Stubborn Avacados
Rearranging them did no good. Positioning them narrow-end-down was useless. My desire to have these avocados fit into the intended bowl was a wasted expenditure of energy. They were not going to stay where I wanted them to stay, no matter how determined I was for an artistic outcome.
Working in developing countries feels very much like wrangling too many avocados. Picking up the pieces of chronic poverty and creating an emotionally, educationally and financially solvent family out of the debris is such a challenge that many days can feel like trying to take a breath underwater. The work is demanding, frustrating and rewarding, all wrapped into one barely functioning family at a time. Some weeks it looks like mushy guacamole, turned brown with exposure and unpalatable.
It is our personal desire to have our Finding Freedom families equipped with the basic common elements of health, safety and welfare. We want every child, in each part of our fragile world, to have adequate nutrition, a loving intact family and access to education. The nature of humanitarian nonprofit work means that there are always going to be hindrances to the desired outcome. We are going to slog through receipts, reports, calls and emails and we will continuously wish the details would come together more easily.
Monday brought the welcome news that Eva’s new house, donated by Finding Freedom, was finished. The rainy season in Guatemala starts next month. This will be the first time since her birth that Eva’s daughter Maria (below) won’t have to sleep in a wet bed and live on muddy floors during the seasonal rains. Our construction manager did a fabulous job (thank you Victor!), and the donated funds for this project were been sufficient.
For this one family, the pieces came together after all, as it will for other FFF participants in the future. I just need to release my desire to make nice little arrangements during the process. Working in developing countries is always going to be a messy process. But worth the effort in every respect.
