Universal Language

So far, this week has been going well. We were able to secure a soil donation for the garden, thanks to the kind folks at Cowboy Trucking, and we are starting to collect old water bottles/yogurt cups to start our seedlings. We have also planned some follow-up women’s only meetings at the apartments and are still working on getting a female doctor to offer her expertise on health questions. Sprinkle in some volunteer interviews, apartment visits, and Medicaid/Gold Card research and the week is truly in progress. Two other big projects are registering the children for school and looking into vendor applications at local markets, where the women might sell their crafts in the future.

At the end of last week, Agatha and I went to VP in hopes of meeting more of the women and hearing their concerns. I have to say I was blown away by the number in attendance. We not only got a lot of helpful information, but we were able to speak with a wide age range- from 19 to 79 years old. I would say that any specifics in the refugees’ needs, and of course English proficiency, are based on age. But even the language barrier was put aside in this very engaging conversation. We finally got the specific art supplies they need for their beautiful crocheting and knitting projects, and even got to see some of their art pieces up close. I am very eager to begin our knitting circle next week to build a stronger sense of community between the women and, if the market idea works out, create an additional source of income.

When I was reflecting on this particular visit a few days later, I suddenly realized that when the room became so noisy with voices, the whole room was speaking to me in Nepali. The questions that I had asked the designated translator became public property and a truly a community concern. By no means do I speak Nepali, but in some strange fashion I could understand the injuries they described or the details of their children. Language barriers are, after all, relative.