Juarez, Chihuahua (Mexico)

Juarez. This is a picture of the church property where we stayed--as taken from a neighbor's roof (that we were re-building). We got back from Juarez really late yesterday morning but we are now settled back into Ohio. This was a full-week trip--Saturday morning to Saturday morning. We went with the workcamp group "Youthworks," which we had gone with last year. It was another decent trip. Juarez was a lot poorer and the church was a lot more "rustic" than I had expected. Of course, it was not TOO bad because it was appropriate for upper-middle class teenagers to attend, but it was rough enough to make them really uncomfortable. The work consisted of 2 days of kids' club and two days of hard physical labor (roofing, digging up a foundation, and stuccoing). It was about 105-110 F while we were there. I have never consumed more water in such a short time--while we were pickaxeing, shoveling, and wheelbarrowing dirt for a foundation, our group of 6 people went through around 10 gallons of water (in about 6-ish hours).

It was a good trip. The youth gained a more global perspective, and I am convinced that it will make a difference in their lives. They have now seen what poverty is--and many of them are ready to take the next step and go to see more of the hard life that most Americans don't want to see.

For me, it was pretty good. It was definitely a workout--physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and linguistically. Having to be sleep-deprived around sleep-deprived teenagers under those physical conditions was definitely a hard break from ditting at a desk at work. My Spanish really took off too.

Neat stuff:
Propane: it is sold by loud trucks at all times of day...they announce their presence by playing music (like an American ice cream truck).
Insects: there were a number of insects there that are not in Ohio. I was inches from a black widow for about a half hour (and didn't know what it was until later), one girl got a small (yet painful) scorpion sting, and cockroaches are simply EVERYWHERE.
Weather: It was about as hot as I have ever been in. Ghana was much more humid and never let up--at least Juarez DID let up.
Government: I was not aware of how the Mexican government stifled people--they own all utilities, and they charge the people a ton for them. Though the government is not horrible, it does employ a number of tactics to keep the average Jose down.
Factories: American factories that pay about $40 a week have completely changed the social landscape. People flood into Juarez for these menial, long-hour jobs and this transformation of moving from a different city (into an already-crowded one) and then being away from their families for 12 hours a day creates a lot of social problems.
Mothers: Mexican mothers and grandmothers are awesome. The women take up the familial hole that the factory jobs created. These women work really hard. Those who we were helping out were right along side us, tirelessly doing really hard work.
Bad and good: Juarez has lots of problems with violence, drugs, gangs, and horrible poverty. Just as in the US, these problems are taken really seriously by one of the only positive forces around there: the church. The church is one of the only viable ways for people to break these awful cycles, though there is a lot of work to do. It was awesome to see the work ethic of the pastor and the active members. They are REALLY making a huge impact on the community.

More later (I got about 650 pictures).