We Labor, We Harvest and We Produce

During running for school board and since the campaign I had the opportunity to see Kansas City differently. Daily we are bombarded with issues which can temporarily detour us from our goals. I have pondered many nights of how I could be a solution to some of the issues. In meeting so many Kansas Citians and hearing their stories (some similar to mine and others drastically different), I was able to understand and cultivate my responsibly as a neighbor and fellow Kansas Citian. I thought long and hard of how my efforts would contribute to the success of the school district and our city.

It was in those conversations I understood what I needed to do. Because I understand every minute a  scholar in this district is not on the school premises, it is my responsibility to act in the best interest of the environment I share with them. I understand if I want this neighborhood, the schools, the city to change, then I can no longer live as if my daily interactions does not affect anyone else. I conjured up all of the positives and negatives about our community and began understanding how I was able to address the issues one by one within the limited time that I have.

Over the past few months I have been able to meet more parents, professionals and potential parents who want the same much like me: To live in a place with good schools and good neighborhoods. It is from them I stay energized of how to further address the issues through cooperative collaboration. It is from the scholars I understand how ensuring their environment is designed to produce the results they need in life. I was able to volunteer yesterday for opening day of a leadership camp. It was in the eyes of those 60 juniors & seniors I saw the "hope of something different." Some were used to the hustle & bustle of camp life and some were not. Parents were hesitant and trusting at the same time because they understood the opportunity their child will experience. It is from these moments I understand how as a neighbor I can ensure my neighborhood and Kansas City are providing access to our scholars to achieve academically & socially. It is from the mission of 113 that I continue to labor, harvest & produce for the youth in our community to live in a viable city. 

Since I Live In Walnut Grove #113

As many of my projects begin, I was having a discussion with a friend about his new job while sitting on my back porch. We talked about the challenges and triumphs he and the youth he works with face daily with the program and the community. We journeyed through the conversation and somehow arrived to how the environment and how it influences the scholars. As the tree cutter blatantly pointed out the week before, my eyes were opened to the jungled mess in my back yard. Years of overgrown bushes and unkept grass made me think of how I was influencing the environment the scholars in our community face daily by not taking the time to remove it.  I casually said to my friend, I would have many code violations if my yard was like this just 13 blocks west of my home in Waldo. As a community east of Troost, we long for the leaders to clean up the unkpet messes we have made or allowed through the years. Though I didn’t neglect my yard for years, the short time I have been here I will admit I did.

Even before the conversation I had “talked” about what I wanted to do with my yard, yet I hadn’t done too much about it besides raking the leaves. As a neighbor, it is not my neighborhood association's, the City’s or even my landlord’s responsibility to keep my yard clean…it is up to me. If I want my  family to grow up in a clean neighborhood, then it is up to me to start the process. So I did, with two 15 year olds and a 6 year old. We started in the front yard with the tree that causes my neighbors the most heartache. We then began removing the overgrown weeds, bushes and vines from the fence on the same side. As we pulled and cut and pulled and cut, we (more like I) realized we couldn't even make it through the whole backyard in one evening. 

I made an agreement with my neighbor that he would haul the debris to the City's dump, so it wouldn't sit on my sidewalk for months. During our conversation the next morning, he advised me that the yard hadn't been maintained for 15 years. My mouth dropped open at the amazement of how we allow our homes to become overridden with , then we complain that the leaders only put money into the Northland, East Jack and west of Troost. Well of course I went canvassing west of Troost on Saturday. Yes, there are more homes with beautiful grass and fresh new paint. But also YES vacancy, blithe and urban sprawl have occurred East of Troost. Less people have moved out, yet the same people living there are those who can't always afford fixing their homes and maintaining their yards, so it does happen west of Troost. 

So I started this project out as "If I Lived in Waldo" and understand it now to be "Since I Live in Walnut Grove..." Who knows, maybe by next summer Walnut Grove will be a beautiful place to live if we are able to address the small wins within our own control to get to the biggest win of all…A clean & safe neighborhood. 

113 For Urban Ed

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Why We 113ForUrbanEd!!

