Xmas weekend part 2 (of 3)
(continued from yesterday’s post – I know you were all on the edge of your seats from the cliffhanger I left you with yesterday. I tried to wrap it up this time but it looks like I’m going to have to make one more post tomorrow before finishing my Christmas weekend story. Trust me, I want it to be over just as much as you do.)
After milking the remains of the afternoon for all it was worth, we headed back to the house to
get ready for the party which started at 3 in the afternoon. Everybody got all dressed up except for me, since I don’t know shit about shit (but that’s OK because everybody expects it by now). My job during the bulk of the party was to take pictures since I’m the only one who has a digital camera, and to sort of just stand there as the example of "one of our volunteers", as opposed to, say, our solitary volunteer. Actually there are others but I think they have the sense to come in only a few days a week and then sort of get on with their lives. I’ve never actually seen another volunteer there except for when I first went with a German guy from my class and that was only twice.
The party was held in the new school which is maybe a block away from Ivanildo’s mom’s (aka Dona Rita’s) house. There was a line forming outside as we walked in, and there were already maybe 500 people sitting in the seats that had been placed in the largest (of maybe 5 or 6) rooms in the building. There was a relatively large yard out back that had enough medium-sized trees of similar size to feel like an orchard. Ivanildo had told me earlier that there were plans to later convert the yard into a football field and other sports facilities, but for now it was to be where kids and parents would be able to have what was probably the closest thing to a Christmas dinner for most or all of them. Before the things officially started there was already a line forming in the back yard, which started at the back door, of parents but mostly kids dressed in rags who were clearly hungry and waiting on pins and needles for the food. I don’t know if they did this because someone told them to – I’m more inclined to think it was out of habit, and that they were thinking that if they showed a willingness to be orderly then maybe the people in charge would start distributing the food more quickly.
Ivanildo and I went up on the stage as inconspicuously as possible in order to take some pictures of the crowd, and to photograph a banner that was being held up by two other members of our group which announced the event. There were about 10 chairs on the stage and a large banquet table. The chairs were for trustees of the organization’s board of directors, which included a number of lawyers, journalists, and other professionals from the area who had moved to bigger cities like Salvador and become successful. I had been standing out front a little bit earlier, watching the line get bigger and taking pictures, and a middle aged, somewhat unkempt woman with brightly colored tight clothing that made her look like she might have just come from the gym, stepped out of the car and said something, a joke perhaps, that made some of the people outside laugh. She seemed a little crazy to me, but she was smiling broadly, and when I went back inside I saw that she had gone up and sat in one of the board of directors chairs. Later she gave a riveting speech when asked to say a few words in which she yelled some kind of Che-esque battle cry for the proletariat – "ever forward!" "working people of the world unite!" – not that but something to that effect. I have no idea if she was a communist either but she definitely was on the side of poor people.
Eventually things were kicked off by an MC who I didn’t really get a chance to meet but who was part of our group. He called Ivanildo’s brother up to the stage and he gave a presentation on the history of the organization, its goals, growth, etc. Luckily people didn’t have to wait until he was done in order to start eating, because by this time the picnic out back was in full swing and there were groups of unbathed little kids in rags wolfing down food (hot dogs? I can’t remember) along with their parents. I walked in and out a few times, in order to get some pictures and to listen to part of the speech. I started having problems with the lens of my camera – I think there was dust on the inside of it – and I got a little frustrated later on at how some of the pictures came out. At one point I was standing in the crowd and looking through the pictures of my camera, when a woman next to me shook my arm and I looked up to see that Ivanildo`s brother Luciano was on stage pointing at me, and had just said "And we have volunteers here, one from the US – Matheus, you`re from New York?" I nodded, dumbstruck, and people started clapping. Later on he did the same thing but this time asked me a question which I didn’t understand a word of, and I answered by nodding and saying yes. I was probably agreeing to work pro bono for the next 10 years, not knowing what I was signing up for.
Each of the members of the board of directors were then asked to speak for a minute or two, and from what I could gather the speeches were all very similar: the person had grown up in a desperately poor neighborhood, had found a way out through education or a profession, and was back to try to help others in the city. The means to do this were through education, job training, and economic development to bring the city up to speed in the world economy. And lastly, Luciano called up his mother (Dona Rita) and her mother to stand up and for people to clap since it was they who were the glue, as he said, that kept everything together. The organization (and culture) is very family-oriented, and I think that the two women symbolized the familial bonds that had inspired a lot of the work that went on here.
Things wound down and then came the time for the gift and food distribution. There were something on the order of 200-300 large bags of food that were to be given to families who had a coupon which certified that they qualified for the bags (unemployed with children). There was a set of two small wooden doors with windows cut in them which had one or two men and a few women blocking it with their bodies so that people couldn`t just rush in and grab a bag and run off. From this point on things descended into chaos. People were pushing their way to the front, some kids got trampled, and there was lots of yelling in the cramped hall outside. Still, the people in charge were able to keep things relatively under control. At one point there was a relatively large, tall man who pushed his way through to the front and good-naturedly demanded his bag. He did have a coupon, so he was entitled to one, so he was let through and got his bag. He tried to exit the same way he came which was against protocol, but he started getting belligerent and so was let through. During the course of this he had an exchange with Adriana which nearly came to blows (she doesn’t take shit from people), and he pushed his way into the hall holding the bag over his head and yelling something back at her. Later on he came through again, and tried explaining how he was entitled to another bag (someone had asked that he claim their bag for them – whatever). People knew this was b. s. but he was let through anyway in order to avoid an incident which we were definitely at risk of having. He came over to me at one point to say some things in a purportedly joking way, and I could smell alcohol on his breath. He got one other bag but after that he left and no one saw him again. This was the last incident we had like that. 
