Tag Archives: Indianapolis

Two Weeks in El Salvador

Companion Community Development Alternatives (CoCoDA) is a small organization with far reaching effects. CoCoDA partners with local organizations and communities in El Salvador and Nicaragua to accomplish community building projects. To do this, communities dictate which projects to work on and CoCoDA facilitates the project process and provides resources for the project’s completion. They occasionally plan trips with external organizations (many of these being universities) to help in the implementation.

The organization originally peaked my interest because of it’s thoughtful approach to volunteering in a world where international volunteering has been somewhat sensationalized in the form of short term volunteer trips. I wanted to learn more about the effects of crossing cultural boundaries with good intentions, and how to minimize any possible negative effects. Spending two weeks in El Salvador with CoCoDA showed me that CoCoDA is among the unfortunately small ranks of organizations that realize that good intentions are not necessarily enough in international volunteer situations.

Judith Lasker, professor of sociology and anthropology at Lehigh University conducted a study researching short term medical volunteer trips (detailed in the book Hoping to Help). In doing so, she creates a list of nine separate criteria that, if met, will lead to the most positive experience for the host community. These nine, while derived specifically for medical trips can be generalized for broader short volunteer trips, like the ones that CoCoDA organizes. The nine criteria are:

· Foster mutuality between sponsor organizations and host-country partners at every stage
· Maintain continuity of programming
· Conduct substantive needs assessment, with host-community involvement
· Evaluate process and outcomes and incorporate the results into improvements
· Focus on prevention (medical trip specific)
· Integrate diverse types of health services (medical trip specific)
· Build local capacity
· Strengthen volunteer preparation
· Have volunteers stay longer

CoCoDA has taken these criteria and thought very carefully about the application of their delegations in host countries. In everything that they do, CoCoDA strives to remain culturally sensitive and provide long-term solutions rather short-term ones, solutions that build capacity and trust between peoples. During my trip I was able to visit projects sites that had been completed, project sites that are currently under construction, and meet to discuss potential new projects. The projects that CoCoDA assists in implementing range from schools to water systems. They have been involved in constructing roads as well as setting up scholarship programs, each of these are projects dictated by the communities that they are benefitting. By giving the communities the autonomy to decide the nature of support, it promotes mutuality, builds capacity, and is usually more sustainable in the long run.

The first week of the trip focused on learning the history of El Salvador and ensuring that the delegation was aware of our responsibilities visiting as USA citizens. This meant visiting sites of massacres, assassinations, listening to the stories of people, and visiting museums. Much of what we learned centered around the Salvadoran civil war in which the USA played an integral role. Throughout the civil war, the people faced brutal oppression from the government, and due to communist ideals promoted among the guerrilla troops, the USA financed the Salvadoran government. This support, however, allowed the country’s government to continue its ironfisted suppression of the peasant class giving way to massacres and assassinations to anyone who spoke out against the government. As a United States citizen, it was sobering to realize that our money supported the Salvadoran government before and throughout the civil war, supporting these heinous acts. This illumination of Salvadoran history as well as United States history played an integral part in our preparation, humbling us as US citizens while we interacted with the people of El Salvador.

CoCoDA’s goal with short-term volunteer trips is to facilitate experiences that could lead to support from visitors later on. Ideally, delegates would come back from trips and champion the image of a more just relationship between US citizens and Central Americans, being more likely to take it upon themselves to contribute meaningfully to the betterment of others.

During our stay in a hostel in Suchitoto (a city located north of San Salvador), I connected with three young men around my age. They were from Nicaragua and patiently helped me through the very rough Spanish that I had accumulated through Duolingo. Hanging out and hearing them speak so fondly about their country’s beauty and hearing the anguish in their voice as they told me how they worry for their family’s safety throughout the current conflict was a powerful experience. It was clear to me that these people loved their roots, that they were proud of who they were, hoping for the best in their countries. In the States, the common stereotype assumes that Central Americans do not like their own countries and want to immigrate to the US, but these three men as well as many others that I met in El Salvador made it clear that this is not a stereotype that holds. Most Central Americans love their country and would only emigrate if their lives were in danger.

The experience I had traveling in El Salvador was a wonderful and focusing experience. I do not know where I will end up in my professional life, but this trip has helped strengthen in me my desire to work for and with organizations like CoCoDA.

Rose-colored Bubble

I call Indiana home, but not by choice. My mom grew up in southern Indiana, and my dad thought the combination of her and the low cost of living was a great deal. I used to think the state was just boring, as expected of an eight-year-old surrounded by constant road work, potholes, and soy. Ignorance was bliss, because I didn’t start to notice the greater flaws until I started to question and explore my identity. My domineering feminist phase revealed that the “Midwest charm” includes casual misogyny and a severe lack of women in leadership roles. The feminist phase evolved into love that I had been taught by society not to accept. I know other kids have it a lot worse, but it is less than ideal being gay in Indiana. I thought it was just a regional thing at first, then I went to college and not much changed as far as attitude towards and education about LGBT issues. I sought out CAPS primarily for the opportunity to achieve my lifelong dream of getting out of the Crossroads of America, and I’ve landed a whopping two hours from my house.

