Teen Poet Cynthia Mok

Cynthia Mok with CERI DIrector, Mona Afary

Last Fall our young Apsaras were blessed to be led into the world of poetry by UC Berkley doctoral candidate, Charity Ketz. When she shared her love of the written and spoken word with our young women, she would usually begin the evening by distributing carefully chosen poems. Together we read the poetry and discussed its deeper meanings. Then we read the poems again, hoping to unpack them a little bit more. Based on an emotion or thought which most appealed to each of  us, we would attempt to write our own poems. Those who wanted to share their poems were encouraged to do so. Cynthia Mok was one of the young women whose pencil had a mind of its own. It rarely stopped moving. Below is a selection of Cynthia’s  poems.

Charity Ketz

Cynthia Mok

Dark Night

Little girl wearing little clothing

Walking into the night

Of strong, bold men withholding illegal drugs

Taking a step closer to the crowd

With only the sounds of “Click Clack, Click Clack”

Heels pulling attention

Men all staring at this beauty of a Goddess

Age doesn’t matter as the girl disappears

With terror in her eyes

Screaming & crying

Tugging & pulling

The night has become intense

With two strong men & this little girl

Her cries, unheard

Her pain, unseen

Her legs trembling with blood in between

Off into the night walks a living soul

Of what once was a beautiful little girl.

_________________________________________________________________________

Out in the Open

Out in the open,

You leave me.

Out in the open,

I stand weak.

Out in the open,

My pain leaks while others can seek.

Out in the open,

Is where my tears formed into rivers.

Out in the open,

I start to realize I show too much.

So, out of the open and into God’s hands,

I’m running away and nobody can see.

_________________________________________________________________________

I Remember

I remember…

When there was nobody in sight

I would walk off into the cold night

Searching for answers to make all the wrong right

I remember…

The times I spent alone feeling as empty and cold as a hollow stone

Looking at all the kids and how much they’ve grown

I remember…

That with all that pain and emptiness I was left with

I grew stronger and later respected

For facing world alone and standing your bullshit

Now I can stop remembering the past

So I can make this one last with new memories that speak of no bad.

 ________________________________________________________________________

Sounds

Sleep or awake

I can hear the day

Cars passing by slow and fast

With music to my ears where they last

Click, Boom, Bang, Pow, Scream

That’s the noise of the midnight streets

Smell of fear, smell of pride

Knowing that, from these streets, one cannot hide

Taste the air so bitter and deadly

Makes me think, if tomorrow I will ever see

He says the touch of her skin is so soft

So she then takes her clothes off

Her bangles and heels speaks out for her presence

So in their mind she will never become absent

His voice he is loosing as he coughs vigorously

After the choice of choosing to smoke that dark, feel good weed

Hear the sounds that I hear

And that will state that the streets is where you are near

_________________________________________________________________________

LOST

Losing your self-Obedience and Strength to Trust one another.

You can be lost in yourself or into someone else

Lost in love

Lost in trust

Lost in the ones you trust with your love

Another person’s gain can be your misery

Losing the one thing you strived into keeping

Turning to such hostility

Giving up because yourself has been without reach

But the loss in yourself may be triggered by the loss of someone else

Body no longer lingers this earth

But soul exists in another baby’s birth

Thinking…”why couldn’t I have gone first?”

Now nobody is around to ease your hurt

The soul got to choose. Nothing else got to but the soul

Why this soul? Why leave you lonely and cold?

Matter of fact, lost deep trying to find your own soul

Feeling of no love you can hold

Closer than that one whom you have grown with old,

For years of your life, but their absence was still untold.

_________________________________________________________________________

Animals for Africa Art Party Comes to CERI

In Winter 2012 our young apsaras met Robbyn Alexander McGill, the founder of Animals for Africa – Love Made Tangible, a not-for-profit arts initiative. AFA benefits vulnerable women and children in Africa through the handcrafting and exchange of simple, safari-inspired folk-art stuffed animals.

