One thing I’ve definitely learned throughout this experience is that in terms of effort for both us students and the citizens of Flint, there is no giving up. Today while delivering the last of our rain barrels I met this woman who kept a decent sized garden in one of the more run down blocks of Flint. Although she lived 15-20 min away from this garden she still drove down there multiple times a week to keep up with it. She had ordered a few rain barrels and while we were installing them she shared that there had been a theft problem in that neighborhood. More specifically she had a large pile of soil for her garden off to the side and recently she had noticed that some of the soil had been stolen. This opened my eyes because we don’t think of poor meaning you have no other option that to steal literal dirt so to realize that these people had such few options that they needed to steal soil was very saddening. This woman also shared that the food her garden produced was for not just her but anyone who was hungry. I thought it was such a beautiful thing that she was so giving and loving to a community who may have stolen from her. By delivering these rain barrels that would allow her clean water for her crops, I ultimately learned first hand what it means to persevere and work through the hard times despite all odds being against you.
– Taylor Blair
