potential for a new method of purification that doesn’t change the flavour and only requires UV light bulb changes once a year is quite appealing.

This UV purification leads to a number of questions though. What specific purification device do you use, one that is already manufactured or should you attempt to design a new one? At what point along the journey of the water, from the ground to the home, do you purify it? Should you purify all the water or just the water that will be used for drinking? These questions and more all have many answers and are often dependent on each other. My job this summer is to find potential engineering solutions to these unique problems.

A water collection tank, the beginning of the water’s journey as it makes it way to the families in a community

Besides working on the project, Monday of this past week brought a CoCoDA board meeting. This meeting continued to  help me understand the inner mechanisms of a service based organization. The majority of the meeting centered on keeping the board up to date with what CoCoDA was doing, but seeing the employee interaction with board members showed me how imperative it was to have a governing board. The presence of an objective panel is a way of making sure that CoCoDA stays on the right path and it instills confidence in the employees that CoCoDA is not being run unchecked.

This really cool project paired with the organization I am working for, and the other (really awesome) CAPS fellows that I am living with has so far made my time in Indy an enriching experience. I am so happy with how the summer is going and I’m excited to see where it has yet to go.

Traveler/Tourist: Reflections on Two Weeks in Uganda

One month before I left for Uganda, I called my parents to share the news: “Hey, remember how I’m going to Austin for that internship this summer? Well now they’re letting me go to Uganda first!!” They knew that I was excited about the chance to work with Water to Thrive (W2T), a nonprofit that builds wells in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they were somewhat concerned about the two-weeks in the African bush with such limited communication. I’d already been studying in Europe for five months, so they had been looking forward to my return to the U.S. On this call, I didn’t tell them that I’d already booked my flights to Uganda, nor that I didn’t know if I’d get any funding. I had made up my mind to go. And nothing, not worried parents, nor homesickness, nor the crazy logistics of getting there, would stop me.

Visiting a primary school in the Mityana district.

My role on this trip was mainly as an observer — to gain some first-hand knowledge of the culture and various water projects.  Upon returning to the states, I would be doing research and data analyses on the impact of W2T’s partner organizations and drafting a grant proposal and newsletters.  So I had a role or a job to do — sort of. But as I stepped outside the Entebbe airport on my first day, anxious and sleep deprived, and not sure if I had the right VISA, I felt mostly like an outsider, and a spectacle. Robert, the driver who picked me up from the airport, laughed and told me that he’d immediately recognized me. My colleagues had told him to look for a “young woman with long hair who looks like it’s her first time in Africa.” And I did look that way: like a tourist.  Travel writer Paul Theroux writes that “Travelers don’t know where they’re going; tourists don’t know where they’ve been.”  I like this idea: while tourism is about arriving at a carefully packaged destination, travel is about the detours, the ongoing journey, and paying attention along the way. It’s not about arriving.

Jerry cans (the most common method of gathering and storing water) lined up next to a well.

In Uganda, I traveled with Susanne (the W2T director, aka my boss) and Gashaw (W2T’s Ethiopian hydrogeologist). Susanne called our trip a “vision” trip, to distinguish it from the many mission groups that take trips to build wells in Africa. While our visit was short term, W2T’s commitment to the communities it serves is long term and community based, and always works through local community organizations. But unlike Gashaw and Susanne, I didn’t have any real skills to offer the communities. While they analyzed water projects and worked out funding with partner organizations, my biggest role on this trip was simply to watch and listen. I could collect the stories and learn what these people had to teach me.  And in those two weeks of travel –– of bumpy car rides on roads built for cattle and bicycles, of celebrating and singing and impromptu dance lessons –– I learned that it’s not just about the water, not just about jerry can contamination and borehole depths, but also about history, and race, and what is enough.

Armed with a camera, a journal, and my hiking boots, I spent ten wide-eyed days trying to take in everything around me.  At the very first well we visited, I met a 23-year-old woman named Grace (two years older than me), who told me

Grace, age 23, is married with four kids.

that she was thankful that her four young children now didn’t get sick so often. In another village, one of the elders who spoke a little English told us that the old women were “crawling on the ground in happiness” now that they had water within easy walking distance. I chased kids as they shouted “Muzungu, muzungu!” (white person), who would 

“accidentally” let me catch them and then shriek with laughter as I scooped them up. Yet other villages would explain that their new well still frequently ran dry from the sheer volume of people using it.  They wondered if we might work on a second well to better sustain their needs.  I stood with villagers and listened to humbling and heartbreaking prayers. They asked God to bless the water he had brought them and to remember those villages who still need a water source.

I have more questions than ever, about race and privilege and responsibility. Questions that I’m only beginning to be able to articulate, questions laced with uneasiness and discomfort. But these questions feel big and important and relevant, and I’m excited to keep exploring and learning about these themes as I continue my work here.

