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Harambee in Mexico City 1998
August 16-23, 1998 was the date of the Harambee Junior Staff
Mexico City Immersion. This trip is part of a two-part series
of exchanges with the pasts of our young people. The youths who
come to Harambee are African-Amerian and Latino. Mexico is the
antecdent for most of the Latinos in our program. Mississippi
is representative of the American South through which most African-Americans
have come to California. The second leg of this exchange will
take place during Spring Break, 1999, when another mixed race
group from Harambee travels to Mississippi for a week of history,
work, learning and fun.
The following is a brief report and overview of the trip.
Quotes at the top of each section are taken from final evaluations
done by the ten youths who were on the trip.
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 "God
helped me through a hard situation, and he guided us
home safely without any real problems. I learned that
I should not be scared to call upon him for he wants
to help us."
PHOTO: (L-R) Rudy, DJ, Jesse and Derek atop
the Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan.
The goal of this trip was cross-cultural leadership development.
We wanted our young leaders to be stretched in how they relate
to people from other groups. We also wanted them to have opportunities
to flex their leadership muscles in a foreign environment. They
did all this and more. Sometimes, the farther you are away from
home, the easier it is to reach deep down inside yourself and
act with courage.
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 "I
learned that we should be happy with what we have like
clean water and streets, and being able to go to school
without having to pay."
PHOTO: Waiting for the Mexico City metro.
During our six days we traveled throughout Mexico City and
saw the good and the bad. The young people were very impressed
by how poor many people are, and all came away with a greater
appreciation for their lives in Pasadena.
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 "I
wonder why I was born in America instead of a poor country."
PHOTO: Raymond atop the Pyramid of the Sun,
Teotihuacan.
Did we say the boys got deep? We stayed in a poor town near
the volcano (Popocatepetl) and they boys got to know their host
families well. Many commented that they understand now why so
many Mexicans cross - and continue to cross - the border, seeking
for a better life. One even vowed to quit harassing the Mexican
man who sells ice creams out of a hand cart on his street.
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 "I
learned how these six boys saved Mexico by jumping off
a castle with the flag wrapped around them so the enemy
could not take over Mexico."
PHOTO: The guys in front of the Monument to
the Child Heroes, Chapultepec Park.
The boys were fascinated by the story of the Niñoes
Heroes, six boys who are honored with a Mexican national holiday
for choosing to die rather than give the Mexican flag over to
the French. It gave them ideas about the great things they could
do at a young age.
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 "Liz's
family showed me that you should be thankful for everything
you've got, even if it isn't a lot." --- "I
would like to help Liz and her family by sending them
some money."
PHOTO: Uron and Egan on the Avenue of the
Dead, Teotihuacan.
Friendships were the key to our trip. Our host, Elizabeth
Diaz, served a nine-month internship at Harambee Center and preceded
us back to Mexico by three weeks. She and her home church hosted
our group, and these guys will never forget it. The group is
planning to regularly send money down to Liz to help her with
a Saturday sports ministry she is now running.
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 "Mexicans
and Blacks should be all together so that when we (Blacks)
come to Mexico they will not think we are all bad just
because one (Black) does bad."
PHOTO: Uron, Rudy, Raymond at Chalco Presbyterian
Church
This group is taking the road less traveled by pro-actively
building Black/Brown relationships. Soccer (we are wearing our
Harambee jerseys) is one way of building unity. Pray for these
courageous young people.
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