Down Time and an Inspiring Talk

This morning, we had some participants go to the SAC in the morning to work with the kids in the program. The group made banana pancakes with the kids. They also did a little arts and crafts by coloring the different vegetables and creating different salad bowls. In the mean time, I stayed back and helped with the filming of our digital story (which we are so excited to share with everyone once it is finished). After lunch, we met with Tammy, the director of the Family Child Care Food Program. Although her office is based in Huntington, she told us that she has traveled to some rural areas around the city of Huntington and that her conversations/meetings could go up closer to 3 hours. She started off her discussion with us by introducing the history of why family traditions are so significant in this area. Then, she explained to us what she does with the primary care providers to the kids. She definitely opened my eyes to the kids' perspective on food and nutrition. Her passion was very clear in her voice and the stories that she shared with us. I found her story very inspiring! As someone who usually puts others above herself, I drew a lot of connections between Tammy's story and my own. One of the many take aways for me from our conversation is how important it is to take care of myself first instead of always feeling the need to offer advice to others.

An unprivileged place

We went back to the Boys and Girls Club today to play with the children. I listened to the stories of these children, some of who talked about unfortunate things that have happened to them in the past. In our reflection on Tuesday evening, we learned about privilege. We realized that some people happen to more privilege than others based on a variety of circumstances (such as socioeconomic status and identity). For others, it is significantly harder to reach goals no matter how hard they try. For example, it is likely that I would be able to reach my goals much easier, on average, than these kids who have similar goals, simply because I come from a more privileged background. Although the children's stories came as a shock to me, going to the Boys and Girls Club made me realize that based on their circumstances, these kids think that their lifestyles and histories are just what they are and that there's nothing to do about it. It made me uncomfortable that they so unwillingly accepted something that shouldn't have to happen to anyone, much less a child.

In the end, this is unfortunate, and it shouldn't have to be like this. I've been to a Boys and Girls Club in a different location with higher tier staff and training, which makes an obvious difference in how kids enjoy the experience. But this facility in Huntington fosters the feelings of disinterest and indifference that are otherwise reinforced at home or school. While it makes me feel more fortunate that I grew up under privileged circumstances, it also makes me feel terribly sad for these children who have little guidance or supervision in such an unhealthy environment.

Monday funday

Hello!

So yesterday, was our first day of service. Prior to that, I did not know what to expect but I was very excited. Almost like getting ready for my first day of school! When we got there, we first went to the gym and played with the boys and girls. At first, it was not that many of then more and more kids showed up. I spent a lot of my time in the computer room, at a coloring station/table. While I was there, I was able to have conversations with a lot of the children and see them interact with each other. I learned a lot of the children come from big families. They also have a lot of energy! lol. Overall it was a great day :)

Marilyn

Welcoming with open arms

This last Sunday we had the opportunity to attend the church service of the church we are staying at this week, and I expected them to be welcoming to us, but the reception we received was incredible. From the moment we walked into the church everyone smiled and introduced themselves to us, rather than give us looks as "the outsiders" that I had been expecting. The pastor even discussed "gospitality", a combination of gospel and hospitality during the children's sermon and later talked about acceptance of everyone as a fundamental part of Christianity.

The welcome we received makes me very optimistic that church's in this area are incredibly active in this community, and while all of them may not be directly focused on child nutrition and obesity, they are certainly making an impact on Huntington.

Kids these days

I guess I haven't spent an extended period of time with middle school girls in a while, but today was an eye-opening experience for me. I spent the day at the Boys and Girls Club of Huntington and quickly attached to three girls, probably 12 years old. The girls seemed just like I did in middle school at first, trying to fit in but also having fun on their own. Then the conversation got deeper. The girls casually talked about having a parent in jail or getting suspended from school or even having classmates locked up. The topics came up so naturally and they shared openly about these issues that seemed so monumental to me. The trio were also much less naive that I was at their age, talking about boys and using language I didn't know the meaning of at 12. I was shocked at how fast they seemed to be growing up, but it was normal for them.

Today made me appreciate the world I've come from, the way I've grown up and the opportunities I've had. The positive influences in my life never felt as important as they did today. I am so grateful for the people who pointed me in the right direction and and the environment in which I was raised. I hope that in the few days I have the chance to interact with teenage girls at the Boys and Girls club that I can be at least one positive influence in their lives. They may not remember me or my name, but I hope they'll remember some of the things we've talked about and the good lessons I've tried to instill.

A Revealing Conversation

We spent our whole day at the Boys and Girls Club today. It was a little awkward at first because there weren't that many kids, but after about twenty minutes we were able to get some games going in the gym. We used half the court for basketball, and in the other half we played freeze tag and then a surprisingly successful game of "Red Light Green Light" (to which I added a challenging "Blue Light" and "Purple Light"!). After a rushed lunch, the games disbanded and both kids and volunteers spread out more through the building. After playing outside on the jungle gym and with the tetherball pole, I spent most of the afternoon with the same three or four girls. We looked for bamboo among the straw, built straw houses and bird's nests, played tic tac toe, colored, played foosball, swung on the swings, and did gymnastics on the parallel bars. Most of the day was spent in unstructured, unsupervised play, in breaking facilities (excluding the playground) and with limited resources.

It was during this time that I had a really shocking conversation with one of the girls. She's only 8 years old, but what she's dealt with so far is far more than ANYone should have to face, much less someone as young as she is. She told me about how she's been the new kid in three different schools so far this year; how her family's been evicted from her old house, and can't return to get the rest of their stuff; about how her cousins live with the rest of her family now because their mom neglected them. She spoke about it all so matter-of-factly, just as if she were explaining a school project or something equally routine. After the conversation, we went right back playing house, or whatever we were doing at that time. That conversation revealed a lot about the community we were working with. Just realizing how tough some of the kids' lives are, how much they have to deal with at home, how much the odds are already stacked against them, reinforced how much they need and deserve a safe, enriching environment to spend their days in. It's frustrating to see how they don't really have that, at least during school vacations.

I know we can't fix anything in the three days that we'll spend there, but hopefully just having someone that happily plays with and patiently listens to them is helpful.

A Strong Sense of Community

Both our conversations with the churchgoers at Central Christian and our scavenger hunt through Huntington revealed a lot about the community we'll be working in and the resources they have access to. Overall, the city seems to fit the stereotype of a not-particularly-wealthy small town in the middle of nowhere. We were able to drive through most of it in about an hour, passing small houses next to empty lots and auto shops, mostly fast-food restaurants and chains interrupted by the occasional local establishment, lots of small specialist health practices and urgent care facilities, few spaces for public enjoyment, and no bus stops--if you live there without a car, you're pretty much stuck. One thing that struck me was, despite it being a beautifully sunny Sunday, there was almost no one outside. Based on all of those observations, it sounds like a pretty miserable place. But, the people we spoke with were so welcoming and seemed genuinely so happy--many of them had grown up here, found jobs here, raised a family here. The churches seems to build strong communities, and there are many of them. So perhaps being "stuck" is not the way the community members feel about living in Huntington. Culturally, they seem to have different values than those I'm used to being surrounded with and influenced by in a college setting and urban lifestyle--they value religion, routine, homemaking, family, neighborliness, and maintaining long-term connections. It's a strong community where people truly care about each other.