For our first trip of the week, we met in a great little restaurant named Jicara to meet with a woman named Betty Ramirez to speak about her position and what she sees at the women’s shelter that she works at. This talk was a rather bleak one, so I’ll spare all the details but it was hopeful to hear of programs like this available in the city. Our only hope is that it expands and accepts more women! To sum it up, this shelter accepts about 30 women and their children who are going through very severe instances of domestic abuse. Due to the small capacity, they can only accept women who are in dire, life-threatening situations, and unfortunately many of the accounts she told us about were that bad. However, she explained how it supports the women and builds their communication and conflict resolution skills, as well as boosting their self-esteem and encouraging them to form better relationships with their children. They also receive help in four areas: medical, social work, legal, and psychological. Although it was very hard to hear about, this trip proved very useful and informative to the three of us.
For the next trip we went to a small town outside the city to visit a center called Casa los Abuelos (which literally received that name because it is located in their grandparent’s house). Here we received a very interesting and detailed account about what limpias (cleansings of the body) are, how they are done, and what their purpose is. It was our very first conversation with a curandera (a traditional/alternative healer) so we were all very interested! After our discussion, Anna perked right up and volunteered to do a limpia which consisted of having a bundle of herbs brushed on every part of her body along with smoke and some water. Basically, the herbs brushed the negative energy out of her body and released her spirit, and the water that was spit on her was so that the body would be shocked and recollect its spirit. The curandera then rubbed an egg along every part of her body as well, and later cracked it into a cup of water to do a reading. It was a very interesting experience, and we all ended up wanting limpias! But that will have to wait ‘til next time.
The last trip of the week consisted of going to another town outside of the city and visiting a shelter for kids called Casa de los Hijos de la Luna. In this shelter, they accept any children that their parents voluntarily leave there, usually during circumstances in their lives that may include having domestic violence at the home, or the mother being a night worker. Although the children were delighted to have us there, and they were all so adorable (just imagine a handful of 3 year old Mexican babies), it was a bit sad to see them in light of the situation. However, the people who worked here obviously had very well intentions and cared about the safety of these children, or else they would’ve just been alone at their house and/or neglected.
Overall, this was a very intense week for us what with all the information that we’ve received and all the stories that we heard. However, it clearly gave us a much deeper and broader understanding of the kinds of issues that are going on here in Oaxaca and although these programs are small it gives us a glimmer of hope that maybe they will grow and expand and help the majority that are in need, and not just a small subgroup of them.
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