Profile: Kim Walker

Kim Walker shares her thoughts on MCC’s Enlace and Serving and Learning Together (SALT) programs, and her passion for connecting spirituality with working for peace and justice.

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arm:  You participated in the Enlace program in 2006.  What are some highlights from that experience?

Kim Walker:  Enlace was a great experience! Friendships made, mayan pyramids climbed, and soccer games with hordes of kids are just few of many great memories that come to mind.  Climbing Mt Pacaya was definitely a neat experience - we went so close to the top of the volcano that the bottom of my shoe started to melt!

For me though, the best part of the Enlace trip was how things that I saw and learned inspired me to focus less on myself and more on working for peace and justice. 

I don't know if it would quite be described as a highlight, but one of the most intense days of that trip and something that stuck with me and made me think for a long time afterwards was the day that we visited the Guatemala City dump.

arm:  Enlace got you started on a journey of making strong connections between Christian faith and striving for peace and justice.  This has also affected your areas of study in Universty, right?

kw:  I am about to start my third year at the University of Waterloo, as a Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies student, with a Theatre minor. (I hope to end up with some kind of vocation that combines the arts and my passion for peace!)

arm:  You took a year off after your 2nd year of University to participate in the SALT program in Bolivia.  Why did you do that?  What are some highlights and memories from that year?

kw:  Why SALT?  I love travel and adventure, so I guess that was part of the draw.  SALT so much more than that though, such a unique opportunity for service and learning (hence the acryonym!) so I suppose what drew me to the program was a deep desire to serve my global neighbours and learn as much as possible about the world in the process! I ended up doing exactly that, in what turned out to be both a challenging and beautiful year – a perfect way to supplement the peace/international development theory I get at school with some real world experience.

My placement was in Santa Cruz, Bolivia at Talita Cumi Children's Home, a small place of refuge for 30 kids who come from situations of abuse or abandonment.  In the mornings I worked in the office, managing our donor relations and sponsorship program (check us out online at www.talitacumi.org!)  Then, in the afternoons when the kids got home from school I worked as an "Auntie" to a group of twelve boys aged 6 to 14. (This involved lots of soccer, help with homework, making dinner, breaking up fights, insisting everyone shower, and just generally trying to keep chaos to a minimum!).  I was also able to work closely with the home's psychologist in planning many conflict resolution and group therapy sessions with the kids, something I really enjoyed.

Every day with my boys was an adventure (or misadventure…) and we learned so much together!  Christmas was a blast. Everyone counts down until midnight and then ripped open gifts in sheer joyful pandemonium. We had some breakthrough therapy groups with the girls, which was really moving and so encouraging.

I also got to teach a really cool peace/conflict resolution workshop with some of the older kids where we talked about racism and prejudice between cultural groups from different parts of the country (Bolivia has tensions between Collas in the west and Cambas in the east). It was really inspiring to hear the kids thinking and talking about these issues.

Another special memory is the day when Grismaldo, a new, painfully shy young boy with a stutter began to read.  He and I had been going over vowels and flashcards for weeks and then one day it suddenly clicked somehow, and we shared a lot of laughs and even tears reading Adivina cuanto te Quiero (Guess how much I love you). It was a neat book to share together because of the bond we had created by that point:  in the book the older rabbit and younger rabbit are trying to outdo each other by saying that they love the other person to the moon and back, etc.  He started to come out of his shell and really thrive from that point on, which was absolutely beautiful to see. I miss him so much.

arm:  How has your experiences with Mennonite Central Committee (through Enlace and SALT) been part of your faith journey?

kw:  Both Enlace and SALT are extremely important parts of my faith journey, and of who I am! Looking back, I can honestly trace my passion for service and peace back to specific moments and conversations in Guatemala. That trip shook me up in a good way and prompted me to think hard about my faith, the world, and what I wanted my place in it to be.  A focus on social justice became a huge part of my faith after that trip, and I found my faith to be more exciting and fulfilling as a result. This in turn inspired me to study peace and conflict resolution, exploring how my faith can be translated into working for peace in the world around me!  I am not culturally Mennonite (in case my last name didn't give it away) and Enlace was a fantastic introduction to the Mennonite church, MCC and spirituality of social justice that I find so meaningful! I will continue my studies and hope to serve internationally for an even longer period of time, perhaps with MCC again someday!