What does a Watershed educator do when longtime community partners who have become friends enter a crisis period in their lives? Well, Pablo Stayton, humanities educator, helps build a core group of people with relevant skills and similar heart connections to problem-solve with the people in crisis. Together, they have charted a path forward that includes organizing volunteer support and launching a fundraiser. Read below for Pablo’s description of the situation, the identified needs, and the support he’s hoping to gather for Enrique and Ruby Madrid, longtime Watershed partners.
Dear Friends,
I am launching a fundraising campaign to support Enrique and Ruby Madrid in the small border community of Redford, Texas. Watershed School has been taking students to Redford as part of their Texas-Mexico Border trip every few years since 2009, and a significant part of each student's experience has been to visit with Enrique and Ruby. These two are my personal heroes as they have transformed me as a person and as an educator. During my time as an Outward Bound Instructor and Program Director in the 1980s and 1990s, I lived and worked in Redford for almost 10 years, and spent countless hours with Enrique and Ruby in many different contexts. After leaving Outward Bound, I began taking high school students to Redford soon after I started my career as a teacher at Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning (RMSEL) in Denver in 1998. These trips were so consistently transformative for students, I integrated that trip into the Border Expedition that I regularly teach at Watershed School.
Watershed students and alumni who visited with Enrique will remember the many hours he spent talking with us about life on the border, history of the border, and the implications of increasing militarization on border communities. Additionally, Enrique and Ruby taught us how to cook traditional foods, and we all began to internalize how cooking and sharing good food with others is a foundation for promoting peace. As Enrique said to one of our groups: “If you want to make peace with your enemies, invite them to dinner.”
The October 2023 border trip was one of the first times students did not get to visit with Enrique and Ruby. I did my best to "fill in" for them. We still cooked traditional Mexican food. Using notes I took when he spoke to our students during the 2022 Watershed border trip, I shared some of his insights and ideas. However, there is just something profound and powerful in the way Enrique talks to our groups that our students missed this year.
Last June, both Enrique and Ruby had some very serious medical issues that prohibited them from being able to care for themselves and each other, and as their health deteriorated, they both ended up hospitalized. They are currently stable and doing well living together in a nursing home in Fort Stockton.
Unfortunately, they have been unable to return to Redford for the past 8 months, and in that time, their abandoned house has become completely uninhabitable.
Carmela and I visited Enrique and Ruby in the nursing home in early October as part of our preparations for the border trip that took place with students a few weeks later. It was a profound visit for both of us, and since that time, I helped put together a small team of committed and trusted friends who are all close to Enrique and Ruby. We have been working directly with them to figure out a concrete plan that would support their future and the future of their home in Redford. That plan, which involves a series of separate initiatives, has finally taken shape. But the plan needs funding.
Please click the link to The Enrique and Ruby Fundraiser and read through the Donorbox website to see details about the plan and what the money will be going toward. I am reaching out to everyone I know who has been touched in some way by Enrique and Ruby, including as many former Watershed students as possible who have traveled to Redford with me. Please donate what you can! It is an ambitious fundraiser, and its success will require as many people as possible to donate, so the power is in the numbers.
This is a private fundraiser, so your donation is not tax deductible. While my first priority is to support Enrique's and Ruby's livelihoods, I am hoping that the plan will set up the two of them to continue their life's work as educators. Doing so would significantly increase the chances that Watershed students will be able to visit again with Enrique and Ruby on future border trips.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions at all
Warmly,
Pablo
Update from Pablo on April 19th:
First of all, thanks to everyone who has donated! The fundraiser has been a tremendous success so far as we have exceeded $16,000!
A group of six core volunteers (including my 9th grade youngest son, Kai, and two of his Watershed School friends, Watershed School educator Joie Le, and an old Outward Bound friend of mine who I hadn't seen since 1996) descended upon Redford during Watershed School's spring break from March 24-30. With the additional help of a few others who joined us for a day here and there, It was a WILDLY successful service trip, far exceeding all expectations! We cleaned up Enrique's and Ruby's entire home: separated all garbage and trash from anything potentially valuable, sent four huge dump truck loads of garbage to the dump, fixed all broken windows and doors, and secured the house and all its contents from any further damage! We also cleaned up the house across the street, got professionals to assess the electrical and plumbing needs of both houses, and even got to visit Ojinaga three times and do a little hiking and exploring before coming home! To top it all off, we even rescued two 6 week old puppies that showed up at Enrique's and Ruby's house partway through the week and brought them in a cat carrier for the two day drive back to Boulder where we took them to the shelter, and they have already been adopted!
The immediate step of securing the house and its contents is complete, and with Enrique's and Ruby's guidance, we are in the process of planning the next steps! In addition to what has been raised and spent so far, we still need another $12,000 to complete all other parts of the plan. We will be reroofing, replumbing, making all spaces wheelchair accessible, and replacing counters and several critical appliances. With the help of additional volunteer labor, we hope to complete EVERY part of the plan (outlined on the fundraiser website) by the end of the 2024 winter holiday! Enrique and Ruby are very excited for what this will do to the quality of their lives and their futures! They still have not been permitted to even visit Redford since they went into the nursing home after leaving the hospital in June. Please know that your donation is appreciated and is making a huge difference!
