Journey in Uruguay- Tuesday July 30th, 2013

   Today is our final full day in El Dorado and our day began earlier than usual. With our usual breakfast and our bodies ready for another day of work, we made our way to the San Adolfo Fe y Alegria school.  I am now thinking about the progress which we have made over the past few days at both the school and the Fe y Alegria teen center. It has been a group effort with each member doing their part to achieve success throughout the duration of our stay.

   As we arrived at the school we split into groups with half painting the remaining walls, while the rest scraping away at pillars and walls which were dirty. I was in the group scraping away paint and dust which had accumulated over time. The repetitive movement of the steel brush and the constant barrage of shavings hitting my face made it quite difficult to work effectively. To top it all off, the day had mixed weather with the heat blasting us in the morning and the cold air in the evening. At this point I have become accustomed to the weather, but what surprised me was the fact that there are so many people in Uruguay who have to deal with this type of labor in these conditions every day. This feeling of thankfulness which I am having runs through the veins of each and everyone in the group as it motivates us to work harder. 

   To continue on our labor experience, one man in particular, the painting contractor Fernando, has been assisting us on our mission to improve the school. He has been both a great help and motivational figure as he, while having an injured leg, has been working with us the entire time . Not only is he hopping around from place to place, but he even climbs on the roof of the school to help paint. His desire to fix the school has been a great inspiration to me as it gives me a better sense of what it takes to work hard. 

   While working at the school a few individuals went back to the teen center to work on the mural which we were given the honor to help paint. Not only do we get to paint it, we were also the ones who chose the design which will be used on the wall which David, Sal, Keenan and I primed yesterday. The teens of El Dorado have embraced us with open arms as we have been congregating and participating with them in different events. A few days ago on Saturday we had the chance to hangout with a few of the older teens as well as Jonathan, one of Fe y Alegria's advisors. Once again I have met a very inspiring individual. Jonathan is probably one of the most hardworking individuals I have met on this trip as well as anywhere else. Not only is he an advisor at the teen center, but he teaches at San Adolfo during the day time. The teens under Jonathan's care have made this trip a worthwhile experience, as we are given the chance to meet people of our same age in another part of the world. 

   My experience here in Uruguay personally has been a life changing experience. I say this because the people I have met and the events I have partaken made this immersion into a fun and exciting adventure. To explain one of the many highlights of the trip I was able to interview the Jesuit Provincial of Uruguay and Argentina, Fr. Alejandro Tilve, and Fernando Anderlic the Director of Fe y Alegria Argentina. Between the two of them I was able to fully understand the message of Fe y Alegria which is to bring hope and opportunity to those who need. The duty which we served this week was to make a place which would cultivate hope for the students to pursue knowledge.                     

Thanks,

-Brandon Briones