Dr. Amick talked in our last class about how this project might have been our first in-depth exposure to severe impoverishment. I know some of the families our class is working with have next to nothing. My own family is more established: they’ve been here for about a year, and both parents work. They are a somewhat reticent family; we have worked mostly with their children. When I first started visiting, I was very confused by the nature of their material wealth. I expected my confusion to clear up, but it has only worsened. The family all sleep on one large bed, which also serves as a couch for guests, and their shower is used as a storage closet. Yet they have a TV, a Playstation, and (I found out last week) at least one iPod touch.
The reason it matters so much to me to figure out their level of need, if any, is because I am afraid I’ve inadvertently condescended to them. Much earlier in the quarter, when we were going to have a free market and drive, I asked if there was anything they needed and they said no – but they refused me so shyly I wasn’t sure. At the Halloween party, which their children attended with us but not the parents, the kids took home all kinds of great winter clothing, including a scarf for their mother. I was happy to see them so excited, but later I wondered if that would seem presumptuous to their parents. We took their children for a few hours and returned them with a whole lot of clothing and toys. I don’t want to seem as though I am assuming that they cannot provide for their own children! Yet when we took them to the zoo, they seemed underdressed and cold. I guess my only course of action is to keep getting to know them, and maybe we’ll be close enough for them to let me know what they need, or don’t.