Hoping For a Different Future

We know everything about the poor: what they don’t work at, what they don’t eat, what they don’t weigh, how much they don’t measure, what they don’t have, what they don’t think, what they don’t vote for, what they don’t believe…

The only thing we need to know is why the poor are poor…Might it be because their nakedness clothes us and their hunger feeds us?...

-       Children of the Days

I thought of these lines by the great Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano quite often these past few weeks. They came to mind during two different scenarios.

It is such an honor to travel this sacred mountain to be with friends

Scenario One: Those who read my blogs know that my friend Edgar Peralta Silva broke his back a month ago while we were on a trip to an impoverished mountain village to share gifts with the children on the Day of the Child. I have visited Edgar several times in Mexico City, and I have been present while the family talk about what they can offer him and what they can’t offer him, what they can do and what they can’t do in terms of seeking rehabilitation.

Edgar's days are long...but he (usually) doesn't lose hope

Edgar is still paralyzed from the waist down, and he still can’t sit up. His family try to roll him over once in a while and to help him to exercise as much as possible. But he still gets sores on his back, and the skin on his feet and legs gets very dry. The doctors recommend a special cream for Edgar, but the small tube of cream costs 283 pesos: the equivalent of 21 Canadian dollars. The minimum wage in Mexico is 73.04 pesos a day: about 5.40 Canadian dollars a day. Edgar’s family want to offer him the best, but like all poor families, they have to consider priorities and real needs. Mission Mexico helps in some ways, but the family still faces incredible challenges.

Edgar continues his journey toward the new life that awaits him

Scenario Two: And much of my time was spent with Mexican young people who are finishing high school and trying to get into universities or vocational schools to continue their education. It is so wonderful when a family can opt to allow their child to continue studying, but there are too many cases where I have seen young people cry simply because the family doesn’t have the resources to cover expenses. Mission Mexico assists a few dozen students through a scholarship program, but the needs always outnumber the resources available.

Prayers for future dreams are a constant part of the lives of the poor

And the sacrifices that many young people make in order to study are often huge: one meal a day; walking instead of taking a bus; not visiting family for six months; borrowing books rather than buying them; looking for any kind of work possible on evenings or weekends; walking for long distances to a store that sells a notebook for a peso less than a nearby store. This is “normal” for the poor.

Future students at university? Not likely, unfortunately

The struggles won't end anytime soon. There are sad times, but there are also happy times. The joy experienced by young people who manage to go on to higher education is immeasurable. And families appreciate even the effort to try to help them offer to their children a dream for the future. This is an incredible place to be, and I am so grateful to Mission Mexico and its supporters for allowing me this blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Not the fastest taxi around, but it can beat walking

I Collect Scars

Ella no creía en finales felices. Yo colecciono cicatrices.

She didn’t believe in happy endings. I collect scars.

This photo and quote were placed by Edgar on his Facebook page today. The quote is from a Spanish rap song called “Apolo y Dafne,” by Sharif. One can only try to imagine the thoughts in Edgar's mind and the emotions in his heart as he posted the photo (one he had taken in the past) and these words.

Edgar in his beloved mountains

Ten days ago Edgar was one of fifteen young people heading five hours into the mountains to share two truckloads of school supplies and clothing with children in the impoverished indigenous village of Aguaxoco. Twenty-two-year old Edgar, a student of Integral Community Development at the National Pedagogical University in Tlapa, had spent Holy Week in that village, and he and his friends wanted to surprise the children there with presents for the Day of the Child, a celebration held in Mexico every April 30. Unfortunately, the presents were never given out.

Edgar and friends praying in cathedral before heading for the mountains last week

We stopped in the village of Xochitepec on our way to Aguaxoco. Edgar wanted to go to a house down the side of the mountainside. A zigzag path led to the house. At one point, Edgar apparrently decided, instead of following the path, to jump down to the next level of the path that was a few meters below. But Edgar landed awkwardly, and his momentum led him to fall forward, down a steep ravine.

After the fall

It was evident that Edgar was seriously hurt. He complained about pain in his back and his chest, and he said that he couldn’t feel his legs. We tried to locate a doctor (by radio) from one of the nearby villages, but no such doctor could be found. We felt we had no choice but to bring him to the nearest hospital, in Acatepec. We placed him, with pillows and blankets, as level as we could in the truck, and I drove slowly (in four-wheel-drive low) for three and a-half hours over a terrible dirt road.

Arriving in Acatepec

In Acatepec, Doctor Alvaro gave him medication for the pain and sent him immediately in an ambulance—a three-hour drive—to Tlapa. He/we arrived in Tlapa at 10 PM. The next morning he was sent to a hospital in Mexico City.

The two trucks of gifts that never made it (yet) to Aguaxoco

On Sunday, May 1, doctors in Mexico City operated on Edgar’s spinal cord. They said that they found a jigsaw puzzle of broken fragments of bone. They placed two 50-cm bars alongside his spinal column. But they were unable to do anything that would allow Edgar to feel or move his legs. Two days later the doctors operated on Edgar’s fractured collarbone.

Edgar and four others from Tlapa with the children of Aguaxoco during Holy Week

Today, May 11, Edgar is supposed to be released from the hospital in Mexico City. He is still paralyzed from the waist down—at the moment. But he and his family—and all of his friends—have hope that rehabilitation and physiotherapy will allow him to recover from this paralysis. Time will tell.

Edgar in the hospital in Mexico City yesterday

Edgar’s family has asked me to bring them to Xochitepec this coming Sunday, so that they can “levantar la sombra” (“lift the shadow”) at the place where Edgar fell. This practice is common among the indigenous peoples here in the mountain. Once again, hope reigns supreme…

Edgar in Xochitepec with parish priests, Fathers Vicente and Juan

It was a tough week. I went twice to Mexico City to visit with Edgar and his family. As I sat on the overnight buses, I thought of the many families from Fort McMurray whose lives—like Edgar’s—were being turned upside down at this time. The scenes appeared on news channels here in Mexico. Edgar’s mother (Antonieta) and grandmother (Agustina) asked me to tell you that they are praying for you and your families “up there.”

Edgar losing a chess match to a formidable opponent in Xochitepec

Mission Mexico has helped so far with some of the ambulance fees, medical costs, and related items. Edgar’s friends have been gathering at the cathedral here in Tlapa every evening to pray for him, and they have been seeking donations to help cover some of the many costs. No one is sure what the future holds, but Edgar and his family will still confront many expenses: rehabilitation; travel; medical supplies; wheelchair; etc. If anyone reading this note about Edgar would like to help Edgar’s family, please give a donation to Mission Mexico. Thank you ever so much