Today we began our service work at Casa de la Alegria or City of Joy. This is an amazing organization that provides a variety of services to their surrounding community. The facility was built in 2001. More precisely, the first brick of the facility was laid at the same time the towers of the World Trade Center were falling on September 11. At the time the priest in charge of the project noted that "at the same time evil was causing destruction in the north, hope based on love was born in the south." The mission of this organization is to first and foremost give love and then restore hope in the people they serve, for when people feel love and have hope they gain value and strength. This mission was developed as they learned that providing the needy with things like food and clothing might solve some immediate problems, it did nothing to restore hope in their lives and therefore did not function to improve the human condition. The volunteers at the City of Joy believe that all individuals should give and receive love because only in this way can one keep a sense about all they do in their lives.
The City of Joy provides services in many areas including: providing food, clothing and furniture to 300,000 residents within their surrounding community; a home for children to support their mothers as they work; medical and dental care to all individuals within the facility and surrounding community; legal help for women from abused homes; a private school for 1200 students ranging all the way from elementary to high school; Mission Maya, a facility for visiting missionaries to reside as they do their service work; spiritual guidance to incarcerated individuals; and a residence home for the elderly. All of these services are either provided free of charge or at much reduced rates.
We spent our time working in the home for the elderly. It was definitely a learning experience for all of us today. First, the volunteers in this facility are not used to having help and it was difficult at first for them to ask for it. Second, our students were feeling a little uncomfortable and awkward not knowing what to do or how to help. They did an amazing job though. They all dug in, did their best and had tremendously positive attitudes. The head of this organization was interested in knowing how the experience went and what should be done differently. We told her that our students should be used to do any kind of work from helping the residents, cleaning the floors and windows and washing dishes, and that they should be assigned more tasks to accomplish in the time that they have and they should accomplish them. Finally, we said that they should leave this place completely exhausted and spent. I believe as our time here progresses they will learn how to use our help and we will learn how to give it.
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