This isn’t an entirely sour narrative, I just really want to exaggerate how low my expectations are for any part of Indiana, including Indianapolis. I was excited for the next level of independence: my first internship and living on my own with people I enjoy. To say Indy surprised me is an understatement, I think “shocked” is more appropriate. I’ve established myself in a safe living and working environment, and there’s so much individual, community, and city support for some LGBT needs. I’ve met wonderful allies and community members, all of who have directed me to helpful resources, gay friendly spots, and background on what the LGBT scene looks like in Indianapolis. Companies are in on it, too, and although it’s likely to make a profit it’s still refreshing to see. The support helps me thrive, and I can easily say this is one of the best summer’s I’ve ever experiences; however, I learned very quickly that the same energy and support does not extend beyond Indianapolis.

It’s like living in a mostly accepting bubble, and if you’re in the bubble why should you worry about what’s going on outside of it? I’ve lived outside the bubble for 20 years, and I know how rough it is without accessible resources or the communal willingness to learn. I’m grateful to have both an inside perspective, but I know I’ll never be fully comfortable living here and knowing what others face just beyond city limits. I always thought I’d want to live in a city, but my observation of Indy makes me wonder if I’ve been disillusioned by other cities before. A lot of gay kids dream about moving to a larger city because they’re generally more progressive and accepting, but the desire for change falls flat the city’s end. The mentality encourages people to come to places that range from okay to wonderful rather than use the resources available to change the areas that LGBT youth are running from. I want to know how I can do my part without forcing myself to live somewhere where I don’t feel welcomed, but I don’t want the coziness of the bubble to deafen me from those that can’t just pack their bags and go. I grow queasy thinking about those who’ve been in the bubble all their lives, knowing that what they have going on for them is unique, beneficial, and necessary for personal growth. I doubt it’s intentional, but there’s a lack of education here just as there is outside of big, progressive cities. I wonder what would happen if the bubble popped.

 

They Always Say Congratulations

Indiana has never been a state that I have found very appealing. Although yes, I go to school in Indiana, northwest Indiana and the area around Valparaiso University has a very different feel than the rest of Indiana. The rest of the state sees what they know as “The Region” as a suburb of Chicago more so than part of the rest of the state.

When I got placed in Indianapolis, I was skeptical, although it seemed everyone else was excited for me and kept “saying congratulations.” I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve only been to Indianapolis one time prior to the internship. I didn’t know what there was to do around the area or how the people are. During my interview with my placement here in Indy, my now supervisor, Kristen Fuhs Wells, vice president of Indiana Humanities, asked me what my thoughts on Indiana were. I responded saying, “I have my opinions,” but I went on to explain that I hear all the stereotypes about Indiana, but couldn’t judge for myself since I haven’t seen to the rest of the state yet.

From the Indiana Humanities intern photoshoot outside of the office.

Turns out you should not make assumptions about a state, even if the stereotypes are true. I have been in Indianapolis for the past two weeks and have had the most fantastic experience, both inside and outside of my internship placement. I am placed at Indiana Humanities, a statewide non-profit that whose mission is to “connect people, open minds and enrich lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage Hoosiers to think, read and talk.”

Over the past two weeks at Indiana Humanities, my focus has been on research and alumni engagement of the Lilly Scholars in Indiana. For those of you who don’t know, Lilly Endowment Inc. hands out a scholarship to a couple graduating high school students in each of the ninety-two counties in Indiana and provides them free tuition to either a private or public university in Indiana. Indiana Humanities received a large grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to run the research on the Lilly Scholars. I specifically have been looking at other mentorship and leadership programs across the country and seeing what they do to engage alumni, and have been using that information to help begin to create a Lilly Scholar alumni network.

The Indiana Humanities staff having fun bonding at the Indy Eleven soccer game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

With Indiana Humanities, we also have taken an outing to the Indy Eleven game at Lucas Oil Statidum which was a great bonding time for the entire staff. As well, we threw a “Garden Party” to help show off the new renovations of the house and had plenty of visitors. In addition, through the internship I got the opportunity to attend the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) Conference just outside of the city and got a chance to meet with numerous staff from Community Foundations (those that help choose the students the Lilly Scholarship goes to) across the state to see what ways they are engaging alumni and what ways they would like to see more engagement. Also, in a few weeks, we are going to have our annual Bar Crawl around Indianapolis. This year, the theme is “Out in Indy” and this historic bar crawl through the city will explore stories of Indianapolis’s LGBTQ community at five different locations. Next month, I am going to help facilitate an event by Indiana Humanities and the Hoosier Environmental Council where we go kayaking on the White River and read while hiking and kayaking in the area which I’m very excited about. 

From the walk at Eagle Creek Park.

Although, for the past week, work hasn’t been the only thing I have done. I was off Monday, June 4th, and decided to take a long hike through Eagle Creek Park, only a twenty-minute drive outside of Indianapolis. The walk was about seven miles, but it was a beautiful path with a lot of beautiful plants and animals. Along with that, the other CAPS Fellows in Indy and I actually try to go on walks almost every other day, just so we can go out and explore the city. It has been a blast getting to know them and I really look forward to the rest of the summer with them.

 

From the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park where Post Malone performed.

Lastly, I got the chance to go to a Post Malone concert on Wednesday, June 6th. Another CAPS Fellow who was placed in Indy and I actually got FREE tickets to the concert. One of Post Malone’s friends from backstage came up to us and handed us tickets to the concert (just to let you know, the tickets were priced at $250 – $300 dollars). It was such a fantastic night and got to see the artist who is known for his hit song “Congratulations,” where the title of this blog comes from.

Though it’s only been two weeks, I think the next eight are going to be a wonderful time and I will now forever be grateful to Indy for the opportunities I’ve already had here.