Community Resilience Project 2021: Transition
Orange Sunset - Teresa Burke
Dear Viewers, I am beyond excited to share the second edition of our Community Resilience Project with you. Our intention for this online showcase of personal artwork and stories is to help our community collectively move forward while we continue to navigate trying times. PRC will keep working to help our neighbors in need and create a future of hope and opportunity. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our contributors for this project. I am genuinely impressed with the array of work we received. Whatever your takeaway from reading the words and taking in the artwork may be, I hope you enjoy the work as much as I do. Please remember that we are in this together. PRC will continue to provide supportive, creative, and empowering services for our community.
Sincerely, Lesley Gena, Director of Art Programs
Brian Burke- Hope This piece was part of a program for Westmont Magazine about hope. This painting has 3 sections with 4 parts, top part is about the 4 freedoms we strive for read by Franklin Roosevelt. His speech is included in small type on the painting top. The middle part is the letters for hope across the 4 seasons and the bottom part is about 4 time periods of history. The time periods deal with disasters, struggles and resilience that have severely affected the world for better or worse. The time periods are from prehistoric to ancient world and into American history, the second time period is about events from my current lifetime 1978 to 2020 and the last time period covers 2020 and beyond and is about possible future events. Drawings of the influenza virus and covid virus can be found at the bottom of the painting.
My Early Childhood Life and Fears I was born in the village called Wigo located north Forbranga locality Janina sate, west Darfur in the late 80s. Today I live with my family near Chicago in the USA. I work as a supervisor in a manufacturing company. The life in the village was very simple and nice. Growing up among the biggest family in the village, in activities farming, raising cattle and marketing. There were no schools, so all the kids were encouraged to learn Quran and the one who kept to all the Quran in the main will live very respected by the community. We didn’t know what was going on in the country against black original native people in Sudan especially in Darfur region. In the middle 90s the sound of gun shots were heard around villages. They sound so scary to us. We also listened from people that the guns even kill people. After a while we heard that people who shot the guns are called Janjaweed (means gun with horse) been organized and armed from the central government to steal all the animals first from black people to show them they are without power, and they can be defeated or even killed easily. I was remembering all the parents told us not to take animals far way because Janjaweed will take the animals. During that time usually they come and take your animals if you rejected, they would kill you. I remember when they came took the animals and killed two men, that was first time we saw dead bodies been shot to death including my friend’s father. The latest biggest amount of people they were killed were in Mangersa village. The Janjaweed took the animals and killed 24 people. That incident was the latest stealing crime happened; they took all the animals. The next thing was so scary. Janjaweed who have friends with black people or who disagree with the plan, came to villages and said now guys your life here in the villages will not last longer for you, please go away or we will come for you. It was hard.
People in the villages said that we go nowhere, this is our land, we were born here and will die here protecting our lives and the land of our grandparents. Most people expected that there is no better life. We all expected to die near future. soon the life Darfur in general became so tough, there is no future, it is about today and tonight. Since then, the villagers (men only) start guarding villages at the night. They send kids and women to the fruit gardens to hide which were laying along the Azoom river beaches. I remember many times we slept out in the gardens, sometimes it’s so cold. In the last of 90s the school was founded in our village. Most of my friends attended except me. My Dad said that these schools are not ours, they belong to the Europe people. He told me to focus only on learning Quran and taking care of the Animals and I did almost one year. When we grew up a little and found out that most of villagers were marginalized politically to not send their kids to schools saying that these schools are not good for your kids, they teach foreign languages, and we want our kids to focus on our religion only. But in fact, some of their kids were studying schools abroad not only in Sudan to learn and run the country. After the Janjaweed had stolen all the animals, only few people sold their animals before stolen. Then some start moving their kids and women to the bigger cities. Only men remained to fight. My Dad decided to send me to the capital of Sudan Khartoum. He gave me some money and said go east with your uncle and join your cousins there, you might find better life. My way to the capital, in our way to the Khartoum there a lot of Janjaweed checkpoints at almost every city entrance and way out. In Darfur, investigations and punishing some people, but nothing happened to us on our way to Khartoum. The title of my next story is “My Life in Khartoum, School, and Other Suffering.”
ABAKAR, IBRAHIM
Merle Margolis- metapmorphoo: be transformed
Rita Moon Kain- Valley of Trees
In my english garden.... In my English garden, I spend many an hour Finding all the serenity and nature I require To have the courage to go out into the wide open world Where sometimes there is no peace to be found It is a contentious, changing time we live in But here in my garden, I have a fountain It bubbles and splashes onto a cobblestone path Which leads me to neat rows of organic plants The crops and herbs will be ready to consume in due time After watering and tending them through the good ole summertime In the soft breeze, the hollyhocks and hydrangeas sway There is no worry except wondering when it will rain It is a splendid place that many assorted creatures have found They can take refuge, as I do, on this small patch of ground
Karen Kall
Katerina Kerth- A Distant Place
Denise Hunter- My Grandmother's Kitchen The first time that I gave myself permission to see how broken I’d been all this time was during the 2020 Covid-19 Quarantine. It was scarier outside than inside my head. Self-reflection, and introspection is where a lot of us landed during this time. I wouldn’t have made it to this place without it. It’s where I found myself. My Grandmother’s Kitchen is based on the original kitchen of my childhood home in Harvey, IL. This piece came to fruition after I saw it in my mind in this distorted puzzle of all the things I had to put back together from my childhood. This has been a path altering experience for me. I now know with clear eyes how much I know and still don’t know about who I am, and how I made it here. I’m currently still in this place, sorting through repressed memories and past traumas. There are many more stories to be told.
