Sarah's 4-?th Weeks

"It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even the most horrible situations by habituation."
-Mountains Beyond Mountains

Sorry its been so long since I last posted.

I'm still raising money and trying to get people to donate, which is still a rather draining process but we got a local Armenian church to partner with us so when all is said and done we will be sending at least $5,000 to the support the Kounoungo camp. It still doesn't feel like enough, but I guess it won't until the tragedy has ended. Though even the money we are raising seems almost defeatist since it will be going towards secondary school education for the younger populations. Setting up an education system, though clearly necessary, imbues the camps with a sense of permanence. I understand the need for realism, but (sorry for sounding immature) reality can really suck.

I've also begun sending off the dozens of letters signed letters to President Bush as well as Senators Feinstein and Boxer. This experience has made me become more politically active not just on this topic but on others that I am passionate about. I hope everyone realizes how much power their voice has, our elected representatives are their because of us and have a responsibility to consider our opinions; they can't do that if you never give them. I encourage everyone to send an email to their senator or House Representative about whatever issue you feel is important , a relative few number of people take advantage of the opportunity so your voice has a lot of weight ( http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml ).

I continue to read and be intrigued by what everyone else is writing. Though I haven't really had to deal with the administrative v. face to face problem myself (consider all my "clients" are thousands of miles away) I empathize and remember having the same struggle when working at hospice last year. I found that after my internship was over and I was just a regular volunteer during the school year I got to do a lot more of what I wanted as a volunteer without the restrictions of having a supervisor, so just wait it out a few more weeks.