Day 5..."Helping & fixing" versus "Serving"

3/23/11

            We started hump day by taking a trip to the Freedom House Museum (a former building where slaves were held to be traded in Alexandria) in order to relate slavery in early America to modern-day slavery/human trafficking. In the museum, we watched a video, which included real life stories of slaves reenacted. Many of the stories revealed the horrors and triumphs of individuals who were enslaved. Throughout the museum there were biographies of slaves and slave owners, as well as tangible artifacts. Many of us had a heavy feeling after walking through, and especially remaining in a place where the actual holding of slaves occurred.

          After the museum, we decided to eat lunch and have a discussion. Although we were acknowledging the differences such as how the African Slave Trade was government sanctioned, had an element of race, and differences in the oppressors, we were still able to draw parallels between the two existences. Some of those parallels included both objectifying/putting a price on human beings, slaves having no escape and no where to run to, and the age of the minors.

            On the metro, Stephanie threw up…just kidding!  Next, we made our way to Shared Hope International.  The lovely interns and staff helped us engage more in the issue.  We had the opportunity to watch and discuss an actual training video for first responders on identifying and working with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking.  We also engaged in a debate with the SHI interns, taking the side of not legalizing prostitution in America.  Many of us initially felt we had the debate won before it started, but our opponents challenged us with their seemingly well-informed points.  Afterwards we discussed the realities of legalizing prostitution and how it indeed creates an avenue for an increase in commercial sexual exploitation. Just when we thought we had been challenged enough, the interns had quiz-questions for each person testing our knowledge on domestic minor sex trafficking.  It was a great learning experience that we actually engaged in and developed our knowledge and skills.

            Improvisation: an essential tool in finding materials to cook the meal of the evening.  ASBers enjoyed some delicious dinner and then proceeded to go and process the day, do some teambuilding and then a reflection on helping, fixing, and serving.  Just how fixing and helping are “draining,” (burning out), serving is renewing.  How in helping we may find a sense of satisfaction, whereas in serving we find a sense of gratitude.  How fixing and helping put distance between people, an experience of difference and we cannot serve at a distance. We reflected on this quote generally, individually, and collectively to apply it to “community service.”  Read it yourself, let it challenge you, ponder it, and even add comments with your responses:

When you help, you see life as weak.  When you fix, you see life as broken.  When you serve, you see life as whole…Fixing and helping create a distance between people, but we cannot serve at a distance.  We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected…Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul