Weekend Watch

It looks like news, but I think it's just an advertisement for a program this weekend. CNN will air a special report on world poverty and will feature three organizations trying to help in different ways.

The article illustrates an example of a Bangladeshi woman using microfinance to improve her family's well-being. Microfinance is a term used to describe providing small loans to individuals in developing nations. Often, the value of the loan is less than $200. These loans are intended to allow individuals and families to improve their economies by promoting entrepreneurial behavior. Additionally, there is no collateral required to grant one of the loans. An example of an institution that provides these types of loans is the Grameen Foundation. One barrier to providing this type of loan is that the transaction cost is such a significant percentage of the loan value. These costs can be mitigated by providing a larger loan to an individual, who will then work with the community to disperse it.

In addition to microfinance, the show will highlight the work of Heifer International, an organization that also embraces the principles of helping build economies for individuals and families. What distinguishes them from other organizations is that you can 'shop' through their catalog and give livestock, among other things. For example, for $250 you can donate a water buffalo to a farmer in Asia. Heifer International also believes in microeconomics, agroecology, animal well-being, gender equity and combating HIV.

Finally, President Clinton will discuss his organization's commitment to these principles.

Anyway, although I'm plugging all three of them, none of them have responded to my requests for employment. Regardless, I still think they're doing good work.

Another Dedication

Although we were scheduled to dedicate the last house on Faith Court, and the street itself today, we rescheduled at the last moment to only dedicate the house. This was mainly due to weather, as we had the threat of rain all day and the mayor's calendar wasn't suited for an outside, rainy event. Hopefully, next Tuesday we'll dedicate the street that Habitat built.

Even without all the pomp and circumstance we would have had, it was a very nice celebration. Although we had many of our new AmeriCorps, it was much like the celebrations we had when I first arrived, our hard-working staff, a sponsor and homeowners that we have really grown to love. It was a very special day.

Paul & Bernice are such warm and genuine people. The wonderful part of this story is one of the first houses that I worked on in Baton Rouge was for their daughter, and today we dedicated the house we built for them just three doors down. In fact, the first time I tried to take Bernice's photograph, at Omeisha's dedication, I had to beg her to be in the photo. Today wasn't much different in that regard. For me, today was a wonderful reminder of what I came here to do, and like all good stories, the end of this one came full circle back to Faith Court.

Katrina: One Year Later

While President Bush calls for a return to New Orleans and southern Mississippi, one gracious hotelier has provided a place for them to stay.

In honor of those that died, and those whose lives were immeasurably altered, I'm proud to announce the opening of the Beau Rivage casino and hotel. Nothing says "I'm a survivor" quite like opening a hotel and casino. "We scoff at natural disaster." Finally, Mississippi can begin recouping their tax base and those who never settled with the insurance providers on their houses have recourse. Let it ride...

I know, I know - I'm being naive and this message marks a return toward prosperity. They spent a lot of money in the community getting it up and running and the revenue provides a tax base. Now, tourists have a place to stay and eat when they come look at the devastation, or to swim in the ocean - sorry, I haven't quite beat the cynic in me down as much as I hoped. Perhaps it's because of this report by the U.S. Census Bureau that announced today that 12.6% Americans live in poverty and that 24.9% of black Americans live below the poverty threshold. Further, Mississippi's poverty, at 21.3% is the highest in the country. Louisiana is not far behind (currently number 2 (or 49 depending on your perspective)) at 19.8%.

The positive spin here is that these rates have remained relatively unchanged since 2004 and "marked the end of four consecutive years of increases in the poverty rate (2001-2004)."

Thoughts on a Rainy Day

Yesterday was a nice day for me, because the staff at the affiliate threw a surprise birthday party for me. At my last job, occasionally, I would take off on my birthday or even go out of town, just to avoid any celebration. But yesterday's celebration was nice and thoughtful. I really don't like being the center of spectacle, but these were people that were genuinely wishing me well and maybe now that I'm a bit more comfortable in my own skin, I can accept it as that.

Today, I don't feel as though there is anything new and interesting to report from Baton Rouge. That, and because it is my birthday are probably two of the reasons why I even read my horoscope. Now, I don't usually do that - it really is an indicator that I'm bored and I'm actually sorry to share it here. But, it seems poignant (to me and the approximately 6.6e9/12 other humans who share my zodiac sign).

"Today you could learn a lesson ... and that lesson is that positive collaboration can move mountains. You have power and passion, but if you can gather up one or two other people who share your passion, your power will grow exponentially. Do what it takes to make a healthy group dynamic -- focus on the big picture and encourage other people to keep personal issues out of things."

Ahhh, hope!

Which made me think to share a few other quotes I've collected over the past year. Ones that continue to inspire me, and give credit to those I've collected them from.

First, is the famous quote attributed to Margaret Mead:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"

Next, is Nelson Mandela's charge against poverty and challenge to the G8 to respond with action:

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom."

