Growing Pains

Paul Gramling:

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do,

we have come to our real work

and when we no longer know which way to go,

we have begun our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.”

-Wendell Berry

Ever since May of 2020 when this Project began, I’ve found myself in constant conversations both internally and with our various partners in the Quispicanchi region. Arriving in December of 2020 with intentions of beginning our work, I had no clear idea of exactly what we were doing nor where we were going. However, I soon found comfort and beauty in this realization, and I still do to this day. This work just feels right. There is no better way to explain it. Despite it being exhausting, hard, and a lot of times frustrating, I fall in love with the work again and again. 

            In the past year the Project has continued to grow and our work becomes more and more meaningful. Compared to a year ago today, the Project is doing so much more. Fábrica formally exists (an entire social enterprise/business), we have a larger and more intentional Encuentro (interns/companions) program, and we continue to amplify our work according to our four objectives. Simply put, it’s a lot. Realistically, none of us within the Project have extensive experience with this type of non-profit work. That makes this all the more interesting. Whether it be about the communities in which we are present or our own approaches to the mission and objectives, we are constantly learning on the fly. And learning or observing something new always results in a conversation. Sometimes it is among ourselves and other times it is with our partners.

Recently, a lot of my observations have led to personal frustration - my mind is often baffled. It has taken a toll on me, but also forced me to reflect. I constantly have to remind myself to take a step back, breathe, and say to myself “I’m a senior in college co-running an international non-profit.” Many of my recent discussions with others have been reflections on this reminder and my frustrations. But I keep coming to the same conclusion: These feelings of frustration and the difficulty of the work give me all the more reason to keep doing it. For example, seeing how the various government agencies in the region have abandoned the rural community of Sullumayo is exactly why there is a reason for me to continue pushing through the frustration and difficulty. No one said this would be easy. No one said things would go smoothly. 

 

“People need trouble – a little frustration to sharpen the spirit on, toughen it.”

 -William Faulkner

I've encountered a lot of these little frustrations within the last few months. Yes personally, but also as the Director of Outreach for the Project wherein my position I’ve been forced to reflect on our organization and work. Are we going in the right direction? Have we taken on too much? These are just a couple of the questions that have occupied my mind over the past few months. I would honestly be concerned if I wasn’t asking these types of questions. Without them, how would we ensure the Project is moving in the right direction, growing and expanding in a sustainable and healthy manner? 

The frustrations, observations, and conversations that force these types of questions are simply put, the growing pains of a young organization run by a small number of passionate and dedicated people with little experience in the international development context. That is what makes being a part of this organization so exciting and fulfilling. There is ample opportunity ahead for growth, and with growth comes the growing pains. Personally, it feels like a lot of those pains result from simply learning new things. And I have learned so much, far more than I ever could have in any classroom, which means I have also grown a lot at the same time. It truly does feel like everyday I learn something new or observe something I hadn’t before that puts me in a reflective state about our work in the Quispicanchi Province. And yet I still have so much more to learn. Is it daunting? Of course. Will it be difficult? Most definitely. But all the more reason to keep doing it.