Yesterday, I gave a talk about community service to a large group of high school students. The students were from a variety of social action organizations including World Vision and a group called the Sunshine Club. The Sunshine Club, founded and directed by students offers tutoring and mentorship to local under-resourced students. I spoke about how I first got involved in community service and what I have gained over the years. I also gave examples of different programs I have been involved in. What I really wanted to communicate was that I view community service as a reciprocal relationship. I find it imperative to be open-minded when partnering with a community member and to keep your own assumptions, privilege, power, and biases in check. Social action entails self-reflection and the strong belief that all youth have incredible cultural strengths that need to be shared and encouraged. I also believe our efforts need to be informed by the cultural values and traditions of the communities we work with. All too often, people enter a community believing that they are the experts when in fact, they have not yet heard or understood the complex histories of the people they are working with. Professor Lisa Suzuki talks about entering a community in a way that "maintains the humanity and integrity of the group." I am looking forward to continuing these conversations with local Taiwanese high school students and learning more about the kinds of programs and relationships they are building here in Taipei and around the world.
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