When I was young (real young) I remember the bitter disappointment when I learned that there wasn't really a Spider-Man, Superman, Justice League or Jedi/Starfleet Academy. I like talking about justice. I like watching "Who Wants to Be a Superhero". Hero is a word that often gets tossed about by publicists and media campaigns, but I really do get the same sense of exhilaration that I got when I was young learning and reading of real champions of justice and equality.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated when accepting his Nobel Peace Prize,

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant."

I won't even attempt to summarize it, but his Nobel lecture, "The Quest for Peace and Justice" is as appropriate now as it was then, as he describes poverty, war, nuclear threats and racial and religious discord. Again love - not the "sentimental and weak response which is little more than emotional bosh", but the love that is the "supreme unifying principle of life" plays a pivotal role in his challenge.

So, in my year of living from the heart, I want to thank Leigh Ann for posting this:

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."

- John Wesley

and this:

"All men and women are born, live, suffer and die; what distinguishes us one from another is our dreams, whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things, and what we do to make them come about... We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live."

- Joseph Epstein

and to Scott for posting this:

"If we are to have peace on earth ... our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone, and as long as we try, the more we are going to have war in this world. We must either learn to live together as brothers or we are all going to perish together as fools."

Martin Luther King, Jr. 1967

and finally to Monica for reading this to me last year in front of a house in Kauai:

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

Although these are credited to Mother Teresa (three Nobel laureates in one post), they are a modified version of Kent M. Keith's Paradoxical Commandments, the real inspiration for the title of this blog.

It's Almost September

In just over two weeks, we'll be back in full-swing. You may recall that we've produced twenty houses this year, with all but two houses occupied at Hidden Cove, and the dedication of the remaining two in the next week.

Next week, we will dedicate the last house on Faith Court as well as hold a dedication of the street itself, as we turn it over to the city. This is a big event because it marks the completion of a multi-year effort to develop a new street and the end of this fifteen house development. I'll provide a special report on the dedication of Faith Court next week. Next week also marks the end of my ten-months as an AmeriCorps with the Baton Rouge HfH affiliate.

This September we start the following:

• September 9 - one house sponsored by Thrivent.
• September 16 - four houses. Two sponsored by local Methodist churches, one Women's Build, and one community build - sponsored by our ReStore.
  
• September 23 - two houses sponsored by Formosa.
• September 30 - five house, two-week blitz, sponsored by Baptist churches.

October we slow down a bit. We finish all of the above and pick up one, one-week blitz sponsored by a local Presbyterian church. That will make thirteen total, and then we begin fifteen additional houses in November and December.

There's a lot of work to come, and it's a unique time here in Louisiana - the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's impact in the region. This time last year, I was preparing to come visit a friend in New Orleans before I was to leave on a Habitat Global Village build. My flight and subsequently my plans were altered as a result, and here we are a year later. Come to think of it, United still owes me for the airfare. Anyway, there will be a lot of memorials and celebrations here in the next week, and I'm certain there will be a lot of reflection on the past year.

It's been an interesting year.

Meet my replacements

When I arrived last year, one other AmeriCorps and I started on the same day. Terrell worked with Lynn as a volunteer coordinator, and I worked with the construction staff. Over the past month, seven new AmeriCorps volunteers have joined our affiliate to work in construction, family services and volunteer coordination. It's pretty diverse group: some young, some more mature, but all eager and bright-eyed. This is in addition to the ten AmeriCorps NCCC that are working with us for six weeks.

Our last day with the affiliate is scheduled for August 25 (week ending 8/27). I think we will leave the affiliate in better (certainly more) hands that what we provided. Given that there are still 30-ish houses to build this year (approximately twice as many as was built last year, and half-again more than we've already built this year), someone's work is still cut out for them.

New Team

We have a new team of AmeriCorps NCCC here to work with us. Today, Silver 4 from Charleston, SC arrived to work with us through the middle of September. I feel bad for them not only because of the heat & humidity but we won't start building new houses until September, and the work they have ahead of them is site preparation and cleanup, and eventually some prebuild. We are their first service project of the year, so we need to set the bar high.

Our next round of houses will start construction on September 9. This happens to be the date I left last year to go work on a Habitat Global Village build, and subsequently changed my life's direction. Enough about me. To get to 50-ish houses, we need to build 30 more this year. As I previously stated, September 9 and then the 16th are our next two start dates and we have already started preparing the foundations for those houses. This team will at least see the walls raised on the September 9th house before they move on.

We're going to try to get them a bit more integrated into our affiliate than we have with previous teams - today I gave them an orientation from the construction perspective, a bit of history of the affiliate and how we're attempting to do things post-Katrina/Rita. Kim, an AmeriCorps who has joined us in the past few weeks, gave them an overview of the family selection process and Lynn, our development director, brought them up to speed on our sponsors and volunteer needs.

We hope to have them attend some of the home-buyer classes to give them a better understanding of the processes involved in partnering with families. Hopefully, they will have a better perspective of the affiliate operations before they leave us.

