empower

“The answer does not lie in the rejection of the machine, but rather in the humanization of man” 

-Paolo Freire

A radical Brazilian educator who invested in slide projectors to teach peasants to read in the 1960’s.  Later, in the 1990’s, he further invested new technology into his arsenal for empowering the poor through knowledge.

I consider the massive task of improving this world every day.  I often imagine my dream of living on a farm with a village of friends cooperating together, yet the more I contemplate reality, the more I believe my dream will never come true.  The most dire need for improvement is within the heart of the slums of the world.  Yes, improving a large rural or suburban plot of land is admirable, but taking a slum and gentrifying it through education and empowering of its citizens feels exponentially more important.

There is a conflict:  culture.  Who am I as a white, middle-class american woman to step into the culture of the poor and tell them what to do?  How do you teach without feeling preachy?  Is survival of the fittest really dominant relative to the human family?  Should I only be concerned with myself and continue to build thicker skin around my empathy!?

I don’t expect answers to those questions any time soon.

This is why I’m starting small.

Recycle Bicycle is a volunteer group that I discovered in Harrisburg.  It’s a warehouse that has literally mountains of bikes that have been donated to the cause.  Most are in poor condition and are stripped for parts and some are in decent condition.  Recycle Bicycle allows people from the community to pick a bike and fix it themselves with the help of a volunteer.  An hour of work on the bike is equivalent to 10$ in labor.  You can use your labor in the shop to pay for a bike.  It’s a christian organization and I have no qualms as of now, I will if I hear the preachy parts.

Everything is recycled.

It’s an interesting introduction to Harrisburg City’s culture.  It’s also rather depressing.  Most of the clients seem to be children (a lot of them barefoot). 

Okay world, here I come.