Too tired but got inspired

It has been a long day, made somewhat more wearing by the time between breakfast and lunch.  We leave the hotel at 7:00 am.  The mayor’s office has provided lunch for us this week while we operate the clinic.  “Lunch” came at 4pm today.  We appreciate the support and try to express our gratitude fully and sincerely — but worry that our words may ring as hollow as our stomachs.

The decision has been made:  the mayor’s office will support a trash collection “project:”  a one-time effort to collect trash in Esfuerzo.  The government provided 300 small trash bags and informed us today at 1:30 that the trash truck would come tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.  At that point, we were waiting for lunch and misjudged the timing.  By 3:30, it was clear that we needed to return to the community to spread the word and to distribute trash bags if there was to be any possibility of success tomorrow.  The field team left the clinic at 3:30 and headed down the hill to Esfuerzo.  Lunch arrived at 4:00 — along with the vice-mayor, who incidentally is a runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant.

We are disappointed that we will not be able (at least for now) to help the community organize and plan in ways that could increase the possibility of a sustainable and regular trash collection, but we will be in the community before the trash trucks arrive and we will follow up with determined efforts to help create arrangements that go beyond the “one-off” project strategy.

I was not going to write tonight, but I was inspired by two emails.  Laura Olsen (’08 and former SOMOS co-leader) offered this observation:  “Living and working community development on a 24-7 basis as a Peace Corps Volunteer has given me an even greater appreciation for how very hard it can be.  I’m proud that the SOMOS team held a meeting with the community to share results, perspectives, and plans.”  And, Brian Focarino (’11) wrote to express his appreciation for the work that SOMOS is doing, along with thoughtful words about the blog.

I am re-charged for tomorrow’s work and look forward to joining my extraordinary teammates as we hit mid-week of this year’s winter effort.  Team spirit is extraordinary, with Kaveh Sadeghian (1st year SOMOS) maintaining and constantly fueling team energy, Rajiv (Awkward Bob) Patel (1st year SOMOS) centering the team’s “sunshine” through his appreciation of hugs, and Galley Saleh (2nd year SOMOS) providing divine and inspired direction.