Welcome aboard.

For some reason they thought I was going to succeed

[Those purely interested in houses built in and around the Greater Baton Rouge area or the happenings of a HfH affiliate may stop reading now, this one is going a different way]

So [my second favorite way to start a new subject. 20 points to the first person that figures out the first,] I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of the past weekend. I debated myself if I would even admit out loud what I even did (I won/I lost), but it kinda is important to me and is fitting that it happened this year. Yes, I'm so old that I attended my twenty-year high school reunion.

I suppose they are hit-or-miss - you either like 'em or you don't. As you may have intuited that I'm at some personal crossroads, I do like to reflect from time to time if this past year has been the most productive use of my time, or if I'm indeed insane. I'm not certain why this particular group of people hold sway over certain aspects of my life, but I was clearly nervous leading up to the event, and figuring out how to describe my current status was definitely one of the reasons why.

What I discovered is that I found myself in very familiar territory after the anxiety subsided. Many of them are also on their own personal journeys of discovery. Those that aren't may find themselves on one soon enough.

I can be terse. Ok, I tend to be terse. Often, I try to know my audience. For example, sometimes people are just asking you a question they want you to ask them in return - no long or thoughtful reply on my part is necessary. If some non-engineer asked what I did at my previous job, I would often ask back how detailed of an answer they want, or were we just making conversation - if so, it may be simpler for me to suggest potential topics that will hold both of our attention. Or when someone asks the inevitable, "what kind of computer should I buy" I have to get them to define "kind" for me. Because where I'm thinking processor architecture or processor manufacturer, they're talking vendor or retailer. That led me to the comforting, but probably annoying habit of just answering enough that they're sure not to follow up. But every once in a while, when the tide is high, the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, I'll describe in great detail what I'm doing.

Maybe it was the venue, or because we are at similar points in our lives, or maybe it's good old curiosity, but more than one person seemed genuinely interested in my past year and it afforded me the opportunity to meet the challenge of responding with a thoughtful and genuine response. And, with every response, I took the time to learn from the previous reply to further refine, even for myself, what the heck I have done for the past year, and what I want to continue doing. If for no other reason, it was worth it to open myself up to old anxieties and insecurities of high school. Fortunately, there were many other rewards (ok a few, but they were good), but I'll keep them to myself.

The irony of the whole deal was that I took all this time to figure out what I'm even looking for, and it was best summed up by my great friend Alisa, who said "Oh, you're just like those guys in 'City Slickers'. You know, looking for One Thing."

A Very Busy Day

Today started with a meeting at 7:30 and it seems all I did was run from one appointment to another for the entire day. The first one was our weekly construction meeting where we plan the week's activities. The 9:00 was our staff meeting where we met not only our new Executive Director Chris, but also another AmeriCorps employee who moved here from Missouri. Next, we met with a group from a Presbyterian church who will begin a house in October. Moving on, I ran to help one of our new AmeriCorps, Kim, move a dresser and bed into her new apartment. This I followed up with a conference call with Silver 4, the AmeriCorps NCCC team that will join us from August until the end of September. Throw in a meeting with Chris, another trip to move a mattress, a last cigarette while leaving the office where I witnessed a police officer drop his ticket book (that I subsequently retrieved and will report tomorrow) when he drove off in pursuit, and a mad dash to avoid a thunderstorm on my motorcycle, and you can call it a day.

I mention all of this, because in all that hustle, the meeting with Chris was the most significant. In fact, it was one of the most significant I've had since I moved to this town. Chris comes from a construction background, has worked in non-profit development, and was a priest. I've mentioned here that I'm interested in pursuing opportunities abroad with non-profits and I had an opportunity to share some of this with him. In fact, I got to share a lot with him. I'm reasonably certain that I could stay with this affiliate when my AmeriCorps obligation ends (which I believe is August 27). To fulfill my requirements, I am to have completed 1700 hours by then. I'm not certain I will achieve that - it will be close. The two months I spent in St. Bernard don't count toward my hours, and that put me a bit behind. I believe that around that time, I'll post something summarizing my time here in Baton Rouge, so stay tuned!

To get back where I started: the meeting with Chris was a great opportunity for me to remind myself of some of the reasons I took the year off. To say (write) it out loud again, I wanted to spend a year living from my heart, helping others, making connections, and learning about myself. I don't want to get ahead of myself, and I'll save some of that for the end of August, but it's always good to assess where you are, how you got there, and where are you trying to go. Rather, it's good for me to assess that. You do what you have to do for you.

Anyway, if you want to see a work in development, you can take a look at a map of some of the houses that we've built this past year, and some of the ones we're getting ready to build. It is a work in progress, and I will update the map with icons to distinguish new business from old business at some point in the near future as well as update it as we secure the property we will build on this fall. It uses the Google Maps API, and is available here.

(Ok, last aside. I've snickered before about blogger's spell checker doesn't recognize blog or blogger. It doesn't seem to recognize Google either. Cute.)