AYPAL Southeast Asian Organizing Project

The AYPAL Southeast Asian Organizing Project seeks to gives youth concrete ways to make change in their own lives and in the broader community. Youth in Oakland do not have access to quality education, jobs, or meaningful activities to do after school. I am trying to give young people in my community a voice and create ways to build their collective power to make Oakland a better place. Through my work with Asian Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL) my social change objective is two fold: - To provide a safe space for young Southeast Asians (Vietnamese, Cambodian, Mien) to learn about their culture, history and to gain skills in grassroots organizing - To affirm the unique experiences of refugees and their children healing from the trauma of the Vietnam War and to affirm that these communities can lend a distinct angle into the larger Youth Movement For Social Change