Author: fizur-philip@cooperhealth.edu

Among the most underprivileged ethnic communities in Serbia, the Roma largely live in segregated settlements on society’s fringes, facing poverty, joblessness and prejudice. A UNICEF study published last year showed that over one-third of girls in Roma settlements in Serbia aged 15-19 are already married. Of them, 16% were married before they were 15. Many experience significant abuse and neglect. Now, over the last 18 months, activists have warned that the COVID-19 pandemic has further fueled the social isolation of marginalized groups and increased their poverty. Disruptions of regular schooling due to the virus lockdowns have made it even harder for Roma children to stay in the system. Much of this has gone unnoticed on the world’s stage, but an all-female Roma band in Serbia is seeking to change that by using music to preach women’s empowerment within their community, challenging some deeply rooted traditions and centuries-old male domination.

Their songs are about “women chained” in abuse witnessed by generations, or teenage brides being forced into marriage by their fathers. And they tell women to seek love, fight back and stand up for their right to be equal with men. Formed in 2014, “Pretty Loud” symbolically seeks to give a louder voice to Roma girls, encourage education and steer them away from the widespread custom of early marriage. The band has gained popularity and international attention, performing last year at the Women of the Year Festival in London.

Sinani, 24, said the idea for an all-female band was born at education and artistic workshops run for Roma, or Gypsies, by a private foundation, Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats. The girls initially danced in GRUBB’s boys’ band and then decided they wanted one of their own, she said. “They (GRUBB) named us ‘Pretty Loud’ because they knew that women in Roma tradition are not really loud,” she said.

Learn more about Pretty Loud on their GRUBB page at https://www.wearegrubb.com/pretty-loud.

Welcome to our second installment in our Mindfulness Booster series.

As life continues to inch towards some semblance of normalcy there will be a natural tendency to lose sight of some of the good habits we built during the pandemic. Whether we miss a day in our newly found exercise streak or the late night snacks start creeping back in, a regression to the mean is normal. Acknowledging that, we here at the RRT want to provide some encouragement to keep up one healthy habit – mindfulness based practice.

Today we move on to review another basic skill, building awareness.

This exercise is designed to cultivate a heightened sense of awareness and appreciation for simple daily tasks and the results they achieve.

First think of something you do every day more than once that you take for granted. For example, unlocking a door. Stop for a moment as you put the key into the lock, feel the mechanism at work and how your body and the lock works together.

Notice how you feel in that moment then you first prise open the door and how you feel about where the door will lead you.

Pick a task and do this process for it the whole day.

As life continues to inch towards some semblance of normalcy there will be a natural tendency to lose sight of some of the good habits we built during the pandemic. Whether we miss a day in our newly found exercise streak or the late night snacks start creeping back in, a regression to the mean is normal. Acknowledging that, we here at the RRT want to provide some encouragement to keep up one healthy habit – mindfulness based practice. Today we start with a return to one of the more basic skills, mindful listening.

It is natural for humans to want to analyze every sound we hear and integrate it into what we think we know about what is doing on, consider the implications for the future, and so on. While the can be helpful at times, at other times we want to approach all the sounds in a non-judgmental way, just noticing what is there.

Most of what we hear, or at least what we attend to, is influenced by past experiences and expectations. With mindful listening, we can achieve a neutral, present awareness and so reduce our level of reactivity, leading to a lower sense of distress.

For this exercise, we encourage you to find a piece of music you have never heard before. Having a hard time coming up with one? Check out this list of 38 Classical Hidden Gems or check out the lesser known work by Haydn below, String Quartet in E-Flat, Op. 20/1.

If you have headphones, putting them on may add to the experience. Once you are ready, close your eyes and hit play. Do not judge the music by its genre, artist, or title. Let yourself focus on the song you have chosen, note by note, instrument by instrument. Follow the piece where it takes you, and notice what thoughts, images, or sensations arise in your body.

The idea is to just listen without preconception of the lyrics or instruments. Keep listening, and let yourself be intrigued by what you find!

