Service with a View

 What have you learned about the people and policies during your service in Puerto Rico?
Considering what will be four years with the Bonner Institute of the College of New Jersey, I find that I have learned one main message on community engagement at large. This trip has so far been a beautiful experience, one which has allowed me to examine social issues I've seen back in the mainland within a broader context. 

That is, to understand policies and their impact on communities, you need to listen to the communities under these political institutions. The most effective way to solve a social issue affecting a community is to include members of that community and to prioritize their input over those who may hold positions of power who often miss an authentic understanding of the culture at hand a necessity to productively address the issue in front of us. Political science and other studies revolving around conceptualizing the human condition can label the effects of these institutions with an -ism. This is a scapegoat route, one that leaves those in power of the resources absolved of little responsibility and diminishes the integrity and capacity of those enduring. 

The people we have interacted with so far have been incredibly kind and accommodating. By sharing their authentic perspectives as well as their vision for Puerto Rico, it's evident that those needed to change the status and situation of a community are those who are actively considering the well being and development of the community. These efforts often manifest as grassroots organizations such as the one we are working with this week.

In this case, I understand the political structure of Puerto Rico are a prime example of American colonization within the modern world. The impact of the hurricane additionally emphasizes this, for in the state of rehabilitation the United States continues to show little commitment to the preservation and progression of Puerto Rico further emphasizing another social issue of the modern world: disaster capitalist. 

In the photo above, the team is enjoying the view of an in-progress community space. The view like the people captures the raw beauty of owning your spaces, the grit it takes and how it can manifest in anywhere you can imagine it.