I woke up Thursday morning thinking “Oh! Another site trip and a double whammy at that!” not because I don’t like them, but maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed—or was it those ribs I ate the night before?—I am definitely not starting this well. 😉
I am Ndifreke (Freky) Andrew-Essien, part of a group of twenty-five who are the YALI Washington fellows living and working at the University of Delaware. We come from the beautiful continent of Africa. Welcome to my day of blogging!
Now that I have your attention… Thursday 17 July was a bit different from our usual activities in that we had two site visits scheduled for the same day in the city of Wilmington, DE. One was at the Delaware Center for Justice (DCJ), and the second was at the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center. Both meetings had similar formats in which representatives of the organizations discussed their activities, and fellows engaged them on that note, making the sessions interactive.
At the Delaware Center for Justice, we had three representatives speak on different aspects of programming of the organization. Joanna Champney, the executive director, gave us an overview of the organization, and key phrases like “Fresh Starts” and “Transformations” were established as the fulcrum upon which the organization turned. Isaac Dun spoke about the “Student Warriors Against Guns” (SWAG) program that DCJ is just starting, and Sharonda Evertt spoke on the truancy reduction program. Finally, Kirstin Cornell, the advocacy coordinator, spoke on some of the policy reforms via “Stand Up for What’s Right and Just” (SURJ) a grassroots episode through which DCJ has successfully advocated for, among others, the “Ban the Box Legislation-HB167” and “Repealing the Death Penalty-SB19.”
Reflections by the fellows were on an array of views and perspectives, but heavy on the minds and tongues of many—even mine—were that some of the policies of the state and federal government had roles in the vices experienced by the communities. Furthermore, they posed limitations upon lasting solutions or preventative measures as they seemed to even stifle the possibilities of successful interventions. In fact, to some fellows some policies seemed to be the root cause of the main issues and problems. Hot topics ranged from the death penalty to gun rights in the US, but most shocking was that truancy from school was a crime!
In the afternoon, the visit to the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center was informative about services provided by the community health center. Interesting to me was the target communities’ failure to utilize primary health care facilities and the preference of emergency response centers by individuals. When compared with community attitudes to primary healthcare (where available), we (Nigeria and most African countries) also experience a lack of active participation. The solution also cut across the need on both continents to continue to inform and educate the community.
The site visit to the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center ended on an exciting note with details of the South Bridge Community Festival on Saturday 19 July, which includes a free breakfast for the community from 8-10 a.m. and tours of the facility, carnival activities, interactions, and more food from 12-4 p.m. We look forward to it! Now, that should be an exciting day to blog about!
Countdown to Washington: nine days!!! “Oh, how time flies!”