The Frustrations of Non-Profit and the Hopes of Immigration

Despite the fact that "non-profit" is the new, positive buzzword in the business world, there are serious problems with non-profit work. The quirks of the office have begun to frustrate me. My computer is slow (30 second delays), my phone is static-y (which makes translation even harder), and the copier is our sworn mortal enemy. There are days when I long for a single copy to come out properly without jamming. It has come to the point where if I can reach into the heart of the machine and pull out an un-torn piece of paper, I can declare it a success. It simply is a matter of funds. I imagine that each year the management must decide between implementing essential services for the clients or improving the working conditions of the staff. Naturally, the choice is an easy one, but it is still frustrating for the staff. My site is such a contrast to my visit to Chick-fil-a's corporate headquarters that I made a few months ago, and it is easy to see why someone would choose a work place with a gym and cafeteria over a work place whose shredders are older than most of the staff. Nevertheless, you remind yourself why you are there, and that the copier still makes copies (albeit wrinkled or distorted ones), and the shredders do in fact work. It is a minor inconvenience considering that the money likely went to pay translators or therapists that our clients so desperately need.

You would imagine my surprise then when I took a client to the Illinois Eye Institute. The IEI is a non-profit center that gives advanced optical care to the poorest in Chicago. The building was brand new and the technology was state of the art. My visit was so refreshing because every doctor or staff member you met made a real effort to be warm and accommodating. The visit was long (5 hours), but the eye doctors were thorough and very helpful. I guess the quality of non-profit is really about how much money you have to work with and (as my Dad can tell you) how well the money is managed. I really enjoy the visits because it gives me a chance to really meet some of my clients. These visits are often very interesting both from the medical side of things (try to explain what macular degeneration is in small words when I didn't actually have any idea what it was) and the emotional side by really hearing from these people.

The clients rarely dwell on the past. To them the past is usually unspeakably painful. These people left everything--family, friends, jobs--just in order to live. Employement alone is a very sad thing to discuss with them. Many (but certainly not all) of our clients were tortured because they spoke out against the government or the system in their country. Many of our clients are highly educated and were quite well off. When they arrive in the United States, they usually have to start over. When I help clients fill out Medicaid forms you always see them sadly look down when they admit that they're unemployed. Immigration laws make it difficult to find employment and the language barrier is immense even for those who legally are permitted to work. My client I met today was only a few years older than me, and he expressed his frustrations with work. Unlike many, he is employed, but he works as a janitor in a coffee shop. His work is tough and often impossible to finish in time because the manager knows he can always replace his type of labor so he is pushed hard. He longs for better work, and I reassure him that if he continues to pursue his GED and his English classes that there is hope for him. I know that immigrants face thousands of obstacles and usually it is the children of immigrants that find "success" in the work field, but my client is still young so hopefully his options will remain open. At the very least, he is alive and is lucky to be so. It gives us both hope.