Gratitude is creative action...
For many of our readers, November is a month for expressing gratitude. Saying “thank you” is one way we can make a difference in this world, for gratefulness actively forms connections with all that energizes us with life. However, in the usual Pachaysana style, we see November as an opportunity to issue a challenge.
At Thanksgiving, saying thanks can be overly focused on possession and receivership. For example, we might say “I give thanks for all that I have. The food on my plate, the family that surrounds me, the blessings that have been bestowed on me.” Instead of using words like “having”, which might make you associate gratitude with passivity, can we focus on action? For example, consider rephrasing your gratitude with words like, “I give thanks for being able to participate in and create life, for the food that is part of me, and of which I am part, and for the energy that I harness to weave together a family with my loved ones.”
In this newsletter, we select just a few members of the Pachaysana family whose work and lives fill us with gratitude and continuously inspire us to create a new world.
Image: Feeling gratitude for our family, while remembering the beginnings of Pachayasana. (Our family from the spring 2015 semester of Rehearsing Change)
|
|
Gracias to our partner communities!
We take this moment to thank the amazing people at the UDAPT (la Unión de Afectados por Texaco), a group of 30,000 people of the Amazon struggling against all odds to bring justice to their communities. For dozens of years, beginning with Texaco (now Chevron), and continuing with other oil companies, their lands and water have been subjected to the worst possible contamination imaginable. This month UDAPT celebrated 25 years of battling Chevron-Texaco for justice. Pachaysana participated by leading a workshop with community leaders and painting a mural that recognizes the tireless efforts of the people. Special thanks to our friends at Nina Shunku for their vision and talent with the mural.
Image: Our brother from Nina Shinku, Isaac Peñaherrera, who with Heins Pozo led the mural project.
|
|
Gracias to our partner colleges and universities in the USA!
Our work would not be possible without the participation of colleges from abroad. We thank Macalester College (St Paul, MN), history professor Ernie Capello and the students in his class, “The Andes: Landscapes of Power.” They are working with our partner community organization Casa Machankara on a historical study to complement the organization’s mission to change the narrative that Quiteños have with the contaminated Machangara River.
Image: To the left, students from Macalester working on a historical timeline related to the Machangara River; to the right, a contaminated tributary of the river coming down from the river's source, Atacaso mountain.
|
|
Gracias to our Pachaysana team!
Everyday we feel such gratitude for being able to create programs and projects with an incredible family of dedicated people. Today we take a moment to say thanks to Daniel “Millaghe” Acosta, who never let the crazed workload overcome his commitment to our community projects. In addition to leading the UDAPT project above, he has innovated community exchanges, including one between the Amazon community of Tzawata and his own Highlands community of Pintag. Muchas gracias, Millaghe!
Image: Daniel "Milllaghe" Acosta as a local student in our first semester of Rehearsing Change, before becoming part of our staff; and then in action this year working with youth in the community of Tzawata.
|
|
Gracias to Rehearsing Change students!
So much of our work depends on our international students in the Rehearsing Change program. We take a moment to thank Maria Camila Fredericks (The Ohio State University), who has been working with UDAPT on their plan for environmental remediation. Her part has been the design and implementation of a study that examines how the affected peoples perceive the contamination 25 years after they began their legal case. Thank you Maria Camila! What incredible work!!!!
Image: The UDAPT workshop participants, with Maria Camila (second from the right).
|
|
Gracias to our Rehearsing Change alums!
All our alums are part of our Pachaysana family. This month, we are especially grateful to our alum, Sara Ullom-Minnich, who placed in the Bailey oratory contest at Juniata College last semester before graduating. She decided to donate her prize money to a Pachaysana project, and her support benefited our partners at Mundo Circo and their project called “Circus for a Culture of Peace,” which applies circus arts to transforming conflicts in marginalized neighborhoods.
Watch Sarah's award-winning speech, which reflects on her study abroad experience with Rehearsing Change. She challenges the nature of most study abroad programs, asking her fellow students to seek out true intercultural exchange while demanding accountability from the institutions that run programs or contract them.
Image: Sarah in the community of Tzawata, and a photo sent to us from Mundo Circo from their "Circus for a Culture of Peace" project in the town of Baños.
|
|
Gracias to you!
Following Sarah’s lead, we are happy to announce our end of the year Pachaysana donation campaign. In a few weeks, you will receive our end of the year newsletter that tells you how you can contribute to our projects. A fantastic way to actively express gratitude is by giving a bit of yourself to others, becoming part of their story. We hope you will consider us at the end of the year.
Image: Just one of those images that makes you feel gratitude... from the community of Tzawata.
|
|
|
|
|