Cheryl Weston
Boxes I have a Cubs candy bar from Fanny May in the freezer waiting for me to give my sister She was supposed to have visited soon You know right before spring training started She loves the Cubs-maybe this year would have been a good year. I have boxes packed of party suppliesShhh! Don’t tell what they areA surprise for a party that never happened People who had plane tickets to come miles to give my wife A hug and tell her how important she is to them She says she is going to stay the same age until We can unbox those things and have our party. I wrote postcards to all my students, Words on a paper box to tell them All the things that I would have told them if we were Together in the classroom-that they have potential, that our time together meant something That they are perfect. I look at my son-trying to make the best of a graduation In a moving box-our car-or a video box. Nothing at all like the sweaty anticipation of lining up with your Classmates-your Grandma and sister in the gym He will not know that feeling of walking across the stage and Will never know whether he would have been a shy one, a gleeful one Or the one who dabbed after he got his diploma My feelings have to stay in boxes, compartmentalized Because after all, life must go on And there are things to do Boxes to be checked off And to fall apart would be to give in and give up. So we make do, Zoom meetings instead of in person, Car parades instead of cheers and smiles, Masks to keep us safe and hide the pain and we wait, we do what we can to ease the suffering Mow the lawns, plant the gardens, cut the hair, stock the pantries, Deliver the lunches, find ways to Challenge ourselves far outside our past comfort zones And we keep the Cubs candy bar in the freezer Maybe next year.
K Lojas
Ashley Ehrhardt- Hope
Not Empty
There is an empty place at the table where you would eat. There is an empty seat in the car where you would sit. There is an empty space on the couch where you would recline. There is a half empty bed where you would lie down. The house seems quieter and emptier with you not here. The world seems colder and emptier with you not near. There is one place, however, that’s not empty. As a matter of fact, it is very, very full. My heart is full of gratitude for knowing someone who cared. And my memory is overflowing with adventures over the many years we shared. So I can truly say it is not empty around here at all. Actually it is all full.
Karen Kall
Teresa Burke- Hot Air Balloon Sunset
Starbucks My name is Alexey. I have lived in America for about one year and a half. During this year I was learning English with my PRC teacher by Zoom one hour per week. This happened during the pandemic and I had no time to speak a lot with other people. I got a job two months ago in the Starbucks company. This Starbucks is in Elmhurst Central Hospital. So when I come to my job in Starbucks, it is a surprise to me when I understood different people have different kinds of English speech. During this two months, I was trying to understand people better. People say words with different ways and from the start, I had some problem with conversation. I think I am getting better so I can have some conversation with people on the job. We can talk about our hobbies, our weekends, sports, movies and Olympic games. It is still hard to understand people when they talk between others. They talk fast and use specific words for the context. It is easier to talk one on one.But I know I will understand them better soon so when you are learning a new language, the main thing is to never give up.
Alexey
Rhonda Levy
Coping With Covid-19 Pandemic My experience living through Covid-19 Pandemic made me more creative. I had just returned from a trip with my family from Puerto Rico in early March 2020. This is the first time I heard everyone had to stay home and limit meeting people to avoid contracting the virus. My family and I decided that we would only visit each other as long as we didn’t have any symptoms of Covid-19 based on the information we were reading on the Internet and watching on TV. I had already discovered my potential for painting by attending classes at People’s Resource Center in Westmont back in 2017. During Covid-19, I watched Youtube.com videos on different painting techniques and painted about six paintings on my own. I had plenty of painting supplies, so I didn’t have to go to Michaels to buy canvases or paints. I noticed my days went by quickly when I painted and I felt good about my accomplishments. I also cooked more during Covid-19. Since my husband and I had to work from home, I cooked twice a week and ate leftovers the rest of the week. Although we enjoy going out to dinner on weekends, we stopped going out. However, we did order out on weekends just to change the routine and get a break. What I found most stressful during 2020 was getting a place to register to get the vaccine since my husband and I are both over 60. I spent several hours on the computer looking for places such as drug stores grocery stores with pharmacies and hospitals in Illinois. Having no success in Illinois, I called the mayor of Darien to ask what the city was doing to secure vaccines for their citizens. He was not sure what to do but did start looking into it. I got even more resourceful and looked for vaccines in Indiana. I’m happy to say that my husband and I got our first vaccine March 24, 2020 at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana. We received our second vaccine on April 20, 2020 at the same place. Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana was extremely efficient. We spent less than 10 minutes from checking in to checking out. After we received both vaccines, we felt safer because now we felt we had a fighting chance against Covid-19. I encourage everyone who is vacillating about getting the vaccine to get it. Our immune system sometimes cannot produce the antibodies to fight such a strong virus. We need to take action to protect our families and friends.
Hilda Gonzalez
Hilda Gonzalez- Forces of Nature
The Shutdown The micro sized enemy has changed our lives in so many ways In the shape of a corona or crown the virus has become a king size plague Eventually reaching a pandemic it has struck every corner of the globe In our state the governor has ordered us to stay home It is hard to do so when we are accustomed to doing as we please All we are asked to do is hunker down to stay healthy We don’t have to go off to war to a different part of the world Instead the battle has come to us in the form of an invisible germ We don’t know where it is but we can track its deadly path We all need to be vigilant
Karen Kall
Rita Moon Kain- Turbulence
Mary Seuss- June 2020
Nannette Abate- Lottie’s
Edda Reviol- Healing Together
Linda Borgstrom
Rita Moon Kain- In Circles
Rachel Taylor