(to be continued, and completed, hopefully, tomorrow …)
After milking the remains of the afternoon for all it was worth, we headed back to the house to
get ready for the party which started at 3 in the afternoon. Everybody got all dressed up except for me, since I don’t know shit about shit (but that’s OK because everybody expects it by now). My job during the bulk of the party was to take pictures since I’m the only one who has a digital camera, and to sort of just stand there as the example of "one of our volunteers", as opposed to, say, our solitary volunteer. Actually there are others but I think they have the sense to come in only a few days a week and then sort of get on with their lives. I’ve never actually seen another volunteer there except for when I first went with a German guy from my class and that was only twice.
The party was held in the new school which is maybe a block away from Ivanildo’s mom’s (aka Dona Rita’s) house. There was a line forming outside as we walked in, and there were already maybe 500 people sitting in the seats that had been placed in the largest (of maybe 5 or 6) rooms in the building. There was a relatively large yard out back that had enough medium-sized trees of similar size to feel like an orchard. Ivanildo had told me earlier that there were plans to later convert the yard into a football field and other sports facilities, but for now it was to be where kids and parents would be able to have what was probably the closest thing to a Christmas dinner for most or all of them. Before the things officially started there was already a line forming in the back yard, which started at the back door, of parents but mostly kids dressed in rags who were clearly hungry and waiting on pins and needles for the food. I don’t know if they did this because someone told them to – I’m more inclined to think it was out of habit, and that they were thinking that if they showed a willingness to be orderly then maybe the people in charge would start distributing the food more quickly.
Ivanildo and I went up on the stage as inconspicuously as possible in order to take some pictures of the crowd, and to photograph a banner that was being held up by two other members of our group which announced the event. There were about 10 chairs on the stage and a large banquet table. The chairs were for trustees of the organization’s board of directors, which included a number of lawyers, journalists, and other professionals from the area who had moved to bigger cities like Salvador and become successful. I had been standing out front a little bit earlier, watching the line get bigger and taking pictures, and a middle aged, somewhat unkempt woman with brightly colored tight clothing that made her look like she might have just come from the gym, stepped out of the car and said something, a joke perhaps, that made some of the people outside laugh. She seemed a little crazy to me, but she was smiling broadly, and when I went back inside I saw that she had gone up and sat in one of the board of directors chairs. Later she gave a riveting speech when asked to say a few words in which she yelled some kind of Che-esque battle cry for the proletariat – "ever forward!" "working people of the world unite!" – not that but something to that effect. I have no idea if she was a communist either but she definitely was on the side of poor people.
Eventually things were kicked off by an MC who I didn’t really get a chance to meet but who was part of our group. He called Ivanildo’s brother up to the stage and he gave a presentation on the history of the organization, its goals, growth, etc. Luckily people didn’t have to wait until he was done in order to start eating, because by this time the picnic out back was in full swing and there were groups of unbathed little kids in rags wolfing down food (hot dogs? I can’t remember) along with their parents. I walked in and out a few times, in order to get some pictures and to listen to part of the speech. I started having problems with the lens of my camera – I think there was dust on the inside of it – and I got a little frustrated later on at how some of the pictures came out. At one point I was standing in the crowd and looking through the pictures of my camera, when a woman next to me shook my arm and I looked up to see that Ivanildo`s brother Luciano was on stage pointing at me, and had just said "And we have volunteers here, one from the US – Matheus, you`re from New York?" I nodded, dumbstruck, and people started clapping. Later on he did the same thing but this time asked me a question which I didn’t understand a word of, and I answered by nodding and saying yes. I was probably agreeing to work pro bono for the next 10 years, not knowing what I was signing up for.Each of the members of the board of directors were then asked to speak for a minute or two, and from what I could gather the speeches were all very similar: the person had grown up in a desperately poor neighborhood, had found a way out through education or a profession, and was back to try to help others in the city. The means to do this were through education, job training, and economic development to bring the city up to speed in the world economy. And lastly, Luciano called up his mother (Dona Rita) and her mother to stand up and for people to clap since it was they who were the glue, as he said, that kept everything together. The organization (and culture) is very family-oriented, and I think that the two women symbolized the familial bonds that had inspired a lot of the work that went on here.
Things wound down and then came the time for the gift and food distribution. There were something on the order of 200-300 large bags of food that were to be given to families who had a coupon which certified that they qualified for the bags (unemployed with children). There was a set of two small wooden doors with windows cut in them which had one or two men and a few women blocking it with their bodies so that people couldn`t just rush in and grab a bag and run off. From this point on things descended into chaos. People were pushing their way to the front, some kids got trampled, and there was lots of yelling in the cramped hall outside. Still, the people in charge were able to keep things relatively under control. At one point there was a relatively large, tall man who pushed his way through to the front and good-naturedly demanded his bag. He did have a coupon, so he was entitled to one, so he was let through and got his bag. He tried to exit the same way he came which was against protocol, but he started getting belligerent and so was let through. During the course of this he had an exchange with Adriana which nearly came to blows (she doesn’t take shit from people), and he pushed his way into the hall holding the bag over his head and yelling something back at her. Later on he came through again, and tried explaining how he was entitled to another bag (someone had asked that he claim their bag for them – whatever). People knew this was b. s. but he was let through anyway in order to avoid an incident which we were definitely at risk of having. He came over to me at one point to say some things in a purportedly joking way, and I could smell alcohol on his breath. He got one other bag but after that he left and no one saw him again. This was the last incident we had like that. 
(to be continued, and completed, hopefully, tomorrow …)
posted by n10471 at 6:10 AM
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