Tihueliske We Can! Education for 80 Children

Dear Friends of Atzin and Tlamacazapa,

In these difficult months, now stretching out to years, we persist through the consequences of events beyond our control, events that have taken such a toll on those living in poverty and on Atzin programs and sometimes, have struck hard at the morale of our team.  

I take comfort in the wise words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes: “In any dark time, there is a tendency to focus on how much is wrong in the world. Do not make yourself ill by becoming overwhelmed.” (2001/2016).

Clarissa says (and I paraphrase): Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of reaching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small act that one can do to assist another will help immensely.

Having learned the art of survival, we at Atzin know that dramatic change comes with the accumulation of acts, one by one - acts that pile up until their weight collapses the rotting fabric of this suffering world, leaving open the possibility of a new way of being, of believing, of speaking, of behaving, of relating.

Responding to need, we are “simultaneously fierce and merciful” and bravely display “the light of awakened souls in these shadowy times.” Just in February 2020, that light included such seemingly small acts as these,

• Overjoyed, Marcela watches her youngest son, three-year-old Derek with cerebral palsy, take his first steps, having faithfully carried him four days a week to attend early stimulation and therapy.
• Sitting on a worn palm mat in her small hut, blind, elderly, and fearful about her husband in hospital, Paula reaches out for water to drink and more so, reassurance that she is not alone.
• Gentle comfort is offered and received by a thirty-year-old woman just after a positive pregnancy test – she in bewildered shock because her boyfriend drinks and suffers from convulsions.
• A small group listens attentively as Elena tearfully recounts her pregnancy and delivery of Armando, born with severe spina bifida, now 18 months old. She blames herself. Armando plays with a car in her arms; and she dreams that one day he will walk. We are at a loss to respond, realizing that three physicians had made multiple errors in her prenatal care and delivery. Promoters deliver a makeshift cushioned seat for Armando, and invite them to the early stim program.
• Three teenage girls eagerly accept a scholarship for junior high school; Atzin invests in their education. Atzin health promoters and educators attend four Saturday learning circles, discussing The Four Agreements:  Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best.

It is true: when we hunker down in protection, yes - we are safe. But that is not what Atzin, a small but mighty organization, is made for.

In grateful appreciation of your support for these fierce and merciful acts,

As always, Susan

Links:

• Atzin website: soon under re-construction

Rene

One day several years ago, I arrived early at the Atzin Centre in Tlamacazapa to find a white string strung across the entrance to its large patio where classes were held. "Marie, what´s with the string?" I asked the volunteer trainer who was working with our Tihueliske, We Can! Education Program for children. "That string is for my sanity," Marie explained, "Rene always comes at the crack of dawn and wants to look at books. I am still in my pyjamas and haven´t even had my coffee yet. So, when I take the string down, Rene can come in and start reading along with the other early bird kids." She was pleased with her solution, and I laughed - Rene would live at our Centre if he could, in fact, he liked books so much that he had started reading the dictionary word by word, page by page, in order to expand his vocabulary.

Rene's family lives nearby in a small adobe house; he is the first person in his family to learn to read and write and it didn't come easily. Starting in 2007, Rene rarely missed a Tihueliske class. Now 17 years old he is close to acheiving his primary school certificate, studying under the guidance of two educators three afternoons per week. He says, "I like coming to class because I learned something new every day. I want to be a good person in life and reading is important to me. It allows me to travel anywhere outside the village, to take any bus and know where I am going because I can read highway and street signs. Also, I now can teach my sister, Liliana, and my mother; they also need to be able to read." No slouch when it comes to work, Rene is following in his father's footsteps, "I like working with my Dad in the fields, carrying water and cutting firewood. I especially enjoy cutting palm in the forest because my Mom then can weave palm baskets and we sell them. I like to care for my parents alot." 

Rene´s family could not afford to send him to regular public school but our Tihueliske Education Program gave him the right tools in his drive for knowledge. Simply put, Rene was and still is a most persistent person, and no thin string is going to hold this young man back!

Susan October 2017.