This is…a public service…ANNOUNCEMENT!

Holly — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:20:45 +0000

This is a message I received from the No More Deaths organization. If you are in the area and can help that would be awesome. If you want to donate money (nomoredeaths.org) that would be awesome too. If you want to send stuff over to me to haul out there that would also be awesome. This sis and I are going back to the desert to hike the trails starting June 13th. We’ll be out June 27th. They need socks, underwear and non-perishable food items. It’s all on the site.

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Please forward widely and share with your community:

Please join No More Deaths-Phoenix and the greater Hispanic community as we begin our city-wide fundraiser to collect thousands of gallons of water for the desert!

The Aguaton will be held the last Saturday of every month, with drop-off locations throughout the valley.
* We really need volunteers to help us unload waters on Saturday afternoon (5:00pm) at Manny’s Used Car Dealership: 12th St. and Van Buren.
* We also need volunteers with trucks to pick up waters from various locations.
Please call me at 602-818-5447 if you can help!

Saturday, May 30
10:00am – 5:00pm

Please drop off waters AND SOCKS at the following locations:

Arte y Creation beauty salon- 3202 E Greenway #1295, Phoenix

Las Milpas- 8210 W. Indian School, Phoenix

EL Rancho Market- 1076 N. Arizona Ave, Chandler

Los Tres Amigos- 253 E. Broadway, Mesa

Food City – 32nd St. and Greenway, Phoenix

Food City – 845 W. Southern, Phoenix

–
Laura Ilardo
No More Deaths-Phoenix
(602)818-5447
www.my.calendars.net/nomor

edeaths

Arivaca

Holly — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:03:04 +0000

You know, I haven’t posted about the week I spent in Arivaca because I really don’t know how to get it all down without it being a huge jumble. That week was hard but it was also one of the most gratifying weeks I’ve ever spent doing anything. I was up at the crack of dawn and asleep at dark. I spent the mornings and late afternoons hiking the migrant trails and dropping supplies and looking for people. That’s the hardest part to grasp and the one thought that was constantly in the back of my head: I was hunting people. Looking for signs of life. Looking for signs of distress. Looking for dead. That was the stressful part and the part I pushed to the back. Every time we went out there was the possibility of finding people in terrible shape or dead. There were signs of life everywhere: pants, shoes, backpacks, empty water jugs, food wrappers, bean cans…under a tree littered with debris someone left tea towels that someone had spent hours cross stitching and hooking crochet borders. Those personal artifacts brought the back of the mind thoughts right to the front. That desert crossing is such a desperate journey. The fear in the faces of the migrants we came upon was heartbreaking. We did what we could with food, water and medical help and then cheered them on if they decided to keep at it. That’s all we had – supplies and well wishes and hopes that they made it safely.

As hard as it was I felt useful out there. Probably for the first time in my life I had a sense of purpose. I woke up every morning ready to go. Motivated, and I don’t do mornings. I’ve been working on a plan to get back there. I am definitely going back next summer but hopefully I can work out something more permanent in the future. For now we are going to gather migrant supplies and ship them out to Tucson over the winter and keep our fingers crossed that we won’t be needed next year at all because people no longer have to cross the desert. Now that’s a pretty thought, isn’t it?

Hollywould Knits » No Mas Muertes

This is…a public service…ANNOUNCEMENT!

Arivaca