Robbyn began by sharing a beautiful slide show of her first trip to Malawi and the story of how an orphan girl in Malawi inspired her to create her organization. Each of our young women sewed and embroidered an animal for an orphan. Animals for Africa are hand-stitched animals, sewn by creative and concerned citizens all over the world for orphaned and vulnerable children victimized by poverty, globalization and HIV/AIDS in Africa. Each animal is personalized with a child’s name and given directly to that child by an ambassador or partner of Animals for Africa. 

Since it’s inception in May 2011 when Robbyn first traveled to Malawi, over 100 animals have been made by citizens around the world for orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa. Working with KUDO, an African community based organization and VoiceFlame, a nonprofit organization that provides creative education for women, Animals for Africa has empowered and funded impoverished women in Tukombo Village to form their own crafting cooperative. In its first six months, 6 of these women have crafted over 80 animals, grossing over $300.

This is earned money that never needs to be repaid. The average annual income for a person in Malawi is $172 a year, and in the rural villages it can be even less. Through networking with nonprofits and organizations that share a similar mission and purpose, Animals for Africa’s long range vision is to replicate multiple “Love Made Tangible” campaigns in other communities and countries in Africa, and to eventually bring the program to poverty-stricken communities and orphanages around the world. A portion of the funds raised through the making of these animals is used to seed art education programs in that same child’s community.

Through these programs, Animals for Africa provides materials and training so impoverished village women and youth can become apprenticing artisans, learning to craft their own unique versions of the animals, which they then sell back to Animals for Africa. This creatively and economically empowers enterprising African women and youth to earn their own personal income and provides revenue that can be reinvested in the community. Animals for Africa exchanges the animals made in Africa for donations to the project, so that more animals can be made for more vulnerable children, touching more lives and making a difference in more communities.

Our girls worked hard on their animals but it took a few more nights of sewing and stuffing to get them just right!  For some girls it was the first time they had sewn by hand. In the end they were really pleased to know that somewhere in the world, some child’s day would be a little brighter, hugging a stuffed animal they sewed.

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Robbyn Alexander McGill is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, educator and entrepreneur whose work draws on psychological investigations and creative process as a social and spiritual practice. She is currently completing her first book, Kissing the Muse – An Artist’s Guide to Creative Enlightenment.

Her collage-based films, paintings, installations and mixed-media works explore themes of intimacy, personal identity and transformation and have been exhibited in galleries, film festivals and performances internationally. In collaboration with non-profit arts organizations, she has initiated and facilitated community development projects in Colima, El Salvador; Punta Banco, Costa Rica and Malawi, Africa.

If you would like to sponsor and/or create animals at an AFA art party, contact Robbyn at, info@animalsforafrica.org  and visit the AFA website: http://animalsforafrica.org/Animals_for_Africa/HOME.html

CERI’s young women’s group participates in March for Peace

         

On March 31st our young apsaras participated in the March for Peace organized by Cambodian Community for Peace in Oakland. The march sought to bring awareness to the gang related shootings and murders occurring within the Cambodian community in Oakland, CA.

At our Friday gathering on March 30, the girls chose to devote their activity time to creating posters for the march on the following day.

Thavedy with her signs.

    

The young women of CERI were applauded for their presence and commitment to march for their community. Very few young people were present. Above (right) Oakland Mayor Jean Quan speaks with an activist.

Director, Mona Afary (front) listening to the speakers.

Our own Chandra Pech takes the stage.

Adriane Beckman of San Mateo County Juvenile Probation visits CERI

Currently Adriane Beckman is tasked with developing a protocol for working with commercially sexually exploited children and domestic minor human trafficking victims for the San Mateo County Juvenile Probation. She has completed many training sessions and works collaboratively with fellow agencies and counties to address this topic. She attends the Blue Ribbon Commission subcommittee with the Honorable Judge Lee to address the concerns of Domestic Minor Human Trafficking within San Mateo County.

