This past summer I went on a service trip with members of my church’s youth community to Camden, New Jersey. We stayed at the Romero Center, which is an organization that facilitates service trips incorporating into their mission Archbishop Oscar Romero’s philosophy on social justice issues. On the first night of the trip, we were placed into groups of four from the various organizations visiting the Romero Center for that week. These groups of four were affectionately called “families.” To better understand what the people in the area live every day we were given $3 each or a family total of $12. We were told to use that money to buy food for our three meals for the next day. This amount represented what Camden residents living on food stamps would receive for a given day: $3 a person.
When we were first given the assignment, I thought the greatest challenge would be to buy enough food to sustain the four of us for a whole twenty-four hours. However, upon arriving at the grocery store, I quickly realized that the food itself was rather insignificant; the real challenge was being thrown into “real-world” Camden.
As soon as we entered the grocery store we stood out. There we were—a group of about fifty white high school kids—on a kind of “scavenger hunt.” But our game was the everyday existence for the other people in the store. Realizing that was a humbling wake-up call. I began to understand what it was like to live in poverty, to appreciate how truly blessed I am, and perhaps most significantly to gain a real sense of solidarity with people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
—Grace H.
Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador, from 1977–1980. He spoke out about the injustices the poor people of his country were experiencing at the hands of those in power. Because of his defense of the rights of the marginalized he was assassinated. Sadly, there are many places in our world where people daily suffer grave injustices. How can you respond to their needs where you live?
To be in solidarity with someone does not necessarily mean moving and living the other’s reality daily. What are some ways you can live in solidarity with those who suffer?