Hi everyone!
Welcome to my fourth blog post. In this blog post I will be talking about my volunteer work with Re-Member on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
I’ve volunteered on the Pine Ridge Reservation for 4 years now. Even though I know the outline of each day based on the schedule and from past experiences, I still learn different things every time I go back. There is always more to learn and more to continue to learn.
There’s not much cell service on the reservation, so electronics aren’t as much of a distraction. I focus more on listening and learning to slow down–not having to do something every second, nor feeling like I have to. I live more in the present there because the schedule is less rigid; I don’t have to be somewhere every second of every day.
The week has workdays and days for learning about Lakota life and culture/tour days. On work days, the jobs include building bunk beds, delivering bunk beds, building steps up to entrances to houses, and putting “skirting” around trailer homes to keep them warmer. Many of these projects involve working with power tools. I’ve worked with power tools at school too, so I wasn’t uncomfortable using them, but I became better at using them at Pine Ridge because of the different projects we do.
Every time we go to Pine Ridge we find new friends. There’s definitely a feeling of love that follows us around. That’s one of the reasons volunteering is so rewarding. The stories of the hardships and tragedies are difficult to confront, but they make me want to work harder to serve the Lakota people even more. The work we do is rewarding. For example, as I mentioned, one of our jobs is making and delivering bunk beds. The expressions and reactions of the kids who are getting beds are priceless and the adults are very appreciative and kind.
I’m grateful for the chance to do even a little to help the Lakota people. So many of them suffer. The suicide rate is heart-wrenchingly high, but that makes me more determined to let the Lakota people know that they are not alone. I will stand with them, be there to serve them, and most importantly I will listen, always.