Healing Our Community One recipe at a time: A Prescription For Health Healing and Longevity

By Mark A. Wright

Healing Our Community, one recipe at a time, is an enlightening prospective of healing health and wellness and seeks to provide the reader with tools needed to undergo their personal healing and transformation that will cause a ripple effect that will change their life and their community. The book seeks to do the following: 
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Authors Unite Publishing
• Release date: Apr 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781951503123

Book preview

PART 1

INTRODUCTION

Healing our Community addresses some of the underlying concerns that have contributed to the decay of health in our community.

This journal examines a combination of socioeconomic, educational and cultural factors that may be some of the underlying causes of the challenges we face in our community and how we can address them.

Socio-Economics

A study of socioeconomic status within our community includes a combination of economic and sociological components of a person’s work experience, economic and social position in relation to their household income, education, and occupation, and it’s typically segmented into three levels (high, middle, and low). When placing a family or individual into one of these categories, their income, education, and occupation can be assessed. Depending on your level, you will have a different experience as it relates to the community.

The relation and importance of socioeconomic status and low income and education have been shown to be strong indicators of a range of physical and mental health problems, including respiratory viruses, arthritis, coronary disease, and schizophrenia. These problems may be due to environmental conditions in the workplace, since people in the lower end of the economic spectrum tend to have jobs that are more susceptible to environmental exposure. This information is important because it helps us to understand where some of the health-related concerns may originate.

Apart from the economic stress faced at the lower end of the economic spectrum, the challenges of the associated neighborhoods arise. The access to quality, choice and good sources of nutrition are contributing factors. In our lower socioeconomic communities, we must make choices between organic or conventional foods, and there is a lack of access to healthy options in the supermarkets nearby. These limitations force us to make unhealthy choices to feed our families. From this information, we have a better understanding of how everything in our community impacts healing and health.

Socioeconomic status, whether assessed by income, education, or occupation, is linked to a wide range of health problems, including low birthweight, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.¹ Lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher mortality rate, and the greatest disparities occur in middle adulthood (ages 45–65.)

Socioeconomic status is a key tool which we can use to measure its influence on health and education and how to deal with the implications.

Education

According to an article by Marilyn Windle, education is perhaps the most basic SES component since it shapes future occupational opportunities and earning potential. It also provides knowledge and life skills that allow persons to gain more ready access to information and resources to promote health. The level of education, income, and occupation relate to risk factors for cardiovascular disease and many other ailments, the lack of education remains a fundamental link to many health concerns.

Education is key to health equality in our community. It is important that we encourage and advocate for more years of schooling and access at every level, especially in early childhood, which is the foundation of learning. The more educated a community is, the better it is equipped to elevate itself on the economic scale.

Education is fundamental, and we must take initiative and get involved in community-based programs that are designed to prevent sickness and disease, improve health and enhance the quality of life. Community-based programs are important because they play an important role in addressing community concerns such as chronic disease and prevention, substance abuse, nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention. Every community is different and may focus on or prioritize needs accordingly. For example, some communities may be educated in some important areas but lack resources to execute action plans. Others may have the resources but are bound by cultural norms. Others may be more affluent but still lack community bonding, willpower and education to make healthy choices in the supermarkets that are available.

Every community should create neighborhood learning and development centers and work to promote learning and social development. They should also work with individuals and groups in and out of their communities to institute programs and activities aimed at community development. The purpose of these centers should be to develop the capacity of individuals and groups of all ages through their actions and the capacity of communities to improve quality of life. The key here is to make the learning and development centers accessible so that all are welcome to participate.

Community education builds upon all the occupations and skills available within the community and utilizes these skills, tools, and approaches for learning and social development programs. The individuals involved in community education must work together with educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities… the formal education system; whereas, community education itself is sometimes called informal education.

The formal education system has overlooked large sections of the population in certain communities by failing to provide learning and development opportunities in poorer areas. Community decision makers must advocate for the equal allocation of resources to all communities.

I want to challenge community educators to develop programs and approaches designed for working within local communities and especially with disadvantaged people. The programs and approaches may include formal educational methods, community organizing and group work, skill building, and access to government programs.

Income

In addition to providing means for purchasing health care, higher incomes can provide better nutrition, housing, schooling, and recreation opportunities. It is documented that income level affects the distribution of resources within a community, and this has been linked to higher or lower mortality rates. Underinvestment in public good and services and social programs contributes to the experience of inequality in the more stratified societies and this experience, in turn, affects health. Health effects all levels of the economic spectrum differently. On the higher end, it may strongly reflect relative status, while at the lower part it may be linked to something as drastic as absolute deprivation.

A 1990 article by Mare, Moore and Hayward, concluded that occupational status is directly and indirectly related to health because an individual’s position within the social structure dictates access to resources and can have implications on health and mortality. Every job has its own set of demands and rewards that can influence health, such as physically hazardous or psychologically stressful working conditions and demands or an extra 20-minute physical exercise work break reward.

Culture

Culture is identity. It’s a recognition of what the community, tribe or group of people belong to. Cultural identity is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person’s self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture. Culture and heritage reflect and shape values, beliefs, and aspirations, thereby defining people’s national identity.