When volunteering in the community, it is very easy to become distracted by the overwhelming issues we face or the constant bureaucracy not benefiting the "common people." Even when we are on a mission to address the issue in which we started our journeys, we learn of the dependent issues prohibiting us we want to resolve those also which can further detour the mission. Community work like all other things in life are not easy, yet we all have a chance to make sustainable change to whatever issue we want resolved. My constant reminders to continue to advocate for education are when I receive a Facebook update from my cousins or nephew, when I pick up my God son from daycare every Tuesday or when my cousins call to work around my house for spending money. It is in those moments that I know no matter the racist, sexist, classist challenges I face currently, but in fifteen years when KCPS is a thriving educational system and Kansas City is a viable place for them [and their peers] to come and live after college that I will continue to advocate.

Since the school board campaign this past spring, I have been provided with a few opportunities to expose more people to what is or isn't occurring in the community and actually hear their solutions to the issues. Campaigning is a pruning time when one will clearly see who is for or against the issues one advocates for. Many will fall to the wayside, many will truly tell you what they think of you and the issue and the rest will continue to exist as if currently how we live is conducive to the community serve. Of the many, only two have continued to stand with me at the forefront advocating for education. It is on the strength of these wonderful ladies that I was able to stay focused and find my place to advocate. In a casual conversation with a close friend on a way to a leisure event, we coined 113. I discussed it with the ladies and they immediately were drawn to the idea because they were able to instantly identify with the ways in which we can support scholars outside of the schools.

Out of 168 hours in one week, a scholar attending KCPS is in the school environment on average of 55 hours per week (transportation, in class, extra-curricular activities, etc.). The remaining 113 hours they are in the community. Yes, yes they are hopefully sleeping about 56 hours or more of that time, but we still influence it. I give the example of the three high schoolers on my block. Because I am a young neighbor, the expectation is I would have people over all the time, party all week and not take care of my home/yard. If I was to do what some perceive will occur with my age, then I would be negatively influencing the three high schoolers environment because I would be disturbing their sleep, creating an unsafe environment for their families and causing environmental hazards. As a professional, I do not have 113 hours per week to devote directly to a scholar in my community, but what I can do in the hours I live my own life I can ensure I do not negatively interfere with the lives around me. So if that means I need to shed back my branches and ensure no one parks on my grass, then that is my 113 for the week.

Many can blame the parents, teachers, KCPS and the past/present school boards for the failure of our scholars; yet we who are neighbors (urban & suburban), family members, alumni, elected officials, business owners have some blame to step up to also. K.W. shared an understanding of how clean her front porch is contributes to the environment the scholars in her neighborhood see when walking to and from the bus. It is her passion to let any and everyone know she is an alumni of KCPS and other almumni of KCPS can be successful as she is currently a business owner in Kansas City. R.S. understands the need for access to fresh produce and created an awareness campaign of places near her home where fresh produce can be purchased. We may not be the oridnary influencers of education, yet we do understand how our actions affect the scholars and their families in our community and encourage others to begin thinking of how they can influence a scholar in KCPS within the realms of 113 For Urban Ed.

For more details about 113, check out our FB or Twitter for updates.
For details on K.W. or R.S., check out their FB pages.

Candace Koba

Progress on Olive

I chose to move to this neighborhood because of the access to the highway & public transportation and low crime statistics. Since I have been here, I have met neighbors I would want my children to grow up around when I have them. With this in mind, I thought it was important for me to give my part to the neighborhood or at least my own block. In April, I met my neighbor on the corner and asked him if I could clean the sidewalk on the side of his home so the scholars getting off of the bus can walk on it. His initial response was why, the City let the water stop up there for years? I explained it is important to have clean sidewalks so the scholars could use them and we can do the part the City won’t do. 

Since that day, my cousins and I cut down the branches & raked some leaves. A couple of weeks later, I came back from out of town and the whole sidewalk was cleared. This opportunity allowed my neighbor to communicate with another neighbor about removing the brush extending from his backyard onto their house. We are all talking to each other as a family and looking out for out block. This effort may seem very small in the scope of the whole city, yet it has now re-opened a chance for dialog for the neighbors on 73rd & Olive while we choose to live in safe & clean neighborhoods. 

This is why I have taken a stance to ensure the hours a scholar in my neighborhood isn't in school that they live in a safe safe and environmentally friendly community in which they are apart of. Review the slide show below to see the before, in progress and after pictures of our project. 

Progress on Olive