We are so thankful for everyone who has taken the time to volunteer their time and energy at Casa Marianella.

One unique volunteer traveled down from Connecticut to volunteer for 2 weeks at Casa Marianella. Impacted by the crisis at the border and the stories of family separation, Andy wanted to help.

Thank you, Andy, for your help and kindness over the past weeks! Here is one of Andy’s excerpts from his time spent at Casa:

So I have been here for a couple of days and thought you would be interested in how things are going.

Casa Marianella is named for the martyred Marianella Garcia Villas from El Salvador. She was assassinated in 1983 by the Salvadoran army as result of her determination to record Human Rights violations perpetrated by the Salvadoran government.  A tour of the facility features a portrait of Marianella along with portraits of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bishop Oscar Romero who was also assassinated by the Salvadoran army while saying mass. It is an unmistakable message that these four gave their lives championing the right of all people to be free from oppression.  Nearby these portraits is a poster which proclaims “Migration is a Human Right”.

Opposite that poster is a map of the world showing migration routes today. Surprising is the route that many migrants take out of Central Africa. Rwandans, Eritreans, Congolese, migrate west across the Atlantic into Brazil then North through South and Central America. Alter a journey of some months they arrive at Casa Marianella where they receive shelter; a place to lay their heads in peace and begin to put their lives back together. 

Today I drove a young man from Congo and his 3 1/2 year old son to a detention center to visit their wife and mother whom they had not seen for 6 months.  On the way the little boy got a bit whiny as 3 year olds do from time to time.  His father started to hum a song which quieted the little one.   I recognized the tune and whistled in accompaniment. It calmed the boy down and so the Dad and I continued, singing this time, “God Bless America”.

It has been a very interesting two days.

Andy