Profiling Tepehua – April 2025

Some personal musings …

Where has time gone? I woke up this morning realizing I have just completed another trip around the sun … 72 to be exact. Happy birthday to me!

I am grateful for so many things. I have a wonderful and supportive husband who always keeps  life interesting for me, and a terrific son whom I love dearly. My health is good, and so far, “knock on wood” as they say, I have very few physical restrictions. I can count on my friends, cherish my memories, and wake up every day with the sun shining, in a beautiful country and community that has given me a wealth of cultural insights and experiences.

My work with the Tepehua community keeps me busy, sometimes more than I’d like to be, but I have to say, it has added so much to my life here. I have a purpose every day, whether it’s planning for a new project for our SEWING TEAM, registering for an upcoming event, communicating with clients, or working at the THRIFT SHOP in Riberas. Through all of this, I witness a successful team of women who are all providing a future for their children and grandchildren, meet a bevy of amazing people who support all that Tepehua does, and also face a number of challenges along the way that in the long run, keep me on my toes: organizing and helping a group who come from a different cultural background, trying to communicate in a second language, and balancing all of this with my own personal goals and aspirations as I watch the sand sift through my own life’s hourglass with each passing day.

This balancing act is something I struggle with these days. I am well aware of what the future holds for me as time marches on, and I doubt if I need to go into the many changes my husband and I will be facing in the years to come. We look forward to opportunities to “live our best lives” while we can, but balancing all this with my satisfying work and commitment to the Tepehua community poses challenges.

I’ve had this same discussion with other volunteers and non-profit workers – how do we come into their culture and lives with our “helpful” programs and slowly but surely turn the responsibility over to them. 

Popular quotes give us the answer: “give a man a fish and you feed him for one day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Or how about what I was told by a wise woman after the birth of my son? – ”we raise our children to leave home.” It’s all about looking to the future, giving them the skills, resources, and confidence to continue in a positive trajectory. 

Last month I told my sewing team that I am looking to the future of the group, and that reality tells me there are many areas I need to shore up over the next  few years in order to prepare them for INDEPENDENCE, when the time comes. I told them that I believed in them and that THEY CAN RUN A SUCCESSFUL SEWING BUSINESS, and that my goal is to little-by-little look for ways they can run their own show. I have pointed out ways they have successfully accepted new challenges: managing events on their own which involves preparing their wares, finding their own transportation, communicating with and selling to customers, and preparing financial reports after each event. They manage their own display at the thrift shop and keep tabs on their inventory, assigning products to make at the end of each week. These are all positive steps toward independence.

So, after I finish celebrating my birthday this week, I’m going to set some new goals for the sewing team, and while I’m at it, a few that are just for me.