by Marissa Valenzuela
There’s just something about coming back from a relaxing weekend at Viña del Mar with great friends to waking up super early on a Sunday morning to feed the homeless on the streets of Santiago. Out of everything I have done so far and experienced, this beats all of it.
A group of us arrived at 7 am on February 10th to see people surrounding a table drinking coffee and eating sandwiches. Since feeding the homeless was technically a Biology lab, Dr. Hatcher was there to explain what the event would hold for us. Our first task? Walking around the streets to wake up the still sleeping people and say to them, “Hay desayuno en la posta” (“There’s breakfast at the Post (an emergency clinic”). Some were absolutely thrilled about it, others a little grumpy, and some a little confused – but that’s understandable considering we did just wake them up from their slumber.
Dr. Hatcher told us to take note on how they slept: some were lucky enough to have a blanket to sleep on, some had cut up cardboard boxes, and some just slept on concrete. Some also had bottles of alcohol next to them. Dr. Hatcher explained that they drink to keep them warm at night but also to block out the pain and humility of their situation.
After meeting three of the homeless there –Oswald, Alexander, and Enrique– I was left completely humbled. Oswald takes on an Uncle or Father figure in that he looks out for Alexander, Alexander finds joy in “playing” a Lays Stax potato chip tube in the subway stations (he also joked with me because apparently his ex-girlfriend’s name was Marissa), and Enrique, though he may have a lazy eye and a stutter, loves to smile. Though their situations are not the greatest and though they may not display the pain they feel on the inside, these are the people that need the love of God. All I know is, the Sunday after our group gets back from Patagonia, I will be there again to feed them sandwiches and to love on them.
There’s just something about coming back from a relaxing weekend at Viña del Mar with great friends to waking up super early on a Sunday morning to feed the homeless on the streets of Santiago. Out of everything I have done so far and experienced, this beats all of it.
A group of us arrived at 7 am on February 10th to see people surrounding a table drinking coffee and eating sandwiches. Since feeding the homeless was technically a Biology lab, Dr. Hatcher was there to explain what the event would hold for us. Our first task? Walking around the streets to wake up the still sleeping people and say to them, “Hay desayuno en la posta” (“There’s breakfast at the Post (an emergency clinic”). Some were absolutely thrilled about it, others a little grumpy, and some a little confused – but that’s understandable considering we did just wake them up from their slumber.
Dr. Hatcher told us to take note on how they slept: some were lucky enough to have a blanket to sleep on, some had cut up cardboard boxes, and some just slept on concrete. Some also had bottles of alcohol next to them. Dr. Hatcher explained that they drink to keep them warm at night but also to block out the pain and humility of their situation.
After meeting three of the homeless there –Oswald, Alexander, and Enrique– I was left completely humbled. Oswald takes on an Uncle or Father figure in that he looks out for Alexander, Alexander finds joy in “playing” a Lays Stax potato chip tube in the subway stations (he also joked with me because apparently his ex-girlfriend’s name was Marissa), and Enrique, though he may have a lazy eye and a stutter, loves to smile. Though their situations are not the greatest and though they may not display the pain they feel on the inside, these are the people that need the love of God. All I know is, the Sunday after our group gets back from Patagonia, I will be there again to feed them sandwiches and to love on them.
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