Some customs and norms are what identify us a tribe, and others have kept us in the dark ages and contribute to the health epidemic that many face today in the community. Communities must evolve with the changing tide without the loss of identity and culture. Many of the health tales that were passed down through generations have proven to be detrimental to preserve our species.

Cultural markers like art, ethnicity, food, language, music, nationality, and religion can positively or negatively impact a child’s ability to grow under the major developmental domains. These domains include cognitive, emotional, social, physical, and language.

Loosely defined, culture refers to the shared values, beliefs and norms of a specific group of people. Culture, therefore, influences the manner in how we learn, live and behave. Because of this, many theorists believe that culture is an important shaper of personality. One of the general assumptions asserting the effect of culture on personality is that people who are born and raised in the same culture share common personality traits. Living in a multicultural community can have its own challenges, so we must learn how to practice our cultural norms while respecting those of another. Culture and religion are two of the most contentious markers in our community. In this book, I am hoping to use food and education to bridge some of the divides within our communities.

THE RECIPE

In order to heal, we must:

A. Promote a culture of diversity and inclusion

B. Build character as a foundation for quality education

C. Get everyone involved, including parents, teachers, social workers, civic and religious leaders, cultural and youth organizations, resource officers, counselors and community members

We must develop a shared sense of commitment among all our community partners to heal people in a way that is respectful of our children, youth, elders, spirituality and culture. Implementing recipes or guidelines will allow our communities to strive to nurture a spirit of togetherness and shared responsibility. We can then… achieve this shared vision among our community partners such as traditional healers, faith-based practitioners, community activists, civil rights and social justice leaders, community leaders, leaders of identity and immigrant groups through inclusion and family conversations.

Healing our Community, the Recipe

In order to heal, we must diagnose our illness, develop a treatment plan, and then institute a prevention plan to thwart recurrence.

A. Diagnosis

B. Treatment

C. Recovery

WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

A Recipe For Healing

Awelcoming and inclusive community is one where its citizens and members feel safe, respected, and comfortable in being themselves and expressing all aspects of their identities and orientation. It is a place where each person shares a sense of belonging with its other members; it is home.

At the core, it should be based on ideas of integration, in contrast to assimilation, which is focused on facilitating the process of new members of a community, including immigrants, refugees, people moving from reserves and other parts of the province or country.

Here is a list of key concepts of integration that is helpful in demonstrating how inclusive communities should reflect and engage all their members.

1. Inclusiveness, sense of belonging, feeling of acceptance, establishing roots and making connections, a sense of giving and taking.

2. Ability to contribute to the community, free of barriers, where everybody feels safe, where trust is present, and mistakes are learning opportunities.

3. The community recognizes contributions.

4. Cultural identity remains strong and is seen as an asset.

5. The experience and definition of integration is personal.

6. Individuals no longer need specialized programs and services that are different from what the mainstream needs.

7. Education for newcomers and established community members to become a welcoming community; it involves attitudes, values, mindsets and correcting wrong or inaccurate perceptions.

8. Having a voice that is taken seriously in a community in which one identifies as belonging and is recognized by all as a true community member.

9. Non-judgmental and non-discriminatory regardless of race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion.

Welcoming and inclusive communities offer services in ways that are appropriate to meet the needs of all residents. They create opportunities for members to share their voices, cultivate mutual respect as they strive to engage people and acknowledge injustice of the past and present, so that they can move forward with the benefits of everyone’s strengths.

Welcoming and inclusive communities support celebrations of society’s multicultural identity while cultivating deeper roots of identities.

We have heard the term cross training before. It gives an individual or group an opportunity to become knowledgeable about another person’s position or job function as it relates to your job or department. Many times, understanding another person’s role and responsibility helps others to understand some of the challenges people may face in their job role and function.

Cross culture refers to the comparison of two cultures, but for this endeavor, I want to introduce my take on cross-culturing. In my mind, it works the same. Cross-culturing gives an opportunity to be immersed in another person’s culture so there is a better understanding of the way that person thinks, acts and behaves. Cross-culturing can be a great way to mitigate cultural and ethnic confrontations. Most times we are ignorant about other cultural practices in our community which leads to hostility. Cross-culturing gives someone or a group of people the experience of spending time, even if it’s a just a day, observing and learning about another culture. We may be surprised as to how much we have in common or how many worlds we’re apart. Some of us may never understand the ancestral burden of others and why a group may perform certain sacred rituals to honor their ancestries, for example, without such an opportunity.

Learning to live in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic world can help foster religious tolerance, togetherness and brotherhood.

Having community culture nights or block parties are a recipe for building bridges. A great way to start is through food. Ethnic foods allow people to immerse themselves in the cultures of others.

Later in this book, I will introduce the concept of traveling the world from the kitchen. It will give a chance to explore the cultural diversity in communities and from around the world right from the comfort of the kitchen while beginning to understand the cultural influences that impact other cultures’ cuisine.

Food has an inherent connection to culture and society. Food is important for our nutrition, but it also has important cultural and symbolic meanings that make it more important than what’s on our plates.

