Field Notes from the Reservation: Doin’ Work - Physically, Structurally, and Emotionally
Alex Gross
The latest Field Note is brought to you by our friends from Plymouth Congregational Church of Lawrence, Kansas. They are returning for their second volunteer week here on the Reservation with a passionate, enthusiastic and creative group of adults and high school students. Below, they reflect on their first few days of work projects and camp.
A tight seal of caulk goes on our new home!
Plymouth Youth Group’s first full day of scheduled activities in La Plant, South Dakota with Simply Smiles ended with sweat, tired muscles and many more new, meaningful, personal connections to the families and specifically the children of the Cheyenne River Reservation.
“When we were setting up the trusses, at first it was just work,” says Alexis Hickman, “but it dawned on me later that I was literally building a house for a family. Especially, after seeing the trailer they currently lived in, and how badly they needed this house.”
“Pouring over thirty bags of concrete was exhausting, but it was very fulfilling to see the end result,” says Tristan Kramar.
“To put something down solid, in concrete, helped to underscore the permanence of what we were doing,” says Rose Winmore.
Both Tristan and Rose also spoke about the family for which they were constructing the concrete path, specifically the two year old son, D.J., who they got to play with and who tried to help out in the process by adding little handfuls of dirt into the concrete mix.
After the day’s work projects came the more, truly, exhausting, yet much more impactful work in the Simply Smiles Day Camp as a bus load of kids as young as four and as old as thirteen rolled up to the community center.
“I was blown away by how fast the kids all learned our names, or how they remembered the names of the people who came here last year,” says Jasmine Hawk. “They genuinely seemed excited to see us, to meet us.”
“The new faces,” says Doug Beene, “seem to provide an escape from their present realities.”
“For them to remember those who came back,” says Rose, “I guess, in a way, that these people cared about you for more than just one week a year.”
The day camp is a safe space where kids can socialize and play without fear or uncertainty hanging over them. “I got to see two little kindergarteners become instant friends at the bubble station,” Rose says. “They took joy in having the common ground of being the same age, going into kindergarten the next year.” Simply Smiles gave them that place for an introduction.
Bubble fun at camp!
“Honestly,” Tristan says, “I wish I could be a part of the camp all day, instead of working on the projects. Yes, you see progress on the houses, but you see even more progress in making connections with these kids, having great conversations. It produces an even more important form of progress.”
The construction projects are not short on producing powerfully emotional impacts as well though.
“To be here, to see a house close to being finished, or to see it finished,” Alexis says, “is amazing. To know you were a part of that is amazing.”