I Beg To Differ

...A tribute to Tia Nilda

By Mary Anne O’Connor
May 2002

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Mary Anne O’Connor with young people in Fortaleza, Brazil (1997)

You are woman
In a culture that embodies macho
You are black in a land that adores white
You are tired and worn
In a society that celebrates
The youthful and artistic appearance
You are ‘unschooled’ in an era
Of computer technocrats
You are poor in a world
That supports the wealthy and powerful
You, Tia Nilda, are a poor, tired, aged Unschooled black woman
Someone the majority of us would pass by
Without a second glance
Someone who in the criteria of world values
Has no value

You, Tia Nilda, through your constant
Compassionate heart
Have opened your small house
To be a haven, a home
For street kids here in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Without assistance
Without any training program
Without any direct evangelization
By us ‘bearers of truth’
You have answered a call
To be supportive of those who have no one
In whom they trust

You bear the strained lines on your face
And carry the worry in your eyes of just how
Trying this call is.
As missionaries and volunteers
We come and go,
Visit a few hours a week to offer support
But leave again.
We are not like you
You who stay with the reality of such
A commitment
Day and night, through the rain and shine
Moments that such young persons
So discouraged and suspicious of life, bring

It is no easy task; And yet
It is you, a woman, black, older,
Unschooled and poor
Who carries this tremendous weight.
You truly give your all, ‘the widow’s mite’,
To be present and open to these little ones
You probably won’t be written down in any
History book.
As I said, your life doesn’t have much impact
On how the dominant world culture operates
But your name is “written in the heavens”
Your toil and sweat and worry
Bless the earth of many

Jesus’ parables always served to turn
The world’s story upside down
In terms of the values of the Reign of God.
In truth, Tia Nilda, your witness serves also
To turn everything on its head
To explode the myth of what power really is.

And it consists only in this,
That one simple woman
Without fanfare nor desire for recognition
Can take on the whole world’s ethic of power,
Wealth and greed
And serenely say
“I beg to differ”

Mary Anne O’Connor was a Scarboro lay missionary from 1990 to 1998, serving in the Philippines and in Fortaleza, Brazil. She now works in Guadalajara, Mexico, teaching a grade one English Immersion program and volunteering with an organization that ministers to child workers who sell stuff on the streets. Many are not in school and are of indigenous origin. The program involves educational activities with those aged 3-12 years, trying to get them in school for at least part of their day.

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