Exploring Problems and Solutions of Global Eco-Inequities

by Jean Gregory, Chair of San Francisco Joining Hands

Who lives where the soil is most poisoned, where the air is most toxic, and where the water is not fit to drink? In the US and in Bolivia, like many in the rest of the world, it is the poorest members of society; the ones who cannot afford to live elsewhere. Where is the justice in that? What can we do about it?

Poverty, Pollution and Solutions

Pollution is an international problem that knows no boundaries. We all are part of the problem and the solution. However, the brunt of pollution often falls most heavily on impoverished areas. Part of the Joining Hands mission is to find commonalities and create collaboration in identifying problems and solutions. This is how in El Alto, Bolivia, the idea of a photo contest was born, that grew into an environmental project with the International Youth Environmental Congress in Peru last January*, and is now blossoming into an international photo exhibit on the theme: “Poverty, Pollution, and Solutions”. The contest and exhibition is to get young people interested in the topic, provide a showcase where their voices will be heard, and educate the public on the issue of poverty and pollution.

A Photojournalism Competition and International Exhibition

Joining Hands San Francisco, Cascades, and the UMAVIDA network in Bolivia announce therefore a photojournalism competition and international exhibition to encourage young people in the United States and Bolivia to explore and document how poverty and pollution are linked in their communities and to highlight local solutions. The contest will provide an international stage for winning photos and descriptions, as well as raise awareness of this too often overlooked issue. Do you have a story to tell about ecological injustice and a person or group working on local solutions?

Conditions

The contest is open to youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 30 who are invited to enter a themed series of three to five photos individually or as a team by August 1st. An independent panel of judges will select three winning sets of photos to be displayed alongside the winning Bolivian sets in a simultaneous international photography exhibit in the US and Bolivia. The grand prize is a paid trip to the International Youth Environmental Congress in Bolivia in Jan. 2012. Second place will be awarded $150, third place $100.

*The Youth Congress is an annual event alternating between Peru and Bolivia, for youth between the ages of 16 and 30.

The Melody Continues

by Chenoa Stock, JH Companionship Facilitator

Oh the beauty of graduation. It’s like music to the ears. Though, as music has an interminable amount of notes, melodies, and rhythms, I know my language learning will be an interminable process of ebbs and flows, frustrations and discoveries, and backtracking and breakthroughs, as I experienced during these last five months at the Maryknoll Language Institute in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

I was blessed with these five months to focus on language study, as well as immerse myself in the Bolivian culture to take in as much as possible throughout this time. The Institute provided opportunities to learn more deeply about the culture, the country, and its history and struggles. We took trips to nearby towns to see the way of life outside of the city, as well as hikes to the mountains, to look down and appreciate the beauty of the city and its surroundings.

Each student had their own melody and rhythm – some moving faster than others, but all moving up and down in emotions of jubilation, confusion, frustration -- an emotive symphony, to say the least. We shared and lived our lives with Bolivian host families, and developed friendships and connections among ourselves and with those who work at the Institute. Each of us was there for our own mission. Some were studying to be doctors, some were long term missionaries, and some were recently out of college, discerning what will come next in their lives. But there was a purpose present in each of us that went beyond simply learning a language.

For our graduation, we decided on the theme, Por Un Mundo Nuevo (For a New World). We used cut out, connected hands as our symbol, which we used to decorate the entire graduation space. How providential that the end of my first phase of my time in Bolivia is represented by that, which will be my life and work in my next phase in Bolivia – joined hands (uniendo manos). It is with joined hands, with those in Bolivia, in San Francisco and Portland, as well as with the rest of the networks in the world, that I move forward into the new tune of my Bolivian life. I feel I now have a better grasp on and idea about the country and culture and look forward to discovering what new songs will be sung in the interminable melody of the mission.