By Patricia Moran, February 2021
The Youth of San Pedro Are A Lifeline for Their Community
Over the last months I have watched an amazing group of young people work tirelessly to provide a lifeline of food and other basic needs to the people of their village, San Pedro Itzican, and the surrounding villages. I have often thought of what Fred Rogers (of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood) once said that in a time of crisis turn your attention to the helpers. There you will find hope and inspiration. One beautiful example is these young people who have stepped up selflessly to support their community.
Back in April when the COVID economic shutdown occurred, the indigenous area of San Pedro Itzican (27K east of Chapala) and surrounding villages were hit hard. When employment, and therefore wages, came to a sudden halt, many villagers were left without means to buy food.
Shortly after the economic shutdown announcement, Anita Guerrero, the remarkable director of a youth program called the Brigada in San Pedro, contacted the volunteer organization I work with, Poco a Poco San Pedro Itzican (www.pocoapocosanpedro.com). She anticipated the food crisis that loomed immediately ahead and wanted our help bringing staples to the area to distribute to families in need. She also called on 14 members of the Brigada (Brigadistas) ages 13 to 24, to get organized to begin to help their community.
Anita’s first step was to send the Brigadistas out into the communities to find out who needed immediate food assistance. A shocking 2,000 families responded they had little to eat. Soon Poco a Poco began bringing six tons of rice, beans, lentils, oatmeal, and soya every week to the Brigada office in San Pedro on a flatbed truck.
For four months, the Brigadistas worked from morning until night seven days a week taking large bags off the flatbed, sorting food, loading bags onto the back of two pickup trucks and delivering the food out of the pickups into plastic bags and buckets that the villagers would bring. Four days a week the Brigadistas traveled to 12 locations where villagers lined up for food. The other days were spent doing all the other chores that made food delivery possible. At one point Anita, herself exhausted by this gigantic effort, called a meeting of the equally tired Brigadistas and asked if they wanted to continue. Every Brigadista said yes to continuing.
This effort has now slowed considerably. Most villagers have gone back to work. The 2,000 weekly despensas are now 200 monthly despensas to the elderly, disabled, and chronically ill sponsored by FoodBank Lakeside (www.foodbanklakeside.org). The Brigadistas take these despensas directly to homes when needed. They also prepare and serve a meal five days a week for up to 80 village children who otherwise have little to eat. And they distribute food, water, and medicine weekly to 48 families with a family member on dialysis. By any standard other than what happened during the shutdown, they are still very busy!
About three weeks ago it became evident that COVID had made its way to San Pedro and was doing serious damage. There are no medical facilities in the village of 8,700 but there were reports of people, especially the elderly, dying in their homes because they could not breathe. Anita and the Brigadistas, with the support of Poco a Poco, once again acted quickly. While masks, soap and disinfectant had been delivered all along, there was a push to deliver more. Poco a Poco brought out oxygen machines, oximeters and more PPE. Anita and a small group of Brigadistas started to go to the homes of ill people to deliver the oxygen machines, take blood oxygen levels and do whatever they could to support the patients and their families. They shrugged off the risk.
As COVID continued to spread in the village, it became obvious that the only way to address the spread was to go house-to-house with oximeters, thermometers and blood pressure instruments to assess anyone who was ill. Dressed head to toe in PPE, some of the Brigadistas have started this campaign. It is scary to think of these young people taking on this task but they are doing so with a level of professionalism that is impressive. From our privileged perspective it may not make sense for youth to engage in such an endeavor but there is no option.
I share this story to offer hope and inspiration. These young people care about their villages. They know hunger and want to alleviate it for others. They have learned difficult lessons early in life and have responded with hard work that truly has reduced suffering. May they lead the way to a better future!
Thank you, Jose, Maria, Paul, Clemente, Yessenia, Xochitl, Eduardo, Jorge, Marco, Martha, Samuel, Ezequiel, Fernando, Jose Miguel, and Dani