Photo by Carol Fike

Workcamps

Stories from workcamp

Aleshia's story

"At the Family Crisis Center we cleaned out a small kitchen that the ladies shared. It looked liked it had not been cleaned out in forever and a day. They had us throw out outdated and overheated food and toss out old pots and pans. The main job in the kitchen was cleaning metal shelving. The shelving was so greasy and dirty, that even though there were five of us working, it still took us a few days to get them clean." Read the full story (PDF)

Karen's meditation

"One day, however, a little boy, excited to be close to us, stepped on my flipflop as I was walking, and it came off my foot. One of the children who had become my friend, his name was Fabwiis, picked this small child up and carried him off, thoroughly insulted that this other child had gotten me dirty. And then he came back, knelt down, and brushed the dirt off of my foot with his tiny bare hands.

I was embarrassed. This boy, this small boy, who had been wearing the same outfit all week and whose own shoes were badly worn out and poorly fitted, was doing his best to clean my feet. He had guided me threw his town, taught me little bits of Creole, and there he was, without even realizing it, teaching me what it means to love one another..."  Read the full meditation (PDF)

Story without words

This quilt was made by Randie Ross as a response to her experience at a 2009 workcamp in Brooklyn, New York.