This weekend, local youth were engaged in two projects that would ultimately improve the health and well-being of their communities.
- On Saturday morning, I checked out an awesome mural project at the historic Louie Kee Market, at the corner of Tulare and B streets.
The mural, which is funded through the California Endowment’s Building Health Communitites initiative, is a collaborative effort between the kNOw Youth Media, the Muralistics, and Youth for Christ. The youth spent about a month and a half designing the mural, and are now bringing their ideas to life.
As I gazed at the 1,000-foot-long mural, which spans almost an entire block, San Francisco-based artist Josue Rojas explained how a colorful, youth-driven mural can impact the health of the lower-income neighborhood.
“It’s a source of pride,” said Rojas, who was covered in splattered paint from hat to toe. “If you’re proud of yourself, then you’ll feed yourself right. If you’re proud of yourself, you won’t settle for less.”
Gabriel Cortez, 15, said he hopes the mural’s message leaves an impact on neighborhood youth. In graffiti-style block script, the mural reads: “Fresno is ours; Let’s make Fresno a better place.”
“Kids should get involved in the community more,” said Cortez, as he took a break from painting a vinyl disk on a record turn table.
Miguel Angel Rodríguez, an 18-year-old Fresno City College student, said images on the mural — of people playing soccer, participating in sports, and practicing martial arts — show how people can interact together in the community.
The neighborhood, he said, “is not really so bad if you can interact with other people.”
The youth will be working on the mural for several weeks.
- From the mural, I headed toward north Fresno, where a group of middle school students from Reedley were among the 11 local teams competing in Canstruction.
During the event — which is being held across the country — student teams and businesses build sculptures out of thousands of cans of food. The food will later be donated to the Community Food Bank.
When I arrived at the event, the General Grant Middle School students were in the process of creating their “Si Se Puede/We Can Do It” exhibit.
The structure featured a farmworker’s hat and a graduation cap – representing the children’s parents and the children’s futures – and an apple, a peach, and a bunch of grapes – representing Reedley’s role in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley.
The entire structure was made out of 1,000 or 2,000, cans, which were either donated or purchased through monetary donations.
For the students, many of whom come from farmworker families, the sculptures represent how education can build a community, afterschool instructor Anastasia Van Well said. It also allowed the students to get involved in an effort that would give back to their community, she said.
“It’s so fun, and we get to donate, and we get to help the community,” 11-year-old Monique Guzman said of the event.
The structures created during Canstruction will be on display in the River Park shopping center from Oct. 21 – Oct. 30.
