Abolishing Abuse in El Paso, Texas

The Trip That Changed Our Lives...

Top Back Row (left to right): Kenny, Anjali, Ruchika, Jen, Ayushi, Amy, Cecilia (e-board member)

Middle Row: Shannon, Zina, Sarah, Ashlea (staff member)

Bottom Front Row: Scott (sight leader), Emily (sight leader)

Left to right: Scott, Ashlea, Cecilia, Emily

While countless students returned to school with new tans and well-rested minds after a relaxing spring break, I along with my 12 group members returned with permanently changed lives. During our RUAB trip entitled Abolishing Abuse, Amending a Life we served the Child Crisis Center of El Paso, a foundation that protects children from abuse and neglect by providing shelter, advocacy, and family support services. The Child Crisis Center offers a loving environment which strives to reunite families and eliminate abuse. Working at the center with the children and the staff members was all we had dreamed of and more.

We arrived in Texas on a beautiful Sunday morning with the sun brightly shining and not a cloud in the sky. Despite the fact that we had just traveled for the last 10 hours and were largely sleep deprived (due to the fact that the journey began in the airport at 2AM), everyone was excited and flooded with a new wave of energy as soon as we stepped off the plane. No one in our group had ever been to El Paso, and we were all eager to see a part of the country so foreign to us. While we knew that the region would be mountainous, everyone was taken aback by the enormous mountain ranges into which the city had interwoven itself. Everywhere we looked it seemed as if the mountains were reaching into the sky and towering over us. At times the mountains’ peaks disappeared into the clouds and it became impossible to see where earth ended and sky began. The magnificent landscape filled us with awe; although we saw it every day for a whole week, it never failed to amaze us.

 When it's Cloudy...

A Pit-Stop on our Drive Home from the Child Crisis Center

That first day consisted of unpacking, exploring the city, and settling in to the hospitable Texan lifestyle. Every RUAB trip has a free day, and our free day happened to be that first Sunday. However, before we could jump into all of the exciting events we had planned for the day, we needed to unload our luggage at the University Presbyterian Church – our lodging for the next week. The church, like the mountains, surpassed all of our expectations. When we heard that we were staying in a “church basement,” we didn’t expect the “basement” to be a beautiful, open room with expansive windows covering a wall. The rest of the church was just as pristine as this room and provided the most comfortable and welcoming home-away-from-home that anyone could have asked for.

Wyler Aerial Tramway: Checked off the Bucket List 

After unpacking, our exploration of El Paso commenced! During our pre-trip meetings we had agreed to spend the free day visiting the Franklin Mountains State Park and going on the Wyler Aerial Tramway, a must-do activity for all tourists visiting El Paso. As it turned out, the park was situated in the midst of tall mountains overlooking the city, and the aerial tramway brought us to the highest peak from which we observed a breathtaking view of Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico. Even Ashlea and Shannon – who are afraid of heights – successfully made it up and down the mountain and stated “it was definitely worth it.” After completing a full day's worth of sight-seeing, we returned to the church and made our first family dinner: "breakfast for dinner"!

Pictures on a Mountain = Lots of Wind and Excitement

All in all, it was a great start to an even greater week. The next morning, after a much-needed restoring sleep, we awoke to another beautiful day with excitement and anticipation coursing through our bodies; at last we would be going to the Child Crisis Center and meeting the brave children we had heard so much about. After eating a quick breakfast and drinking our essential fills of coffee – for some of us – we loaded into Scott and Emily’s rented minivans, which served as our week’s primary mode of transportation. Within 20 minutes we arrived at the center, and that is where our lives would become permanently changed.

From Monday to Friday, we worked in the Child Crisis Center from 10AM to 7PM. While a majority of our service pertained to working directly with the children, we also served by organizing and cleaning the center, working at a partnering thrift store, and engaging in manual labor. To say the least, our service encompassed a wide range of activities, and all of it uniquely enriched our lives. While it’s easy to overlook the importance of cleaning or organizing a room, our group always remained cheerful. We understood that all service is valuable because it ultimately contributes to a safe environment and saves time and money for the Child Crisis Center.