In a continued effort to recognize not just the challenges brought by COVID but also the sometimes unrecognized gifts, the RRT is always on the lookout for the ways in which people used their time in lockdown to do good things. The latest example is the results of survey research commissioned by Draper Tools that suggests that 8 in 10 youth think gardening is cool, and half would rather visit a garden center than a nightclub! A poll of 2,000 people found horticulture has enjoyed a renaissance among 18 to 34 year-olds during lockdown. The results suggest the primary motivators were a desire to make their homes and gardens a nicer place to be, to improve mental health, and create a space they can escape to. In addition 72 percent intend to keep on investing in plants, tools, equipment, and more to fulfil their vision for their garden. You can read more about the results of this survey at goodnewsnetwork.org.

While many of us have fond memories of our youth, the process of maturing is rarely an easy one. Finding your feet in the world while it is being shaken by a pandemic made that process all the more difficult. Recently, writer Eloise Barry profiled the story of three young people in particular who have exemplified recently and managed to succeed despite the pandemic. These individuals overcame homelessness and trauma, innovated around financial limitations, and used the grief of losing a mother to bring something great into the world. Read the stories of Hannah Green, Myles Jardine, and Frankie Davies at Positive.News.

With so many school events canceled because of COVID-19, yearbook editors haven’t had much to work with. NPR spoke with a pair of graduating editors chose to document a year of mostly remote schooling. Solutions include replacing missing pictures with empty tiles from a Zoom class, and taking a more journalistic approach and try to dive more into the student body away from school, since the events that would have been documented in school did not take place this year. The interview can be heard below, and the full article available at https://www.npr.org/2021/06/02/1002604408/the-school-has-left-the-building-the-making-of-a-pandemic-yearbook

The Lollipop Theater Network (LTN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing current movies and entertainment to children confined to hospitals nationwide due to chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Like many, LTN has been forced to change how they pursue their mission due to COVID, especially given that their work is with sick children. To that end, LTN recently arranged a surprise for one young patient from Hamilton star Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington in the original Broadway cast. Watch the video below of this 12-year-old with a with common immune variable deficiency as Mr. Jackson unexpectedly Zoom bombs here call, and check out the work of the Lollipop Theater Network here. 

From https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ – Everyone has a COVID story now, and for those aged 16-18, the story likely has something to do with school and extra-curricular disruptions during a critical period of their lives.

We often like to say they were the best years of our lives, and noticing this—despite the fact that he didn’t even have a child on the podium—Graham Williams wanted to make sure that Denver Public Schools graduates from the ‘Class of COVID’ had something special to make them feel celebrated, as well as something to turn to if they ever needed advice.

As the CEO and founder of Impart, a unique gift-giving company, Williams put together a graduation book brimming with life lessons and advice from Colorado’s celebrities big and small.

After all, what could be more inspiring for a high school football player who hasn’t been able to play because of the lockdowns than a heartfelt message from Payton Manning?

“We’re big believers in the power of sharing life lessons, and we thought ‘Boy, we see a need in the community where these high schoolers have really had a tough time and shown their mettle, and we’ve got a platform where we can use the tools we have to put a gift in front of all of“We wanted to say: ‘one, that the entire community is behind you and you’re not alone in this, and two, what a great job you’ve done in difficult times.’”

Featuring everyone from local news anchors to philanthropists, athletes, artists, and civil servants, the 21-page book—which you can download for free at home—poses a simple question to each person featured: If you could go back and tell your high school graduate self one thing, what would it be?

“Passion and love will take you further and fulfill you more than anything else will,” says Missy Franklin, a five-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer.

“Question everything and never turn down an adventure,” says Colorado House Representative Jennifer Bacon.

“Live your life, not the life you think your parents, friends, or society want you to live,” says KBCO, 97.3 FM radio host DJ Keefer.

“What we wanted to do was gather a diverse and inspiring set of responses based on different experiences, and we wanted those responses to resonate with the students of Denver schools,” explains William.

“We didn’t know what was going to come back when we made the request, but we were really gratified at how the community really rallied around the students, wanted to show their support… and how genuine the respondents were.”

Hopefully with 21 pieces of wisdom, the students of Denver schools will feel a little more prepared for life beyond high school classrooms—and that their graduation was a special day after all.