The Work Behind the Dreams

I got to eat this the other night:

It's called Injera. It is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopa and Eritrea. The fabulous sauce (sorry, that's the best I can do: my fate always seems to be when I stumble across something delicious, a language barrier prevents me from obtaining the recipe correctly enough to recreate it!) usually contains chicken, eggs, other meat, and/or vegetables. Yum!

However, the best part of the night was again visiting an incredibly inspiring mother and family. I connected with them through this organization (which I recommend if you're looking for opportunities to volunteer) and my great friend Rachel. There are several organizations in my area working to bring refugees from war-torn and famine-ridden countries to the U.S. and I am a lucky volunteer who gets to assist fabulous caseworkers with their altruistic but heavy load. Frankly, working with them is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Not only do I get to spend time with a courageous family, learn about their culture, pick up bits of Tigrinya and Arabic, and develop some great friendships, but I get to see behind the scenes of the American Dream.

Benevolent, overworked aid and development professionals used to be starry-eyed, young adults hoping to save the world by furthering the ever so nebulous goals of international understanding and world peace. As they have found (and as I am beginning to discover), it takes time, patience, 3.6 million tons of grunt work, 73 steps back for every 2 steps forward, and it's just plain tough.

I have loved observing and assisting the process. From government agencies, languages, and crises, to misunderstandings, applications, and paperwork, helping just ONE family restart their lives in a safer, better environment can be full of set-backs and heartache. But it is so rewarding.

Plus, who wouldn't want to see these faces at least once a week?!