There have been so many different issues that have been continuously brought up throughout the past 5 weeks. I think that all of these issues are important, from making sure our voice is heard to helping youth become involved with the community to bringing more people in to Little Tokyo. It’s been an amazing experience to learn and become aware about all these issues the community faces.
The issue that has been brought to my attention that has kind of stuck with me, is based on the presentation Monica Sakada did on obesity and the API community, for the Socal interns. We all know that the rates of obesity have been rising quickly, especially among children. We all see the commercials on TV that try to get kids to be more active and playing outside (well if you watch Disney channel and Nick you probably have for sure seen the commercials =). Exercise is no doubt an important part of staying healthy, but then there’s also how we eat. When Monica brought up the point about JA basketball and how after practice/game snacks have been spam musubis, bentos, happy meals from McDonald’s, etc. It’s interesting now that I think about it, I remember everyone telling us how important it was for us to exercise and stay active and healthy. And then after our 2 hour practice our snacks would be a bento or happy meal. Because JA sports have become a large part of the lives of our youth, it’s important to educate them about healthy living lifestyles. Starting to addess just the youth leagues with healthy snacks is a good starting point. I think that there are other parts of the community that can also be educated. Even working with college students about learning how to cook healthier; other than top ramen, hot pockets, to avoid that freshman/sophomore/junior/senior/supersenior 15lbs. Obesity is not just a national issue, it is also a community issue that could negatively impact the health of the API community. Just by starting with small steps addressing this problem is key to helping the large issue.
One of the other issues, I wanted to just say something about, has to do with the Rec Center and Thomas’s presentation/group work. All my life I’ve seen how community centers and the facilities at the Buddhist church try to accommodate all affliated groups. With most centers affilated organizations have priority and any other groups would come after. But, Just working on the group work for the Rec center, it’s kind of a “reality shock” (for a lack of better words), to see how difficult it is to make sure the Rec Center really does cater to all the groups. From the information we know the Rec center would be for a variety of community organizations ranging from sports to martial arts to community programs for youth and seniors. It’s one thing to get all the groups on board in order for the center to be built, and then it’s another to make sure all the groups have the opportunities to utilize the space. I think that what the facility ends up looking like is important, whether its 4 courts or less. It’s an interesting topic to ponder….
