It has been said about New Mexico that elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth is the floor of the sky. And it’s true, the sky is everything in New Mexico.
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Each year, Hummingbirds commit to combining our efforts, energy and financial resources to have a greater impact for locally run organizations that need our support. We raise money in our hometowns through fundraising banquets, fun girls’ nights out and in kind contributions from friends and family. We present each designated organization with a grant of these monies raised, and then Hummingbirds Fly to present the donation and meet the people on the ground at these locales. We make a trip of it - we see, we experience, we connect - and the results are life changing!
In 2017, our last trip of this kind was to visit Mexico City and our grant recipients there, El Pozo de Vida (Well of Life) and its Dunamis Community Center. El Pozo de Vida is a group that works to provide women with pathways out of the sex trade, rehabilitation, and shelter for minors who have been removed from the streets. The colonia of La Merced, where El Pozo de Vida operates in Mexico City, has one of the highest rates of prostitution in Latin America. Their work is quite literally at one of the centers of this horrifying epidemic.
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There is a Haitian proverb that says “Beyond the mountain is another mountain.” And it’s true, there seems to be no end in sight for the problems that plague Haiti. Spending just a few days in this beautiful country made me hopeful despite the tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to ensure wellness and opportunity for the Haitians. But my hopefulness has more to do with the strength of Haitians than what outsiders can do on this island.
I have watched what I feel like has been my whole life, as money and services have been reported to pour into Haiti. With 11 million people and a committed 13 billion dollars of international aid for the earthquake, it makes you wonder what is really happening on this beautiful island. Most reports claim that there are around 10,000 non-governmental organizations in Haiti. Haitians themselves refer to their homeland as the Republic of NGOs. I saw very few Haitians on my flight or in the airport. What I saw were church groups with matching t-shirts really enthusiastic about the good they were doing.
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Our Mothers + Daughters stayed on a working lavender farm which was in full bloom on our visit. Each morning at Los Poblanos Inn, the Hummingbirds were treated to a traditional New Mexican breakfast with fresh farm eggs. We sat outside in the sunshine amongst the property’s three peacocks. The girls were able to feed the chickens and milk the goats and roam the 25 acres of lavender fields, enormous cottonwood trees and lush formal gardens. Los Poblanos is one of the most magnificent historic properties in the Southwest.
The Los Poblanos land was originally inhabited by the Anasazi (ancient pueblo Indians) in the 14th century. Many of the original settlers in this area were thought to have come from Puebla, Mexico, a citizen of which is called a “Poblano.”
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