An excerpt from Dana:
This semester I got involved as an intern for SAY Yes! to start an after school program in Pomona. When I said I would do it, I had no idea where it was, how many kids would be there, or really what we would even do there. All I knew was that a trailer park in Pomona had kids and was in need of tutors. So in January I arrived at the trailer park with my boss. I found out that the community is, in fact, made up of trailers, or small little houses. The community is predominately Latino, and it is full of kids!
Jen and I recruited some people from Azusa Pacific University and her church, Christ Church of the Valley. We started off going only on Wednesdays. We would show up, do homework with whoever was willing, and hang out with the kids, building relationships. The ages of the students range from kindergarten through tenth grade. There are about 20-25 kids who come and they are definitely a family. Many of them have grown up together their whole lives.
Once we started to build relationships and get to know their situation, we decided to start brainstorming about how we wanted to organize and implement an after school program. With the amount of volunteers, we decided to extend the program and come every Monday and Wednesday. We also saw the need for them to do homework. There is such a high drop out rate in high school, one of our main goals is to encourage the kids and let them know that they are smart enough and able to succeed in school work. We also saw the huge need for the kids to “get away” from their everyday environment and experience new things. Another thing we saw was the huge need to emphasize the importance of respect. Not just respect to us, but first to themselves, and than to others.
With the desire to implement the importance of respect, we put our heads together and decided to come up with a point system. We started off saying that each day they could earn up to 9 points. They get three points just for showing up, three points for doing homework, and three points for respecting themselves, each other, and us. After a while we found that it was too complicated to keep track of so many points, so we reduced it down to three a day- 1 for showing up, 1 for doing homework, and 1 for respect. Then, each time we would plan a field trip, we would only let them go if they had enough points.
Throughout this semester we have taken them to a couple of different places. Our first field trip we took them to was Gospel Sing at APU. I went and got some pizza and opened up my Mod for us to have a pizza party, than we all went over to west campus and watched Gospel Sing. The field trip was a success. They all loved seeing my place and hanging out, we have a tree swing in our court and that was a big hit with them. They also enjoyed Gospel Sing. I think over all they really enjoyed being on a college campus. One of the 8th grade girls told her mom afterwards that she wants to go to college so she can have her own place like I do (I don’t know if that should be her main motivation to go to college, but at least it’s a start!). Some of these kids have never had relationships with college students, nonetheless been on a college campus. It was a good experience for them.
The next trip, Stewart Joslyn (a very dedicated volunteer from APU) and I decided to take three of the boys to our friends soccer game. We told the three guys in advance, but reminded them that they had to get enough points in order to go. When the time came, we found out the Jose, one of the boys, did not have enough points. He was a pretty rowdy boy who picked on the little kids a lot and did not listen to us very much. So reluctantly we had to tell him that he could not go. It was our first time to do this and it was really hard and emotional for me. Jose immediately started crying and ran away from us. I was really praying that not allowing him to come would motivate him to step it up and start respecting others more. Although, I was worried that it would have the opposite effect and just drive him away. The next time we came Jose was there, and we have seen almost a 100% improvement in him. He really has worked at building relationships with the volunteers and has been very respectful and responsible. It was neat to actually see positive results.
Since then, we have done other trips as well. We took them to a SAY Yes! game day. Also, during their spring break, since they did not have homework, we just played fun, random, “youth group” games with them. We also took them to a skate park and spent the whole day with them, making fun crafts with the girls and watching the boys skate around. We also took them to a dodger game. One of the volunteers from CCV made lunch and we all sat in the parking lot, ate lunch, and than went and watched the game. This past weekend we took them to a man’s house, from CCV. They have a pool, a hot tub, a nice game room with tons of games, and a trampoline. The kids loved it. We have received such positive responses from the kids. It has been really fun to take them places and hang out with them.
This whole semester has been an amazing time to build relationships with them. God has really been in the midst of this program. He cares about this community and loves these kids so much. It has been an amazing opportunity for God to use us as instruments for his love. It has not only been us giving love to the kids, but also the kids showing us Gods love. I guarantee every volunteer that is in our program has been greatly impacted by these kids and their community. As Shane Claiborne writes on page 46, “I became quite disenchanted with the church, though I was still fascinated by Jesus.” That is exactly how I have felt this semester. I have had a really hard time feeling connected to a church community. This semester, the church has not been the one that has drawn me closer to Jesus. This community, the love of these kids, has made me fall more and more in love with Jesus. I definitely look at each and every kid, no matter what their situation and see the face of God in them. Just as it says in Listening to the Heartbeat of God, by J. Philip Newell, “…God’s image is to be found in every person, both male and female” (13).
