If you would like to participate or learn more about the DukeEngage in Tucson, AZ program, please click HERE.
Author Archives: DETucson2011
Our last Delegation is finished! We started off the day with a visit to the San Xavier del Bac Mission where we toured one of the city’s oldest missions, visited the adjacent museum and climbed a monument on a mini mountain. After that, we did a body reflection with one of our leaders where we reflected on our experiences during this summer a bit more. We later headed over to Tooley’s for lunch and then paid a visit to the Restoration Project in Tucson which is a project that offers aid and overnight housing to immigration detainees released from Arizona detention centers. We finished off our day with a succesful community dinner where all the members presented our skits and our individual final reflections. We also wrote letters to ourselves (to be mailed to us soon) which put an official end to this program. Tomorrow we have a free day, a group dinner at night and on Tuesday morning we fly home bright and early. :)
Delegation Day 1 was a success. After the screening of 389 miles with LuisCarlos Davis, we had a skype chat with Nadeen Bir of Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF). Here we talked about future opportunities and about what we planned to do once we returned to school. Following this presentation, we met with Jason of PanLeft Productions where we saw some of their latest work in which three of our participants appeared. Later that day we spoke with Mike Wilson, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation where we discussed the issues of immigration and humanitarian aid. Delegation Day 1 ended with a dinner (Director Charlie Thompson also present) at El Parador where we celebrated the birthday of one of our members, Susan Wang. Delegation Day 2 (yesterday) was also a great success. We began with a presentation by Miguel Ortega and his work in community organizing and street theater; the participants took what they learned and implemented it into skits (2) of their own revolving around immigration issues. We relaxed a bit after by eating lunch at the Tamale Company and going swimming at the home of Ken (one of the original founders of the Sanctuary Movement) and MaryEllen Kennon (volunteer of Cross Street Ministries at the Southside Presbyterian Church). Later that day we met with leaders of the ScholarshipsA-Z organization where we heard the personal stories of two undocumented students and the struggles they face in obtaining higher education. The day was finished with a reflection where the group was able to think about their experience this whole summer and share it through collages. Today we are participating in the last day of our Final Delegation. More news about that later :)
To learn more about Student Action with Farmworkers, click here.
To learn more about PanLeft Productions, click here.
To learn more about the Tohono O’odham Nation, click here.
To learn more about the stance of the Nation and individual tribe members on the issues of undocumented immigration, please conduct a simple google search.
To learn more about Miguel Ortega and his work, click here.
To learn more about the Tucson Tamale Company, click here.
To learn more about Kenneth Kennon and the Sanctuary Movement, click here.
To learn more about Cross Street Ministries at the Southside Presbyterian Church, click here.
To learn more about ScholarshipsA-Z, click here.
The participants of the program completed their last day of work yesterday! Today we begin our final Delegation with Borderlinks. We’ll start with a screening of 389 miles: Living the Border, a documentary about the section of the AZ-Mexico border by LuisCarlos Davis.
To learn more about 389 Miles: Living the Border, go to the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/389miles
http://www.389miles.com/
Week 7 is almost over. On Wednesday, the group had their community dinner and presented the interviews the conducted with Tucson locals. We had dinner with one of the homestay families on Friday, and visited the Tohono O’odham Nation Cultural Museum on Saturday. The group went out to a local restaurant today to watch the Women’s World Cup Final (USA 2(1) – Japan 2(2)), and will be finishing off the weekend by going to the movies to watch “A Better Life” and eating out at an Afghan restaurant. 4 more days of work and one delegation to go before the summer program comes to an end.
To learn more about the Tohono O’odham Nation, use the following links:
http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/
http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/cultural_center_museum.aspx
For a review on today’s World Cup Final, click HERE.
To learn more about A Better Life, click HERE.