Orientation Reflection

Hello everyone,
I'm really glad that I found SEWA and our first meeting location!
I was initially drawn to the Women's Issues group because of my studies in urban agriculture and community building at college. I think that the two inevitably go hand in hand because one of the most basic facts of life is that we all need to eat. Growing healthy food together in a way that honors local traditions, creates green pockets in a city, and opens dialogue, is one of my biggest sources of inspiration.

I feel that the overriding goal of the Women's Issues group is to form relationships. While direct communication might be tricky, hopefully with a translator or two my group will be able to hear the refugees stories and future goals.
I am going into this experience not assuming anything because, frankly, I cannot claim to know anything about being in a refugee camp for 18 years. Instead, I approach these early weeks as listener and learner.

My focus right now is to help with the survey and hopefully get the ball rolling on a community garden. Even if the time of year doesn't cooperate with a full-scale planting, I hope a dialogue about loses, desires, frustrations, and hopes, will create the same time of common ground.

I was very inspired by the other volunteers dedication- many of them giving to SEWA alongside full time jobs- and hope to learn from their service as much as from the refugees.