The Haven Day 1

This blog post is far past due however I figure it is better late than never. Last Friday 2/11/11, we spent our first time really working at the Border Angels location, also known as "The Haven." We spent about an hour discussing what it was we were really going to spend our time working on with Border Angels and then had a visit from the organization's founder, Enrique Morones. Mr. Morones is a motivational speaker who has visited our school a few times and is asked to speak all over the country due to the experiences he has had and the incredible things Border Angels has accomplished. We laid our calendar and decided on when we would be taking a trip out to the desert to leave water and finish the cemetery for unidentified immigrants.

We then began making crosses that will be planted at the cemetery when we visit. The crosses are marked with "No Olvidados," which means Not Forgotten. This is to signify that although the bodies may not have their specific family there to pay respects and they may have been buried without any special service, they have not been forgotten or pushed aside due to their undocumented status. I'm afraid that this trip is going to be very emotional for me. Even our Marcha Migrante nearly brought me to tears.

After we made almost fifty crosses or so, we began to clean up the Haven. Border Angels is hosting a university this month and they wanted the Haven to look presentable. All of us either vacuumed or dusted or raked or organized. By the end of our cleaning session, the Haven was nearly spotless. I think that overall our first time was very successful and I'm looking forward to all of us being a part of Border Angels.

**2 Hours