Compassion Fatigue

One morning on my commute to work, the woman sitting next to me on the train struck up a conversation with me, as we are often on the same train for a portion of our respective commutes. I took two things away from that conversation, the first being that I am fooling no one in my efforts to seem like a seasoned Chicago 9-5er, as she immediately intuited that I am an intern. The second thing I took away was her reminder that I am looking at the next forty years of my life in the workforce. I’m not sure if that piece of sage wisdom was supposed to terrify me (40 years of working seems pretty daunting), and at first it definitely did. With time, however, I’ve come to regard that statement as crucial in my personal journey to find a career or goal to work towards in my life that I feel called to do.

I’ve been working at Concordia Place for five weeks now. Concordia Place is a Lutheran non-profit whose mission is basically to support members of the community at all stages of life, from early childhood to the teenage years to retirement, through accessible services that have arisen out of the need Concordia Place identifies in the communities it serves. I am shocked that the time has flown by so quickly, but the abundance of things that I have learned about myself, nonprofits, and the needs that often go unmet in the Chicago area community, are proof of the passage of time.

My supervisor, Cameron, has been awesome about taking me along on her meetings around the city, whether it be with Concordia Place board members, public relations consultants, or potential donors, and helping me to understand how a nonprofit runs from all different angles. For a nonprofit that I had never heard of until my involvement in CAPS, Concordia Place has a large and impressive network of players and contributors, and the people of Concordia Place have worked tirelessly to get this far. In a political and social climate that has presented charitable need in so many different areas and issues, I am impressed by how Concordia Place continues to grow.

In a recent meeting I accompanied Cameron to, I learned about the concept of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is best described as a feeling of indifference towards charitable campaigns addressing even the most important of issues, due to a saturation of appeals for aid for various social issues. As human rights are infringed upon with increasing frequency lately, there are just too many problems vying for attention. For example, it might be difficult for Planned Parenthood to campaign for funds right now, when the ACLU is also campaigning for funds to help families separated at the border, which is a recent social issue that is dominating the news cycle. Both organizations work towards a very worthy cause, yet people cannot put their time, energy, and money into an infinite number of worthy causes. They do what they can, and no one can do it all.

As a college student who is lucky enough to attend Valpo and feel safe and at peace in my privileged bubble in Indiana, it is easy to understand how compassion fatigue comes about. Eventually, we just stop talking about social injustices and things occurring in our country that are against our personal convictions, because they are too numerous, and the thought of all that needs to be fixed in the world is overwhelming and upsetting. And because these injustices often are not directly impacting those as privileged as myself, we can just push these thoughts aside. This is a dangerous pattern of ignorance and comfort to fall into.

This CAPS fellowship couldn’t have come at a better time, as I myself was beginning to fall into this pattern. What could I, an average college student, do to help fix any one of these problems? It often felt like the answer to that was nothing. Now, working for a nonprofit, I see that there is so much that I can personally contribute with my talents and gifts, and even more importantly, so much that can be done when numerous compassionate and driven minds come together for change. Compassion fatigue is a very real phenomenon, but one that can be combated with passion and persistence. I’ve learned that any progress towards change is worth being celebrated, no matter how great or small. And optimism is key.

If I’m looking at the next forty years of my life, the nonprofit sector seems like a great option as a place to spend them. The lady on the train’s terrifying advice now suddenly seems terrifying for a different reason, in that forty years doesn’t seem like nearly enough time to achieve all that I wish in making this world a better place. Although at times it may feel both difficult and hopeless to fix social issues, I feel called to push aside compassion fatigue and just do what I can with what I have to fight for change.

Volunteer day at the new Concordia Day center opening later this summer on Milwaukee Avenue!

Concordia Place interns with CEO Brenda Swartz at her 15th Anniversary Party

Where Do I Go From Here?

Since this is my first blog, I’ll introduce myself. Hello, I’m Alicia, and I want to be an advocate for human trafficking survivors. It’s always a little awkward for me when I tell people my career aspirations. Human trafficking it’s exactly a light dinner conversation people expect when they ask me, “what do you want to do after graduation?” It may seem like I’m being unnecessarily specific, but I’m actually expanding my options. In high school I wanted to be a psychologist that specializes in healing trauma caused by human trafficking; however, VU has helped me broaden my career horizon while still centering it around human trafficking survivors. I could work as a lawyer, a policy maker, a researcher, an FBI intelligence analyst, or a caseworker. This why I find myself interning under caseworkers at Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services (RICS). While this internship has been interpersonally and emotionally challenging; it has helped me grow in self-awareness and awareness of refugees and asylees.

Through this internship, I’ve learned more about the refugee process, specifically the resettlement process. I’ve seen first hand some of the difficulties that immigrants and asylees encounter. I’ve often found myself thinking about how I would feel if I had to live in a country I can’t easily communicate. I know their journey can be dismal and hopelessness at times, and I wonder if they think the immigration is or will be worth it. When I encounter families, in particular, I’m reminded of my own family. They made me think of my grandfather and his immigration to the U.S. For the first time, I thought about the challenges that he went through. All that I have in the U.S.—my very existence—is because of his decision to move here despite not knowing much English or having any family here. Even though I can’t talk to him now, I feel so fortunate to be doing something that positively affects other people coming to the U. S.

