Today we went to the Marillac House outside of downtown Chicago. Our experience began on the way there by observing the surrounding neighborhood. We realized that there was a vast difference between downtown Chicago versus it's outskirts in terms of cleanliness and safety. People had locks on their steering wheels to prevent car theft and there were scattered broken beer bottles everywhere. Once we got to the Marillac House it seemed like a much cleaner and vibrant area of the community. We were greeted initially by one of the Sisters at the House. Even though they were not expecting us due to some minor details, they were very welcoming and were glad to accept our services. The Marillac House prides itself in helping women and children who are underprivileged in ways such as helping teen pregnancy, providing shelter in times of need, and having daycare services.
Some of us went to do yard work around the building while others were able to help in the daycare schooling. Both of us got to work with the children. The age range goes from 15 months to 5 years old. One of the requirements is that the mothers must be either employed or going to school while their children are in daycare. Also, they must be qualified to be subsidized by the government. There was one volunteer per classroom, so we got a good idea of what the learning environment was like for all the children. Our trip leader, Anna, realized something from the experience she had with one child. Her and the child were playing with a doll and he made a comment about the doll being bruised from his dad hitting him. This puts into perspective what environment these children were coming from. Nonetheless, all of the children seemed extremely optimistic and vibrant. They liked all the attention we gave them.
There seemed to be a majority of boys in all the class rooms but all the teachers were female, indicating a lack of male role models for all the boy students. We personally believe the presence of a male in a young boys life is very important. Having older responsible males around would most likely inspire the boys to achieve the very best possible and one day be present in the life of there own children. During reflections a controversial issue emerged. Many people had various opinions about the children saying grace before lunch. Some people thought it would instill good morals, while others felt as though it limited the choice of the child and parent concerning their faith. We realize this is a problem in a lot of schools, whether prayer should be allowed. We never came to a unanimous decision of what is right or wrong.
One thing that threw us off guard was a poster seen in the hallway that said "don't shot, I want to grow up". It was very extreme but made us realize this was a reality for many of the children. After lunch everyone went outside to do yard work. We worked really well as a group to complete the task efficiently. In the process of cleaning we came across dime bags within Marrilac boundaries. This indicated that the area around the center has the presence of drugs.
We appreciate and all the services they provide the community. They are considering possibly closing the facility since the area has improve dramatically. However we are concerned that without the Marrilac House the community will begin to regress. It was amazing to see such a program set up and we hope that they plan to continue it.
Love,
Anna B. and Anne
No comments:
Post a Comment