We were honored to have Ms. Beckman as our guest, but telling our girls that a probation officer was coming to visit did not exactly bring forth immediate cheers. When Adriane arrived her warmth and sincerity melted the girls’ hearts. While Beckman looks like she may have been a typical all-American kid, her young life was anything but easy. She shared stories with our girls about how she learned to navigate a difficult childhood and find success in life, in spite of numerous obstacles.

Adriane Beckman was invited as a special guest to the young women’s Friday night group. She talked about her childhood, her decision to make good choices as a teenager and her current work as a probation officer.

Adriane shared stories of her difficult childhood with our girls.

Adriane said that at age 12 she decided to study hard, play sports and hang out with smart friends. This was especially relevant to the group since the girls are working on research topics with the theme of “The Choice is Yours”.

Guest Educator Peggy Macy, M.S.W. Teaches Sexual and Reproductive Health

Peggy Macy, M.S.W. is a social worker at Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, in the Pediatric HIV/ AIDS Program. Since 1990 she has worked with children and youth with HIV, providing counseling, case management, crisis intervention and health education. In the area of human sexuality, Peggy is a certified facilitator of “Our Whole Lives” comprehensive sexuality curriculum. Since 2008, she has taught sexuality education at The Berkeley School. She also facilitates “Our Whole Lives” for pre-teens and teens at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. Peggy has given numerous talks at conferences and professional meetings, primarily regarding the unique challenges faced by children and youth living with HIV. Ms. Macy volunteered her time to provide in depth birth control information to our young women.

On January 13 2012 Peggy Macy came as a guest to our young women’s group to begin teaching a sexual health education series.

Peggy also taught basic anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system. She says that she continues to meet people through her work that do not know the body parts related to sexual and reproductive health. So it is a good place to begin or review for those who do know.

Peggy will return again for more in depth topics.

Celebrating the Seasons Fall 2011

Every Friday evening our young Asparas gather together. You might wonder what is so special about these gatherings that pre-teen and teenage girls give up every other activity on a Friday night to be with their ‘sisters’. 

Friday evenings begin with a delicious and healthy home cooked meal. Sometimes one of the girls volunteers to cook, other times our resident staff plan the menu. At least twice a month we invite a guest cook to share their favorite dishes. This gives us the opportunity to learn about foods from other countries and to cook foods which nourish our bodies. All of the young women contribute to assisting with the evening’s activities, whether it is cooking preparations, art activities, clean-up or assisting our guests.

Dinner time is a wonderful time to share what has been happening all week and offer positive support to one another.

Cynthia and Sarah share cooking techniques.

Halloween provided pumpkin fun and a chance to talk about “Larry” our friendly ghost.

Oatmeal and honey are not just for eating!

Friday nights are about sharing, learning, bonding and celebrating being women!

Her smile cannot be masked!

Fall colors exploded into surprising results when the girls painted leaves on coffee filter paper.

Kicking back after an evening of work and fun.

Learning to be a good ‘sister’ is just one of the great things we practice at CERI in our young women’s group.

Camping Trip 2011

In the Summer of 2011 our young women went camping outside of Stockton, California. For some of the girls it was the first time they participated in a camping adventure. More importantly it gave the girls a chance to bond and deepen their friendships. In their own words, read what some of the girls had to say…..

“It meant a lot to me because I got to know everyone’s true side and fun side. It brought everyone closer to each other. It was my first time camping. The whole experience also allowed everyone to know who I am.” Thavery

Miss Z. proudly strikes a pose in front of her tent.

 

 “The camping trip was the first time I was able to go away for a few days. It gave me a chance to see new places. It gave me a day to relax my mind and have fun with our group.” Thavedi 

“I loved when we played in the water at night. I met a new friend named Bieber and had a lot of fun chasing him.” Moustra

“It gave me a chance to learn about new people and get closer to the other girls. I spent more time with my ‘baby momma’, Moleeda and I got a lot closer to her.” Nissa

“It gave me a chance to do anything I wanted and it was a blast! I had so much fun with Nissa!!” Moleeda

“It was a time for us to experience nature. We had time to bond with each other and the older ladies who came with us.” Halissia