 Since January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month, I thought it would be the perfect time to share both my experiences conducting educational workshops across nail salons in the Greater Boston area, as well as my motivations behind them.
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 The 8th annual State of Asian Women’s Health Conference was held virtually on November 12, 2020, and this year’s theme was “Trust in the Time of COVID: Best Practices for Culturally Responsive Care & Support”. Almost 100 community members, from students to health professionals, registered for our first virtual conference! Conference objectives included:
To get involved in next year’s annual conference, please email info@asianwomenforhealth.org.  My work with Asian Women for Health is currently focusing on community outreach, primarily to conduct educational workshops about breast and cervical health and screenings. I have been mainly making contact with the Vietnamese community, specifically nail salon owners, to survey how COVID19 has impacted their health and to understand the barriers around getting screened during this time.
 Back in July, we featured AWFH’s fellowship intern through Tisch Summer Fellows, Jennifer Liu. Jennifer will continue to contribute her graphic design and web skills with AWFH this fall, and we are excited to showcase her talent!
Jennifer has lived in Jakarta and Singapore, and is a sophomore at Tufts University studying mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering. Her passions include neuroscience, graphic design, as well as journalling! Jennifer hopes to pursue a career in tech, creating technology that is both accessible to marginalized communities and challenge structural inequalities in society. At Tufts, she is the design chair for the Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia Students Association (SIMSA), and is also involved in the Women in Tech Conference.  APIAVote organized a series of workshops as part of the National AAPI Leadership Summit from June 29 - July 2. The purpose of this programming was to offer education on salient issues impacting the APIA community, and compel community members to take action and register to vote. One of the workshops on July 1, “Race and Identity in Leadership”, explored participants’ views of “good leadership” and how white supremacist characteristics have contributed to that narrative.
 May is both Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, and while these important occasions have come to an end, it is important to recognize that there are available resources, especially on how to support Asian and Asian Pacific Islander (AAPI) children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 60-minute webinar, co-sponsored by the Asian Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), pressing questions from parents, caregivers, and educators on how to support AAPI children during this pandemic were addressed by child development experts, touching on not only how it fits in a broader and historical context of racism, but also the different ways parents could protect their children.
 Photo credit: Amy Manion
We met by the infamous Feidler statue that I apparently never recalled seeing on the Charles River Esplanade. For some of us, it was our first time there. It was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day. Plenty of people were enjoying the park just like us. There were people riding bikes, running, dogs walking, swimming, and sitting. There were beautiful flowers and trees, the Boston skyline, the river. Water skiers caught our attention. We captured it all. We were tasked with observing, being mindful of our surroundings, walking, being curious, and capturing it on the camera. A brief overview of photography themes were mentioned: color, texture, rule of thirds, before we took off to venture on our own. We went in groups but ended up each coming back separately, finding what we fancied, what made us take a second look. We came together to share what we had captured. We ended with holding hands and stating what we were thankful for, ready to start the rest of our day with a grateful mindset. It was more than just the photography. We shared our stories of what brought us to the event, how we knew each other, how we were all connected. We shared our experiences, our struggles and strengths. It was all very spontaneous and natural. Asian women uniting to reflect and support one another. It was extremely empowering and a day I will not forget. The photograph that stood out for me is not so special in it’s composition. It’s something I never would have seen if I had not been inspired to walk mindfully and observe my surroundings. A sticker on the side of a public trash receptacle with a recycling symbol on the side made this everyday, common object stand out for me, take a second look, and take a picture of it. It’s nice to be reminded of something that we can all use and practice more of.
 The following is a brief recount of my hospital stay after my delayed left DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) flat reconstruction surgery. I hope by sharing my experience, others might gain a sense of what it is like to have this type of operation and what to expect in the hospital. I would also like to dedicate this to all who cared for me at the health center.
Chien-Chi Huang is a middle-age Chinese American breast cancer survivor from Taiwan, who wishes to start a pilot project to empower the other Asian American breast cancer survivors with the skills and knowledge to do outreach and prevention work in their own communities. She currently resides near Davis Square, Somerville, MA with her husband, two teenagers, a dog, and a cat. |
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