 Sorting Load upon Load of Clothes

 Anjali and Ayushi Taking Charge of the Books, Magazines, etc.

Best Dressed & Most Spirited: Sarah and Scott

Out of all of the valuable service we did, our group was, nevertheless, most deeply moved by directly working with the children of the Crisis Center. On day one at the center, the first two children we saw and interacted with were Cyprus and Ashley. Cyprus, a 9-year-old boy genius with the manners of a chivalrous gentleman, instantly put smiles on all of our faces and didn’t hesitate to beat us in board games (poor Scott was demolished in checkers). Ashley – an adorable 3-year-old immediately won all of our hearts simply by looking at us with her big, beautiful eyes. Later that day we also met Isaac (Ashley’s brother), who – like his sister – is quiet and shy but a happy sweetheart, and Xavier, who is a spirited and carefree boy with a large, caring heart. Sarah, who plans to be a Special Education teacher, immediately got along with Xavier and built a strong relationship with him throughout the week. Watching her interact with Xavier was inspirational and made it obvious to us all that she would undoubtedly fulfill her career goals.

 One of the many activities we did: Paper Mache Eggs for Easter! 

A Perfect Morning for Playground Fun (especially Slide Races)

Throughout the next few days, more kids arrived at the center. The new children included Zachary, Sadie, and Tristen (three siblings), Hannah and Dylan (siblings), Noemi and Brian (siblings), and Destiny and Luis (siblings). With the influx of children, our group members were able to have more one-on-one time with the kids, which allowed for various different individual relationships to bloom. For example, Shannon and Kenny were absolutely amazing with the younger children like Sadie and Tristen, as were Anjali and Cecilia. I found that I was becoming continuously closer with Noemi – who always wanted to be held – and her brother, who was shyer but just as loving. In addition to these relationships, countless other bonds were built between my group members and the kids; so many bonds were made, that it would be impossible to name them all.

Overall, the week presented us with so much more than we had anticipated. Not only did we experience new children arriving at the center, but we experienced children leaving. One day – which was likely the most difficult and upsetting day for us all – a child’s parent came and forcefully demanded to have her child removed from the center. After extensive debate, the child eventually left with his parent. Before leaving, the child hugged us goodbye and left us a note with his signature and drawings. His leaving left a hole within all of our hearts but he would never leave our memories. That day we made the terrifying realization that although we want all of the children to leave the center and reunite with their families, it may actually be healthier and safer for the children to remain within the center’s care. This paradoxical realization burdens all of our minds and illuminated a problematic issue, which we realize may never be fully fixed.

Nevertheless, despite our heavy hearts, we remained positive and optimistic. We hoped and prayed that children leaving the center, such as the one that we befriended, would enter a happier and healthier lifestyle than the one they initially had upon entering the center. Our hope for the children’s well-being in the present and future is a hope that we will maintain forever. While we realize that abuse and mistreatment of children is a terrible issue that cannot be cured within one mere week - let alone a century - we understand that every effort, no matter how small, is important. All seemingly small actions truly make a difference; by raising awareness about the problem, we encourage others to examine their own behavior and may even cause them to become involved in aiding the cause. Ultimately, there are no limits to service. All service has value, which is a concept that we definitely learned throughout our trip.

Our service throughout the trip and interactions with the children has undoubtedly shaped our lives and helped us grow. Although the experience included upsetting and heartbreaking realizations, our group remained positive and just as strong as the brave children that we were serving. As Dave Nabours – the shelter supervisor – said “while we cannot replace blood, we can plant a seed of love within the children’s hearts.” That is precisely what we did; we planted seeds of love and hoped that they would blossom and enrich the children’s lives, just as they had enriched ours. Although it was a short week, we had all gained many years’ worth of experiences. Interacting with these brave and inspiring children touched our lives and has left everlasting fingerprints on all of our hearts.

Family photo (taken at University of Texas in El Paso)

El Paso, we will miss you!