Report: Field Visit to Centro De Compartimiento

Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico

February 19-25, 2009

There is a place in the soul and psyche, La Selva Subterranea, the underground forest…a mysterious locus which acts as El Refugio, a protected place where the exhausted spirit can safely rest…and where attracted by La Luz Violeta, the violet light from worldly wounds, angels come to tend to souls with infinite tenderness. 

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Currently, between the two programs of CDC, there are 11 niñas living in residence and studying: 6 middle/high school girls live at Casa Isabel, and 5 college age girls live at Casa Angeles. Given the roughly $50,000 US dollars CDC spent in 2008, this breaks down to approximately 3,800/girl per year.

We sat with all the girls on Saturday evening, during which the girls shared how they came to hear about CDC. Some heard through relatives, friends, their pastor, or the radio programming that Dr. Jorge, a CDC board member is running out of his office.

We then asked them this question: Where would you be if you were not associated with CDC right now? There were many tears during this portion of the meeting as the girls told their stories. One girl had been told that girls aren’t supposed to study. The girl prayed and prayed. When her pastor told the congregation about CDC one day, she said he was her miracle. Another girl had been in a house which was violently robbed. She needed to move out of the region for security. She is still traumatized over the event. Most said they would have dropped out of school to go to work and try to save money.

There is much tension in most of their homes due to the affects of poverty. It is estimated that nearly 40% of Mexicans live in abject poverty (Feb. 25 edition, www.thenews.com.mx.) World Vision’s Spring 2009 magazine issue says that due to the global economic crisis, girls all over the world are at increasing risk of dropping out of school to work, or be married off or even sold in order to make money. See the full report at: www.worldvision.org/childbrides. Now is the time for people of goodwill to stand with these most vulnerable girls.

Sunday morning we did a one hour talk show on the CDC radio. The really cool thing was that we were lead by two interviewers….Eneydi and Yudi, from Casa Angeles! They have learned so much by doing this show on a weekly basis. We told them that they are becoming the leaders, and we are becoming the servants to their leadership, as partners in the mission of CDC.

After the radio show, we all went to church at Emmanuel Nazarene. Although the girls are of diverse religious backgrounds, the Nazarene church has been supplying a bible teacher weekly to help guide their spiritual development.

After church, the girls piled into the back of Dr. Jorge’s pickup and we drove to the village of Yudi, San Dionisio. It is near the ocean. The Huave language is spoken in this village.  Her father catches small fish and tiny crabs and shrimp that find their way into the lagoon.  He told us that it is hard to find enough fish now….too many fishermen, too small of boats. We heard this same story in the Philippines last year. The family cooked us a lovely dinner, and then we sat around the yard listening to their stories about life there. They told us that they did not believe it was true when they heard their daughter might be able to study with CDC. They thought it would be a scam. They investigated thoroughly, and finally agreed to let Yudi come. The brother told us it was like finding a gold mine. They are very grateful. 

Monday morning a CDC board meeting was held. It was our annual meeting. The year of 2008 began with 6 girls’ total. It ended with 11. Whereas there had been many turnovers last year, there seems to be a new spirit operating currently. We heard the girls singing Christian songs, and listened while one played the keyboard, and another played the guitar.  We saw them hugging one another often, watched them serve in a variety of ways. Of course they are excellent helpers with Kristin’s two little girls (she adopted Emily at birth, and is trying to adopt Gloria, who is 8, whom she has also known since birth).

In a year when non-profit support is being cut by many, we were especially thrilled to receive the news that Kristin’s grant to Western Union has been approved! This will help make up for another on-going grant to Casa Isabel that is being cut in half this year.

The mission of CDC is to offer a refuge where girls might find their la selva subterranean, having come exhausted from being battered about by life in cultures that still too often value women and girls less than boys and men. Clarissa P. Estes says that we can remember Mary having to flee to Egypt after having birthed Jesus, in order to save his life. She arrived exhausted. What and who might have been waiting for her there, to offer rest and sanctuary? This question can become a call to action during Lenten season: Who needs sanctuary among us? To whom might God send you as a ministering spirit, which the bible describes angels as, for the purpose of helping guard God’s call on their lives?

Neither we nor these young women can stand by silently.

Lamentations 2:19 calls us out:

Don’t just stand there, Rise up! Cry out in the dark! Cry out at your vigil…let your heart pour out like water…let everyone and God see you are bold! Lift your hands! Lift! Your! Hands! Else your little children shall starve on every road.

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