FOOD CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Food is clearly important for nutrition, but it’s also meaningful to humans in other ways. Think about it: we’re the only mammals that cook our food. This makes our consumption of nutrients much different.

Culturally speaking, food is very important. It can be nostalgic and provide important connections to our family and our nation, and a bridge that helps immigrants find their place in a new community.

Later, I’ll discuss some ways in which food, culture, and society are connected.

Food and World Cultures

There’s a biblical expression: let us break bread together. This refers to the way food brings people together and is important in our relationships.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead famously wrote about how food is for gifting. What Mead meant by this is that food provides us with something more symbolic than simply nutrition (though that’s certainly important). Food is meant to be exchanged and shared with family and friends. Let’s look at how food and culture relate. Sharing food with other cultures could be a bridge to settle cultural tensions and divides.

Cultural Heritage

Food provides an important link to our cultural heritage. Imagine a West Indian grandmother who immigrated to the United States and is now teaching her grandchildren, who have never been to the Islands, how to make an authentic Caribbean meal. This is an important experience in maintaining connections to one’s cultural heritage.

Food has also been used in less positive ways. For example, during periods of colonialism in Africa and other parts of the world, colonizers used food to erase local cultures and incorporate local peoples into European systems.

So, when you order from an Indian restaurant, you might not be eating something that is authentically Indian. Instead, it might be a dish that was introduced by British colonizers. (Chicken tikka masala is one example.)

Habits

Cultures also differ in the types of habits they associate with food. For example, in some cultures, it is common to eat with your hands. In other places, however, this is considered rude. Or, at the very least, you’ll get some odd looks from your dinner companions. Sometimes, finishing all the food on your plate is considered polite; whereas in other contexts, it signals to your host that he or she did not feed you enough.

Religion and Ritual

Food is also tied to religion and ritual. In some religions, such as Hinduism, followers generally avoid eating meat, particularly cows, since they are considered sacred animals by many Hindu sects. Food can help us feel like we’re part of a bigger group or that we have a special link to a particular community, like a religious group.

We should explore cultural dishes and learn the story behind them. The experience will help us gain a better understanding of how cultures are more similar than you think.

According to an article published by Mark Hitchcock, of Michigan State University, food can bridge the cultural divides we face in our interactions with others. We all come from various backgrounds and have many differences in how we view the world and how we live our lives. Some earn more money than others, some live in rural communities with diverse natural resources at their fingertips, some come from difficult upbringings, and some are lucky to want for nothing.

While different cultures may be separated by several factors, there is one unifying thread that runs through all of us—the need to eat. Food.

Every culture has their own spin on what foods they eat and how they prepare them. In larger communities, there is often a plethora of options to explore; however, in smaller and rural communities, the choices are often more limited. Therefore, these smaller and rural communities are often more limited in their experiences, diversity of choices and exposure to other cultures not represented within the local community.

Hitchcock said his time in the military took him to lands far from home with a diverse group of fellow soldiers who viewed mealtime in different ways. Also, those experiences allowed him to learn more about their cultures and foods in a safe environment and on common ground around the value of a meal and community. These similar experiences and opportunities also exist within many of our diverse local communities.

Many of the ingredients used by various cultures directly correlate to their specific geographies. Due to climate, environment, governmental structure, growing seasons, and advances in technology over the years, different cultures have different reasons as to why they eat what they do. So, consider this: explore other cultures via food. Though not every dish may be to your liking, as you learn more about their background, you may find your worldview broaden more than you may have envisioned.

The quest for food has shaped the development of our society. Our country is a true melting pot. It’s our diversity that makes us great. Let’s harness our strengths and build an even greater nation.

To whom much is given, much will be required. (Luke 12:48) If you have heard these words of wisdom, you know that it means we are held responsible for what we have. If we have been blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected and required that we benefit others.

We all have a responsibility, and we all are accountable to making our communities healthy and safe. The more affluent communities are blessed with much. They have an obligation to the less affluent communities. To the wealthy countries, you should not have poor citizens and poor communities, people living below the poverty level, without having basic necessities to sustain a healthy life and live in a safe community. We need to do more as a country to alleviate poverty in our communities. To our celebrities, we appreciate all of you who give and give generously to our communities, but you have a mandate. You were entrusted to be a bearer of our community, to ensure that the communities who support you don’t have citizens who live below the poverty line.

As I mentioned earlier, we all have something that we can contribute to make our communities better.

For some of us, it’s our voice. We can motivate the world. For others, it’s position and influence. For others, it’s patience in working with kids, youth and the elderly. For others, it’s coaching and counsel. For others, it’s just being parents and big brothers and sisters to orphans and the neglected. Every gift, talent, skill and ability are resources we can use to build our community. Everyone can contribute, everyone should contribute, and everyone must contribute.

Health and healing are multi-dimensional. There are many different approaches from cultural to religious and from conventional to alternative and everywhere in between. Below I will briefly examine a few different approaches. They will each appeal to everyone differently. But every form of healing may have its place in our community

THE HOLISTIC APPROACH AND VIEW TO HEALTH

The American Holistic Health Association (AHHA) describes it this way: "Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. It emphasizes the connection of mind, body, spirit and emotions.