Perception
by Stephanie
I am not one to often and publicly admit my mistakes. But neither am I one who desires to remain in ignorance just to pretend that I am infallible.
Today, Chris and I met with the two active members of our Comite Tutelar (in charge of planning and implementing programs or activities for the benefit of the youth in the community), and the president of our Asociación (kind of like a city council). Previously, I had incredibly negative feelings about these two community groups, and more specifically about the president of the Asociación and the coordinator of the Tutelar. These feelings had stemmed from my perception that these two women were not working for the better interests of the community, but were instead just enjoying the power their positions gave them. I knew, it should be said, that they were in fact “working” on projects for the community; the fact that they did not seem to be even trying to include any other community members, though, really colored my view. And that was combined with the fact that, as in politics everywhere, it seemed they were all talk and no action.
Today’s meeting, though, helped me to form what I feel is a more accurate view of these two women. I got to speak openly with them about their frustrations and their sueños. I listened to them complain about their community, and then did my best to put a positive spin on it (in futility, but oh well). As I sat there, I thought about how frustrated I have been so many times in my 8ish months in 27, and then I tried to multiply that by years. I can’t imagine how infuriating it must be to be working (volunteering) to better your community, while the majority of the members in that community do nothing, or worse, accuse you of stealing or vagrancy.
While their methods might not be the best, and their attitudes are almost always negative, I can now understand a little more of why they are so.
Thanks Steph for sharing this with us. I can relate to this experience, as that kind of “eye opening” experience has happened to me in the past, and i think happens to everyone who is trying to empower community based groups everywhere.