This is a poem written by Mai Young, a mother who is a dedicated volunteer and particpant at Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House.

This single house before me,
Resembles what we share.
Thank you to all our supporters,
For showing how much they care.
We have young, we have old,
We have programs, so we’ve been told.
Families, seniors and pre-schools too,
Indoor, outdoor, with all of you.
We eat, we sing, we laugh and cry,
We need this house so much, it’s no lie.

by Mai Young.

“So are you going to show magic this time, just as what you did with your brother two years ago?” I asked hopefully. How I wished he would be eager to go automatically.

“No! Absolutely no talent show for me!” The little boy refused at once.

I could not say anything that moment. My brain raced, searching for any good reason.

I remember in a parenting issue, it suggests parents should not push their children to complete the work that the parents never have done before. For example, a parent does not know piano and he/she wish his/her child learn it but unfortunately, the child is not interested in the subject. If the parent force the child to go for it , that will hurts the child. At least, the child learns under a pressure and that is useless.

However, I want my child to join the talent show. I don’t expect he does an excellent performance. I think it is good enough to see he stand on the stage and finish his work. But I understand it is difficult than saying. My husband and I are quiet and shy in front of a group. We are not that oral, so are our children.  I am scared to speak in public, not to mention to do a show. But I want a little change for us just because I think it’s better to be braver.

When I was in the Transition program in Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, I learnt that everyone has a comfort zone and if a person would take some risks or challenge out of the zone, his comfort zone will be extended and consequently he can easily deal with a new situation. It asks for brave, encouragement and determination. Explained this to my second born, I also told him his show would add more fun to the talent show because there’s no other child doing magic; Plus, the show was for fund raising for the school. The more audiences went, the school would receive more fund. Hearing my strong reasons, my second one ended up to agree with me. He promised to hand in the application form.

When it was getting closed to the date, my second kept telling me how nervious and scared he was. I could only ask him take it easy. Eventually he made it successfully. When asked for helper to go to his performance, everyone put hands up. After making a hard choice, he  invited a grade 7 boy and the principle to be his assistants while he did the magic. That made the show more joyful and entertained.

“Since you’ve done a great success, will you continue to do it next year?” I asked him with hope.

“No, I won’t do it any more. No talent show for me!” The little guy insisted.

“Will see. But I will find other ways to make you go again!” I said to myself.

Strathcona Community Center has basketball programs for children who is over 6-year-old on every Saturday,  and those are younger than 6 on every Sunday as well. Children practise in different age groups, such as grade 4 and younger, grade 5/6, grade 7/8, and older.  The program is in a very low cost. You only need to pay $10 for a child for a three months period. The program is ongoing in a whole year so your child can get in any time.

In the weekly 1-2 hour meeting, children will practise various basketball skills such as dribbling, passing, defence, layups, and shooting, etc…. They also learn how to cooperate with their playmates as a team. Ron is an amazing recreation coordinator. He and the other responsible coaches all together run the fantastic program for children. They has devoted themselves to helping children learning basketball through fun. 

Besides weekly practice, children will play games with other basketball team in the city during the game season. They also play playoff and championship.

My children are involved in the Strathcona team. They love the program because they not only play sport game, but they also keep on learning team work.

“We love to play in the games because we need to run around, looking for a right spot to shoot. Sometimes we need to assist our teammates to score. After then, we must rebound right away to defence.” My children explained to me how to play the game, “A point guy is a main position in a team to make the scores, but we found a good defender is equally important because he can steal the ball from his check and help his own teammates to score. That is the team work!”

As a parent, I like to see my children working hard at the court, trying their best and playing fairly. They do exercise, and not being trapped online; their bodies grow healthier because they keep on running, jumping, passing, and going low when defencing.

Parents often complain their children clung to electronics too much time. So, one way you can do is to take your children out to a sport team and cheer for their work.

Ya se esta acercando el dia de las elecciones en British Columbia y es importante participar en ellas.  La Red Latina de Trabajadoras ha organizado una sesion informativa acerca de la importancia del voto donde se tocaran varios temas relevantes al dia de las elecciones y que sera de gran utilidad. para ejercer nuestros derechos ciudadanos.  La reunion se llevara a cabo el proximo Martes 7 de Mayo en Mount Pleasant  N.H.  Adjuntamos el poster donde  encontraran la informacion sobre este nuevo evento de nuestra comunidad latina :   

  La importancia de votar – May 7th;

Miriam Moreno en uno de sus comentarios de un post anterior nos comparte una  importante informacion sobre el Programa de Apoyo para Mujeres Immigrantes y Refugiadas .

Cynthia Mejia nos amplia la informacion sobre este programa escribiendo lo siguiente:

Me siento muy contenta de este blog y las oportunidades que brinda para poder expresar o compartir nuestras ideas e informacion con la comunidad latina.
Aprovecho la oportunidad para compartir que el Lunes 29 de Abril va a comenzar un grupo de apoyo para mujeres latinas recien llegadas a Canada y que estan afrontando algun tipo de dificultad, el grupo sera todos los Lunes por 10 Lunes en South Vancouver N.H de 9:30 a 11:30 de la mañana y es patrocinado por ISS of BC, adjunto encontraran el poster con toda la informacion.

Spanish Poster 2013

Planted basil, chard, gai lan and sunflowers seeds, with a dash of water and a pinch of hope we wait and wait to see them grow…..planted by our beautiful children on Earth Day! A wonderful way to celebrate the occasion.

Como pueden observar en los comentarios  en  el post de Invitacion a participar en el blog en Espanol, Miriam Moreno nos envia una importante informacion sobre el programa ” Nadie es Perfecto”  en Espanol que se llevara a cabo el Viernes 26 de Abril a las 2 de la tarde en Mosaic ( Comercial y la 11). Si alguien esta interesada (o),  comunicarse con Alba Nury en Mosaic.

En ese mismo post hay  comentarios con mas informacion sobre diferentes paginas web y programas que iremos detallando  proximamente en el blog. Gracias a Carmen y a Miriam por la infromacion que nos han enviado .

Reiteramos nuestra invitacion a las familias latinas a participar en el blog y a promoverlo con los miembros de nuestra comunidad.