I heard Dr. Muhammad Yunus talk quite a few years ago at UBC. I only remember the story about how he met his first microloan recipient and one sentence: “We took what we knew about conventional banks, then turned it all upside down. That’s Grameen Bank.” That’s what I want to do. One day. Everyday. Turn structures upside down so they focus on the majority. So they work for the 99%. So they benefit those who are often voiceless and invisible – […]
Here’s a short and sweet one I keep telling myself over the last few years: “If the world were to end tomorrow, I would want to say ‘at least I did my best,’ not ‘I wish I’d tried harder.” *** I have a habit of reading most of the notices on the walls at UBC. I’m one of those strange students that stand in front of notice boards for 5 minutes at a time reading every poster or announcement or […]
I was profiled on Sustainable Cities International’s website as one of their youth interns, as part of their United Nations International Youth Day celebrations. Thank you SCI!
In October 2011, I was one of the primary speakers at a conference – Food for All: A Conference on Poverty and Global Food Security – at UBC. It was an amazing day filled with energy and inspiring people making a difference for our food security. I shared my experiences working as an urban agriculture project officer in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with Sustainable Cities International. The conference organizers promised to have videos of our talks out soon. I will post […]
I was featured in my faculty‘s annual report last year! Open publication – Free publishing (Please click on the “Open publication” link, as there is some problem with the embedding. Thank you!)
I was reading a short, interesting article about Filipina Immigrant Girls’ Lived Experience in Japan. Then I realised I was most interested in the mentioning of (emphasis mine): “Most scholars focus on how immigrant youth are victimized by an assimilationist-oriented education system…But this focus allows only a small glimpse of their lived experience. Yes, these teenage Filipino youth often struggle in their new homes and schools. Yet, a broader view of their experience reveals their human agency, possibilities, and how […]
You know how sometimes you’ve been told a certain teaching or experience, yet you don’t really understand until one day you were put into a similar situation? Or sometimes you thought you understood something intellectually or ‘rationally,’ yet it doesn’t really resonate within you until you’ve actually experienced it? I think those are called life lessons. No matter how much you are willing to try to listen or to rationalize or to emphasize, you have to be in someone’s shoes […]
Here’s a pick-me-up post: Reminder why I want to work in something meaningful, big or small: http://blogs.landfood.ubc.ca/tiffanyt/2011/05/08/706/ And something a friend mentioned recently: “Things are going tough, but I’m tougher.” It’s good to look back at what I’ve posted in the past to remind myself why I chose the way I live.
I was chatting with my parents (after a long break) yesterday online. I mentioned that I had started looking at graduate studies scholarships because now’s the time to start applying if I want to be in school in 1 to 1.5 years. I said that there’s no way I’m going to go to graduate school without a scholarship. I can’t afford the debt. Plus, if they don’t give me money, it means they aren’t interested enough in my contributions. My […]
I’m so nervous about the results from the Canadian elections today. I think if Stephen Harper gets re-elected, I will stop saying I’m Canadian. And maybe not return until a new leader is in place. I’m not kidding, I can barely concentrate on work! (Well it doesn’t help that I’m writing reports, which I don’t fancy much.) I would be frantically checking updates online tomorrow morning!