My title for this program is Pomona intern. I have a boss that I work under, but I have still had a lot of flexibility and creative room. It has really been more of a team effort in the creation of this program. Everyday, we go we have group time with the kids where we all sit together in a circle and talk about our next field trip, the point system, respect, what is going on, and more. We also have one of us and/or one of the kids share about them selves and have others ask them questions. One of our main goals was for our program to really feel like a community or family. I’ve been able to help lead group time. I also am the one to keep track of points. The kids see me as one of the leaders. But honestly, it is such a group effort. All of us put our two cents in and share our ideas with each other.
One of my main points this semester was to make sure that we worked at empowering the community. I have been really conscious about not just being rich white people that come in and want to implement our own ideas and change their community to how we think it should be changed. That has definitely been a big struggle for me. It is hard to find that balance, and I feel like we have definitely crossed the line at times. For group time I really stress the point that we are there for the kids and we want to do what they want to do. One time, we got an idea to clean up a near by field that was full of trash and overgrown in weeds, in order to make a soccer field for them. We started planning it, but than I realized that we hadn’t even asked the kids yet if that was something they wanted to do! During group time we ended up asking them, and all of them wanted to do it. We made sure that it would not be just us doing all of it. It ended up going really well, all of the kids showed up early Saturday morning and ended up helping us all day and working really hard. That was really encouraging.
I still am constantly thinking about and striving toward the idea of empowering the community and the kids opposed to the idea of just being a charity. One day I was really wresting with that idea and decided to write an e-mail to my boss about it. Here is some of what I said to her:
I have some different questions running through my mind. With my global studies classes, we have really been taught the importance of empowering communities and helping them help themselves, and how much more beneficial that is than just being charity for them. So lately I’ve been just thinking and questioning ways in which we can empower the community. For instance, Pastor Jose’s idea of TESOL classes for the parents is GREAT! That is a perfect way to help them help themselves and give them a sense of empowerment. I really feel like our after school program has been doing a good job of seeking to empower the kids. I definitely believe that coming along side of them and helping and encouraging them to do their homework is a way of empowering them. Also teaching them the value of respect. And then of course loving on them and giving them fun opportunities to get away, be kids, and have fun is a nice bonus- and helps with relationship building.
But I still want to see more. I am really searching and striving to find ways where we can really come along side the community and empower them. I really do think that TESOL programs are a perfect example. Many of the parents could get better jobs and be more involved in the children’s lives if they knew better English. It will be interesting to see how the classes go once they get started up. I would love it if we could find some ways to get the older kids jobs, or something. I still do not know, but I know that I want our program to continue to move forward. I recognize that we can do none of it without the Lord. Honestly the Lord has really brought this whole thing together, and I trust that he will continue to guide us and the community in the direction that he wants if we continue to seek him.
As I mentioned earlier, I did not have very many expectations for this program. But if I did have any expectations, I feel like I would have exceeded them. I have absolutely fallen in love with the kids. They have really stolen my heart from me. I love each and every one of them. It has been so amazing to get to know them and see their situation and background. Through learning more about their lives I have been able to see what makes them behave the way they do. For example, there are two brothers, one is in second grade, one is in third grade. They are extremely clingy. They hang all over us and constantly demand our attention. Sometimes I get frustrated and tell them to stop, but usually I tickle them and love on them. One day I found out their family was evicted from the trailer community. I asked why and found out that their dad is a major drug addict and does not pay rent very much. I also found out that they have three younger siblings; one of them is only a couple months old. No wonder they are starving for attention! There are many other situations similar to this. It has been really interesting to understand their backgrounds and thus find ways in which we can deal with and help their behavior “issues.”
As mentioned earlier, poverty severely affects children’s lives in many different ways. Many youth who live in poverty have hard/broken families. Many of them are subjected to gangs and pushed into the life of crime and violence. Many of them do not have anyone to encourage them or care about them so they give up and drop out of school. Many of them do not have the love and encouragement even to believe that they are worth something, that they are precious children who have great potential. The problem is not only in Pomona, or Skid Row. It is throughout this world. There are a HUGE number of street children and children living in extreme poverty throughout the world. There are so many children that do not know what it feels liked to be loved and cared for. There are many children who are forced to become adults at such a young age. It is heart breaking. It is something that needs to be addressed and changed. Our program at Pomona is amazing. I really feel like God’s love is impacting these children greatly. But in the scheme of things, it is just reaching these 20 + youth in Pomona. What about the millions of youth throughout the world? I believe that empowering one child at a time is in its own way “changing the world.” I just pray that there are more people in this world that will hear Gods voice speak to their hearts- calling them to reach the youth of this world. They are the future, they are God’s children and he cares about them so much.
