ACE Reflections

I learned a lot from our ACE visit today. The different stories and struggles of the different members really moved me and made me reflect upon how my life has shaped up until now because each of them had such a different story.

The tour was also equally interesting. I grew up in a very dense, urban environment, and it kind of felt like being at home because of the denseness. However, the pollution in Dudley square was quite intense. I don't know if I was imagining it, but I could feel my nose and throat feeling grimy with each breath - like back home when neighboring countries had their slash and burn season and the winds brought over the particulate matter from those activities.

The AirBeat monitor installed in Roxbury reminded me of a similar system we have/had in Singapore. We use a Pollutions Standard Index (PSI) (on a scale of 0-500) to measure air quality at a given time. These numbers were broadcast on TV and written in newspapers daily for people to see. More information on this system can be found here.

Visiting ACE showed me how much people can do when they are shown that they have power. ACE's modus operandi of empowering people who have been excluded from many processes is very powerful and something I might like to look into more in the future.