About a Broom

With all the dirt and dust, floors in El Callejon need to be swept every day.  In fact, at the Social Work site, we sweep several times a day, and still never feel like it’s quite done! 

When your floor needs to be swept, what do you do?  I imagine that for most of us, the process is so simple we don’t even think about it: 

1.  Go to the ‘broom closet’ or corner of the kitchen

2.   Grab the broom

3.  Sweep

If for some reason we don’t have a broom at home, we can jump in the car, drive down to Target or Walmart, and buy one for a few dollars.  Such a small, simple thing, isn’t it?

In El Callejon, not everyone has a broom.  When there is barely enough money for food, buying a broom is an extravagance not everyone can afford. 

And, even if they can afford it, the colmados (little stores) in El Callejon don’t sell them, so it means catching a ride (often a ‘moto-coche’ or motorcycle taxi) into Jarabacoa, and then riding one back again, balancing your purchases as you hold on behind the moto driver.

So, without a store-bought broom, what’s the solution?  This past week, Tago, one of the women who comes to the Site, showed our students:



Tago cutting the branches

1.  Get your machete or other big, sharp knife

2.  Go out into the field near the golf course

3.  Search for a specific shrub that has leaves that work well for sweeping

4.  Cut a bunch of them

5.  Find a long, strong branch for a handle.  Clear off as many of the side branches and twigs as you can

Tago and Daisy tie the branches

6.  Tie the leaves to the branch using a piece of hemp rope

7.  Sweep

8.  The broom will last 2 or 3 weeks, so be ready to repeat again

Trianne gives the new broom a go

As we watched Tago efficiently cutting the branches and tying them up, we realized how lost we’d be if we had to make a broom for ourselves! We don’t want to belittle the gifts and opportunities God has given to us, but spending time with Tago was humbling and powerful.  

You see, it's not just about us coming into El Callejon to be a blessing.  In showing us how to make a broom, it was Tago who blessed us. 

Tago's family is one of the poorest in El Callejon, but she, too, has gifts to share, because she, too, is a child of God.  This is part of the goal of the Social Work site.  To help restore the dignity of the women of El Callejon by showing them the truth that God loves them, and that in Jesus, they are beloved daughters of the King.  To help them see themselves in that Light, and to know that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of them.

We pray that as the students (and we, too!) go home and sweep our floors, we will remember Tago and her family.  That we will remember that while we have much to give, we can also allow others to fulfill their God-given purpose to be a blessing, too.  That by allowing Tago and the other women to teach us, in a small, simple way, we are helping to show them how valuable and important they are.  To us, and most of all, to our loving Father.