Disruption Invites a New Mindset
Puente de Solidaridad advertises emergency phone numbers to be used while the offices are closed due to quarantine.
Last week, as the number of COVID-19 cases increased around the globe, local governments across the US and Bolivia began implementing stricter isolation policies. In Illinois, where Solidarity Bridge is headquartered, the governor has imposed a ‘shelter in place’ order. And as of Friday, March 20, the offices of Puente de Solidaridad were closed to the public, in accordance with Bolivian national policy. However, an emergency phone line has been established for both patients and doctors in order to continue our work. We will continue to provide our most urgent life-saving surgeries, as well as critical equipment for other emergency procedures.
In Bolivia, the infectious threat has loomed large for weeks, impacting our surgical programs. Even before the first confirmed case, a rural general surgery campaign was cancelled, pediatric heart surgeries had been suspended, and planning for future mission trips was put on hold. Yet patients and doctors have continued reaching out to the offices in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz looking for supplies to protect themselves and others from the spread of the virus. Puente de Solidaridad is responding to growing requests for gloves, face masks, gowns, and other protective materials. As the number of cases grow, we are doing all we can to be a resource to our medical partners.
In the U.S., we’re not accustomed to this level of disruption to our everyday lives. From time to time, extreme weather events may slow us down, but the spread of the coronavirus is different. We are experiencing a global upheaval that brings us together in a shared experience, even as it forces us to remain geographically separated from one another.
During this time of disruption, solidarity can flourish. From artists sharing content to keep kids at home entertained to distilleries making hand sanitizer for retirement homes, people around the world are taking action to ease the concerns of others. In Bolivia, our colleague Maria Eugenia Brockmann shares, “During the civil protests in 2019, many neighbor groups started sharing a communal pot of food. In this quarantine that wouldn’t be recommended, but we are still finding ways to check-in on our neighbors and provide help wherever we can.”
In the U.S. and Bolivia alike, we’re being called to “flatten the curve” of infection by staying home, being diligent in our hygienic practices, and paying attention to how our every action may affect the people around us. In recent years you may have heard us say, “Somos Uno”, “We are One.” This phrase has become something of a motto in our offices. Now, this global threat invites us, more than ever, to reflect deeply on solidarity and how it can become our modus operandi at all times.
“The word solidarity is a little worn and at times poorly understood, but it refers to something more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of a new mindset which thinks in terms of community and the priority of the life of all over the appropriation of goods by the few. ”
How will you work to create a new mindset in these coming weeks? What changes do you hope for in our culture and our world? We hope you will share your thoughts in the comments below, so that as a community we can continue to grow together, even—or especially—in this moment.