No More Deaths 2010

Katie D.

March 6, 2010 - 12:22 PM

In two weeks, I will be heading south for another volunteer trip with No More Deaths. If you haven't read my previous blogs about this fabulous organization, let me explain. No More Deaths is a humanitarian aid organization that opperates in the desert south of Tucson, working to end suffering and death of migrants crossing from Mexico. Volunteers hike trails to offer water, food, and First Aid to migrants found there, and create caches of clean water in some of the most dangerous parts of the Arizona desert.

My two previous No More Deaths trips have been incredible experiences. I have learned so much about the situation on our southern border, and have had an opportunity to reflect on the difficulty and complexity of some of the issues facing the world today. It is so important to me to live beyond the classroom: to take what I have learned in sociology and literature classes and apply them to how I live, and how I view the world. While volunteering with No More Deaths, I have emptied myself of many of the things which normally preoccupy my life (answering emails, writing essays, reading homework, maintaining my daily routine) and have instead lived intensely in touch with the place and people immediately around me.

Last spring break, we had a fabulous group of six UO students. This year we are a group of seven, including three of last year's group. Those of us who have been before can't wait to be back on the border: we talk constantly of our experiences there last year and how we were changed by that trip. Leah loved the spring break trip so much that she volunteered with No More Deaths for three weeks of her summer. Ben was so affected by what he experienced that he changed his major to pre-med.

We will spend the week camping in the Sonoran Desert, living at semi-permanent camps run by No More Deaths. We will work together to cook meals and to maintain the camp. We will go on two patrols each day, each for one to four miles. We will go on trips to sites in the desert and on the Mexico side of the border which hold special significance to the migration issue.

The group of seven is my dream of a volunteer group. Three of us speak advanced Spanish. Two have Wilderness First Responder medical certification. Of the seven, four have been among my best friends since the first month of college, when we met in the dorms. The remaining two are my current roommates, and two of my favorite people in my life. The seven of us get along incredibly well, and are a mixture of motivated and laid back, which will help us get along for the 22 hour drive each way to Tucson and back.

We have been holding organizational meetings for the last two months. We have discussed what to expect, what to pack, the history of the border, and fund raising. We held a fund raising party at my house last night, and not only was it a fabulous dance party, we also raised more than $125 to support our trip. That's not bad for a bunch of college kids and their friends.

If you've been reading this blog since last spring break, you'll know that No More Deaths is one of my favorite organizations, one of my best memories of college, and my idea of a perfect break from the normal routine of school and life here in Eugene. This group of friends and the timing of this spring break will make it better than ever: a week without electricity means a week without emails, without Facebook, without cell phones, and without my THESIS.

It effectively means a week emptied of all the trappings of this life that I love, and brought back to the essentials of who I am: someone who loves this world intensely, who believes in the power of individuals to effect change, the importance of friendships, the beauty of the world, and my own drive to make a difference.

We'll be pulling out of Eugene on March 18th, working with No More Deaths the 20th to the 27th, and beginning a brand new quarter on March 29th. That's my final term as an undergraduate at the University of Oregon. I cannot imagine a better way to spend my last spring break than by working with No More Deaths. And you'd better believe that you'll be hearing more about it.