Promote health in 100 teens in Portland, Oregon

Growing up in a family struggling financially forced Kim to face a myriad of obstacles. Her parents, who escaped Vietnam and eventually settled in Oregon, had to overcome many hardships while adapting to a new culture and raising three young children. Kim’s family situation opened her to realizations of life in a marginalized environment that would soon trigger her desire to better herself and those around her.

While she prepares for medical school, Kim is giving back to her community. One of the ways she reaches out to her community is by volunteering to mentor youth living in similar circumstances as her own. With MIKE Program, Kim is able to infuse her growing dedication to health to inspire the next generation of youth.

Each week, Kim enthusiastically greets her team of ninth graders at De La Salle North Catholic High School with questions and encouragement. The teens immediately respond with conversations until class begins. Kim is one of 10 mentors this semester at the north Portland school who are guiding youth toward healthy behaviors that can decrease the impact of chronic diseases.

Each class session with MIKE begins with a healthy snack. Kim and the teens discuss what makes the snacks healthy and how each food might fit into their family routine at home. It’s one of many ways MIKE helps guide youth toward increasing their knowledge and skills around promoting good health.

“I strive to be the mentor that I needed,” says Kim. “As a mentor, I am not the only one making an impact, for they have impacted me equally.”

Kim says her undergraduate work in biology, along with research into poverty issues, helps position her to be a better representative for communities of color and low socio-economic status.

“My father was the sole provider of our family, so we grew up with very little money,” says Kim. She says her mother was unable to work due to beatings from security workers with the Vietnam government when she tried to flee the country. As she grew up, she saw how poverty and racism affected the health of those most vulnerable. “I know how life can be hectic and misfortune can come at any time.”

Kim pushed passed her struggles by becoming involved in everything she could in school with a determination to become a leader within her community. She began by mentoring youth at her high school, then expanded when she attended Portland State University. She was president of the Portland State Women’s Rugby team and served in student government.

“I realized how influential the power of representation can be, even on a small scale,” says Kim. “Often times it is difficult for students of color to see themselves as health leaders if they don’t ever see any representation.”

Kim returned to MIKE to mentor for a second year, this year, to continue introducing youth to new health concepts, build on healthy skills and open the youth to new opportunities in health care careers. Kim says all her experiences help shape her commitment to becoming a primary care physician and working in underrepresented communities.

“MIKE is important to me because it allows me to work with the youth,” she says. “Coming from a low income family, I wish I had a program like this when I was a freshman in high school.”

That’s why your support helps give Kim the opportunity to directly impact the lives of young people in her community. Together, we can all create a healthier outcome.

Links:

• MIKE Program website

A visit to a dialysis clinic opened a world of new realities and possibilities for one MIKE youth. As a young man in MIKE at Miller Education Center West in Hillsboro, Oregon, Josh enrolled in the program to learn about ways he could use each day to be healthier. After visiting the clinic, Josh wanted to do much more.

“I loved how we went to the dialysis center and actually saw how it worked,” said Josh. He and his classmates visited the Fresenius Kidney Care Scholls Ferry Clinic in Beaverton as part of MIKE’s health education on the impact of chronic diseases leading to kidney failure. Nick, the lead technician at the clinic, introduced the youth to the facility and invited them to speak with some of the patients.

One of the patients, Mario, described how many of the choices he made throughout his life led to some chronic illnesses that eventually stopped his kidneys from functioning. Josh expressed his surprise that everyday actions he considered normal could lead to such consequences.

MIKE guides youth through structured activities that help them understand how habits can lead toward positive or negative health outcomes. MIKE youth develop knowledge and skills to embrace and promote healthier behaviors that they can use throughout their lifetimes.

Josh said that meeting Mario encouraged him to do better in his personal behaviors.

“I asked him how dialysis affected his life,” said Josh. “He said that he could no longer work and couldn’t do a lot things he did before.” After Mario described his weekly sessions at the clinic and the strain it put on his family, Josh began realizing how lifestyle behaviors affect more than the individual.

Josh discovered how one person’s actions can impact others. “I was impressed on how Mario wasn’t giving up,” said Josh. “Just knowing you are a father, a son, a brother, an uncle is precious,” he said. “It’s one thing that motivates Mario to keep going—and me.”

The meeting with Mario so impressed Josh, that he was determined to take his story further. By the end of MIKE’s programming, youth develop and implement a health leadership project which they take out into their communities.

For his project, Josh convinced his team to focus on the impact of kidney failure in an effort to help compel his younger peers to act earlier to improve their lifestyle behaviors. Josh wanted to frame his project around Mario and the clinic.

With his teammates, Kiarhr, Miguel and Katt, Josh worked on replicating a few of the aspects of the procedure. The team worked with their mentor Adrienne to gather the items and create posters. They presented their project to eighth graders at Poynter Middle School in Hillsboro.

Josh read a journal entry about his visit with Mario at the clinic, while his teammates showed their audience some of the devices used in dialysis. As Katt passed around the needle used for the procedure, she kept repeating, “You don’t want to use this!”

While Josh’s team focused on the impact of kidney failure, another team highlighted ways everyone can take toward healthier behaviors. They pointed to simply choosing water over carbonated beverages, avoiding junk food and exercising more.

“Being in front of the class was the best part,” said Miguel. Josh added, “I learned it is really easy to teach other students about the topic.”

Advancing health in communities directly impacted chronic diseases is a core foundation of MIKE Program. Supporters like you provide the capacity for MIKE to empower youth to reach out to their peers, families and others for a healthier society.

Links:

• MIKE Program website