“The future is no place/ to place your better days”

When asked to choose a song that fits with FYSOP, I chose “Cry Freedom” by Dave Matthews Band. Matthews wrote the song in honor of Steve Biko (pictured left), the South African anti-apartheid activist who became a martyr for the movement after dying in police custody. The name “Cry Freedom” is actually taken from the 1987 film with the same title, which chronicles the late activist’s life. Though inspired by the South African cause, the song’s lyrics, I think, are a good reminder to any organization that seeks to make the world a better place. And though the song’s tone is sad, it is also hopeful; hopeful that the crowds of people trying to do good “will not subside;”  that people will overcome the “gold” and “fear” that  separate the human race; that we can realize how “hands and feet are all alike,” and we are all equals. At FYSOP, we embody this cause by overcoming the obstacles that irrationally divide us as people. And, as shown from the thousands of hours  of service we put in, we certainly work towards placing our better days today, and not putting off the work for the future.

Peace

-keith

Disabilities and Boston

Hello everyone! This second week in the office has been another week full of productivity and learning. We have both found new, exciting, and moving stories from the largest minority group, and have continued stretching our issue area in somewhat new directions. We have booked three sites; one long-standing FYSOP partner (a therapeutic horse-riding farm), one blast from the past (a center for people with cognitive disabilities), and one brand new site (an outdoor youth camp). We can’t wait to visit them all next week!

In this blog, we wanted to talk a little about our issue area in Boston. Though Boston offers numerous services for citizens with disabilities, they are still many ways in which Boston residence are inconvenienced, or even discriminated against, because of their disability. For example, riding the T or taking a cab, which seems routine and simple for most Bostonians, can pose serious challenges for someone in a wheelchair, or a person who has impaired vision. Housing is also a major concern because of the lack of accessible, affordable residences that are also integrated. Many times persons with disabilities are left with no options outside centers or assisted living communities, which segregate them from society. An organization that is currently fighting to change these conditions, and which we hope to work with during FYSOP 20, is the Center for Independent Living. The Center focuses on gaining greater independence for persons with disabilities, and has won a number of cases that directly improved public transportation and municipal services. We encourage you to check out their website to see what steps are being taken to ensure that the city respects the rights of Bostonians with disabilities http://bostoncil.org/index.htm .

Till next week,

Keith and Kimberly

Hey Disabilities

Hiyahh,

Disabilities here, and we have officially begun our trek on this long journey to bring you an absolutely amazing Fysop.  This year Fsyop is celebrating a big birthday, it’s two decades old (woahhh), so we have to make sure that this year is kickin’.  Currently, we are looking at some fabtabulous new sites and some rip-roaring new speakers.
Alright, now on a more serious note, we have been doing a ton of research and are really hoping to take the disabilities issue area in a whole new direction.  We really want to work on showing that people who have disabilities are simply just people, like you and me.  We are hoping to focus a lot of energy on integrating and including people with disabilities in every day tasks, schooling, and work area.  In fact, for one site opportunity we are hoping to bring in a number of people who have disabilities to the university to work collaboratively with them in an effort to help another charity (super cool, I know).      In our search, we came upon the story of Alana Wallace.  Alana is a member of a fully integrated dance team, Dance Detour.  They truly are a wonderful dance team and we would love for you to check them out.  <http://www.dancedetour.org/>

Hope all is well,

Kimberly and Keith

P.S. We challenge you to be more courteous this summer in your speech.  Let’s work together to eliminate negative words like retarded, lame, and dumb.

Disabilities 19…. (mmmm?)

Hello all!

Hope summer is a blast. We are well on our way to planning a solid FYSOP week for everyone, especially our wonderful issue area: DISABILITIES. If you think that people with disabilities can’t kick butt, guess again.

Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you don’t have the ABILITY to do anything! During our wonderful week of service and education, we hope to bring to light some issues and misconceptions about people with disabilities. 

For example, did you know that there is a renowned African Dancer named Sidiki Conde, who lost the ability to use his legs at age 14 but is the founder of an African dance company, Tokounou?

He travels all across the country performing and holding workshops and classes for all, those with or without disABILITIES. 

And so, as you can see, this is just a taste of what FYSOP 19-Disabilities Issue Area is all about. We look forward to meeting everyone on August 20(for staff) and August 25 (new students!)

If you guys have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to chat with some cool people, please, give us a call or email!

disabilities2008@gmail.com   or call 617-353-4710

 

Hope to see you all in a month!

 

FYSOP love,

Gabby and Becky