 

Because of how RICS teams function, I am able to contribute to the workload as an intern in a measurable way that is not overwhelming. I’m surrounded by people that have the same goal of helping others in the most compassionate and effective way. The type of people these jobs attract and the way this workplace is structured gives me the opportunity to be apart of the most supportive, encouraging, understanding, and well-communicated group of people that I’ve ever worked with. I’m given space to learn how I can make a meaningful impact on participants* and improve my interactions with them.  

 

This is especially important for me not only because of my ancestry but because of my identity as a U. S. citizen. Recently, I heard someone say that the separation of families at the border is not a Trump administration problem. It’s a problem that all of the U. S. is responsible for. The lack of compassion in our actions (or lack of actions) toward refugees and asylees is and has been a tragedy. At our highest intake of refugees (when we accepted more refugees than any other county recorded), we still accepted less than 1% of refugees around the world. I feel so fortunate that I’m able to talk to people about my internship and incite compassion for these fellow human being. I feel fortunate that I’m able to share this with you, my reader, and people I have and will meet with.

There is, however, an obstacle I face that inhibits my capability of maximizing my efforts: anxiety. At Heartland Alliance it’s important to create a welcoming environment for the participants by knowing the participants by name, greeting them when you see them, and asking them how they are doing. It’s also important to create a friendly environment for fellow coworkers. This is a challenge for me because I get more anxiety than the average person during certain social interactions. For example, I get a great deal of anxiety from names; pronouncing someone’s name wrong, calling them the wrong name, or completely forgetting someone’s name genuinely bring me fear because I feel like I’m unintentionally insulting someone and/or making them feel insignificant. I can work on and manage anxieties like that, but it can be exhausting to manage from 9am to 5pm for 4-5 days a week. 

Based on this experience, being a case manager for human trafficking survivors might not be the career for me; however, I think it’s still too early to be sure. I have no doubt that being a case manager for human trafficking survivors would give me a more holistic understanding of human trafficking survivors. Long term, I might be more comfortable with a job that specializes in helping them with one thing (such as mental health) instead of managing their entire case. That way, I can focus on the participant for a prolonged amount of time and help with the specifics of their mental, legal, or ect case. However, my opinions on this may change. Only time and experience will tell.

 

*Participants are the refugee and immigrants coming to the office. Heartland Alliance uses this term as a reminder to the employees and the participants that the participants are not just passively receiving services; they are expected to actively be involved in attaining their goals.

Savior Complex: It’s not about you, it’s about the community

As a recent graduate from Valparaiso University in Social Work and Spanish, I have begun to experience life in the “real world”. From various job applications to calling insurance companies, I am learning what it means to be an “adult”.

In this time of transition between my next job and the end of my college career, CAPS is filling the time with experiences that have opened my eyes to understanding the complexities of being a part of a non-profit organization. While this is not the first non-profit organization I’ve worked for, I have had the ability to see more of the “behind-the-scenes” aspects, such as the logistical planning and important meetings, such as meetings for fundraisers. In addition to these invaluable experiences, I’ve also come to discuss and explore what my calling is in this work that I do, but also understanding one essential aspect of service work: I am not a savior.

That probably goes without saying, but sometimes embedded subconsciously in our minds and hearts is the feeling that we are “saving” a community through the work we do. But we need to rephrase and review how we approach the service sector. The point of service and outreach is not to fulfill and feed the “savior complex” many individuals have, but rather to ask and assess what the community needs. We are more prone to assume what a community needs instead of taking the time to investigate what the community needs most, whether this is through forums, community surveying, or even personal testimonies from those living there. I admit that I had a “savior complex” stepping into the field of social work. I saw myself as someone saving other people, when in reality, it isn’t about me. It’s about the community or the client. Instead of saving, perhaps we should seek to empower.

There’s a famous metaphor that alludes to this concept of empowerment through the idea of teaching an individual to fish versus giving fish to an individual. Teaching the individual how to fish allows one to continue being self-sufficient. Other times, the individual knows the skills, such as “how to fish”, but doesn’t have the resources. And yet other times, they don’t have a place where opportunities or “fish” are readily available. Thus, non-profit work and service work should ultimately be about giving clients the tools to be self-sufficient and assessing the needs of the clients instead of assuming or giving without empowering them. Many of the programs here at Erie House support this idea of empowerment and independence. Through the citizenship classes offered to youth mentoring programs, the philosophy is that we are helping a community help itself. We are helping individuals help themselves. We are empowering, not saving.

Therefore, through my service work at Erie House, I am learning to be an accountable, active member in society. I am learning to give the tools, link clients with the necessary resources, and ultimately act as a way of getting clients to their goal—I am not delivering their goals to them. In all, I am just an everyday person looking to give back to a community with the hope that the cycle of giving and empowering allows the community to thrive in new and bigger ways.

Even though the work I do isn’t always glamorous or “fun”, I know that in the long-run, I am serving an organization that is here for the right purposes and serving the community in the best ways it can through the programs and resources offered. So as I sit here and continue to sort crayons and crafting materials, I know that these seemingly trivial tasks are important to the community and to the organization as a whole.