July 15st-16th, Association on Higher Education And Disability 2009 Conference

At the 31st AHEAD Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada, Olivia Emilia (Mobility International, USA), Jim Kessler (Director of Disability Services at UNC Chapel Hill and Past-President of AHEAD), and I gave a presentation on "Tools and Strategies to Adapt to Change in Support During Overseas Study." During the conference, I met Fran Edelen who is the Diversity Outreach Program Manager for the Central Intelligence Agency.

March 29th, 2nd Annual Community Wheelchair Basketball Challenge

Sonoma County Blazers Vs. Napa Police Department and City of Napa Fire Department

Susan Rotchy, Ms Wheelchair California 2007, and I made an appearance at the wheelchair basketball tournament in Napa. We watched the athletes played a tough game. But in the end, the Sonoma County Blazers triumphed. For those who are interested in wheelchair basketball, the Blazers are always recruiting for their team. Please contact Jason Foell at jason@kochconstruction.net. After the game, I drew out the winning ticket number for the raffle prize. All the proceeds benefited the Napa Spinal Cord Injury Network.

Morgan Hill July 4th Parade

Morgan Hill had its annual 4th of July parade to celebrate our country's independence. The day was full of cheers and festivities as 44,000 people watched floats, bands, and other performances go by in downtown. The crowd and I were buzzing with energy as we greeted each other with "Happy 4th of July!"

July 2nd, City of Davis ADA Standing Subcommittee

Subcomittee Members: George Moore (Chairperson), Lena Contreras, Shula Shoup, Cecilia Von Beroldington

Staff: Elvia Garcia-Ayala, Teri Spiritosanto, Cameron Gibbs

The City of Davis ADA Standing Subcommittee meets every odd month to address issues of accessibility in Davis. It was an honor to be invited by Council Member Lamar Heystek and Chairperson George Moore to be part of the Subcommitte. However, since I will be moving to Monterey to start my graduate program in August, I will not be able to join this great group of advocates. They have many exciting projects coming up, please join them in their efforts to make Davis a disability-friendly environment.

City of Davis Proclamation

City of Davis Mayor Sue Greenwald reading my proclamation at the City Council meeting. To read the proclamation online, please visit: http://www.city.davis.ca.us/meetings/councilpackets/20080624/01_PROC-Ms_Wheelchair_CA.pdf

June 1st - 9th, Rural Education and Action Development

After distributing wheelchairs in Ongole, I extended my time in India with a non-governmental organiztion called READ. They recently built a Disability Center to provide services and aid to people with disabilities in Andimadam, India. Some of the sponsor children in READ were HIV positive and orphans. Again, I saw many cases of young people with disabilities with polio and leprosies. During my visit, I got a chance to play with the children, to distribute school supplies, and to encourag them. You can find out more about the organization by visiting http://www.sahaya.org/read/read.html.

May 21st-June 1st, Wheels for the World India

I went with Joni and Friends Wheels for the World to Ongole, India to distribute 200 wheelchairs to people with disabilities. Many recipients came to the distribution site either being carried by their parents or crawling to the site. Having a disability in India is seen as a curse so people with disabilities must accept their sin and not ask for any rights in society. Women with disabilities are treated worse than men with disabilities. For example, on the last day of distribution, local organizers were afraid that the wheelchairs were running out. There was still a long line of recipients waiting. The women who were already in front of the line were then forced by the local organizers to go to the back of the line. Women with disabilities were viewed as third-class citizens. Moreover, these women did not speak up or advocated for themselves. After learning about this, our team spoke to the local organizers and educated them that women with disabilities should not be discriminated. The local organizers then put the women with disabilites back in front of the line. As an Asian woman with disability, I understand some of the challenges women with disabilities face daily. It is common for us to have low self-esteem because society has told us that we are valuable human beings. But this is not true, we have the skills and knowledge to accomplish many things in life. We need to believe in our abilities. Therefore, I want encourage all women with disabilites to speak up for yourselves and one another. If not, the consequence of injustice and discrimination will continue to permeate in our society.

Once the recipients received their wheelchairs, I was able to train them on how to use the wheelchairs safely. For many of them, it was their first day of independence. To learn more about Joni and Friends WFTW, please visit: http://www.joniandfriends.org/

May 15th, Sacramento River Cats Game

After speaking at the Capitol, my husband and I went to watch the River Cats play against the Salt Lake Bees with the kids and teens from Access Leisure. Although the Bees won, it was fun cheering for our home team with fun conversations, ice cream, and hot dogs!

May 15th, Capitol Action Day

California State Senator Michael Machado

Assemblymember Lois Wolk

Camisha Grandberry, 1st Runner Up MWC 2008, Mrs. Jesse Unruh, and Ruthee Goldkorn, Executive Director of MWC.



Speaking at the Capitol

May 9-11th, Whole Earth Festival

The Whole Earth Festival, celebrated each year in Davis CA, is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the earth that we live on. In keeping with the festival's "green" theme, I was able to share how Joni and Friends recycles unused wheelchairs and takes them to the developing world where they are much needed. We met many new friends and encountered a good deal of support. Thanks again to everyone for stopping by!