As The Rez Turns...
You can't expect to "get it" in a week. I can't expect you to "get it" when I tell you about it. You can't come with the expectation that you will understand or appreciate or be able to comprehend the challenges we face on a day-to-day basis ranging from our ability to order fresh produce to our ability to navigate to our work sites when there is no address system.
Re-Member does what it can do, with what it has. Pine Ridge is unlike any other place you have probably ever done a service/mission/work/experiential/immersion/whatever-you-may-call-it kind of trip before. Worked on the Gulf Coast fixing homes destroyed by hurricanes? Wonderful, it is all needed work, but it is the result of a natural disaster that destroyed the homes of people who had it made before a terrible event ruined their lives in 12 hours. On Pine Ridge, we are working to repair the result of decades of man-made disasters that have left this reservation on the cusp of the third world.
There is no manual that exists, or that will ever be written to explain how you fix what we do here. There is no standard operating procedure, there is no routine job. There is no better way to find where you are going other than trying your best to navigate by landmarks provided to you by the person who calls and wants your help.
There is never the satisfaction of knowing that everyone has what they need, when they need it. There is the frustration of being stopped at the gas station, grocery store, on the street and at job sites by a seemingly endless stream of people who need more help.
There is the frustration of showing up at a job site expecting to do one thing, only to find a laundry list of other problems that need to be repaired, but that are beyond our means and capabilities. There is the satisfaction of coming up with creative ways to remedy what we can, but there is always more to be done.
It's the satisfaction of skirting a trailer, knowing that the floor will be a little warmer for the kids inside this winter, and that mom and dad will save a little money on their heating bill when the winds blow and can't get under the trailer any more. It's the frustration of having to tear down walls of a home that have been riddled with bullet holes and covered in grafitti and gang tags where a family wants to move in, but can't because it was trashed.
It's just another week...As The Rez Turns...
Re-Member does what it can do, with what it has. Pine Ridge is unlike any other place you have probably ever done a service/mission/work/experiential/immersion/whatever-you-may-call-it kind of trip before. Worked on the Gulf Coast fixing homes destroyed by hurricanes? Wonderful, it is all needed work, but it is the result of a natural disaster that destroyed the homes of people who had it made before a terrible event ruined their lives in 12 hours. On Pine Ridge, we are working to repair the result of decades of man-made disasters that have left this reservation on the cusp of the third world.
There is no manual that exists, or that will ever be written to explain how you fix what we do here. There is no standard operating procedure, there is no routine job. There is no better way to find where you are going other than trying your best to navigate by landmarks provided to you by the person who calls and wants your help.
There is never the satisfaction of knowing that everyone has what they need, when they need it. There is the frustration of being stopped at the gas station, grocery store, on the street and at job sites by a seemingly endless stream of people who need more help.
There is the frustration of showing up at a job site expecting to do one thing, only to find a laundry list of other problems that need to be repaired, but that are beyond our means and capabilities. There is the satisfaction of coming up with creative ways to remedy what we can, but there is always more to be done.
It's the satisfaction of skirting a trailer, knowing that the floor will be a little warmer for the kids inside this winter, and that mom and dad will save a little money on their heating bill when the winds blow and can't get under the trailer any more. It's the frustration of having to tear down walls of a home that have been riddled with bullet holes and covered in grafitti and gang tags where a family wants to move in, but can't because it was trashed.
It's just another week...As The Rez Turns...
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