This week we returned to Bayside for more Zumba and the intergenerational discussion on age-friendly communities. In addition to catching up with elders we met at previous Zumba session, I got to chat with a lady who was a first-timer at the center, and she – like med – was delighted by the sense of community that Bayside fosters through different services and activities such as weekly Zumba class and potluck.
After Zumba session, we split up into small groups to discuss different features that make a community age-inclusive. Our group’s elder partner, Mama Glo, had lived in the Kearny Mesa-Linda Vista neighborhood since she was a child and expressed the need to revive the tight-knit connections that neighbors or community members used to have. A retired inspector, Mama Glow now remains involved in the community by volunteering at annual multicultural fairs, sitting on community committees, and inspecting facilities in the neighborhood. She addressed different factors that contributed to existing problems and proposed solutions to these issues. Her passion for promoting the well-being and preserving the vibrancy of the community was evident in her active contribution to the neighborhood as well as her pride in being a long-time resident there. She also shared with us that college years were the best time of her life; as she attended college with her husband long after working and having a family, she understood and appreciated the value of college education. Our conversation with Mama Glow was enlightening as her wisdom, compassion, perseverance, and gratitude really shone through and inspired us to give back to our communities.
After Zumba session, we split up into small groups to discuss different features that make a community age-inclusive. Our group’s elder partner, Mama Glo, had lived in the Kearny Mesa-Linda Vista neighborhood since she was a child and expressed the need to revive the tight-knit connections that neighbors or community members used to have. A retired inspector, Mama Glow now remains involved in the community by volunteering at annual multicultural fairs, sitting on community committees, and inspecting facilities in the neighborhood. She addressed different factors that contributed to existing problems and proposed solutions to these issues. Her passion for promoting the well-being and preserving the vibrancy of the community was evident in her active contribution to the neighborhood as well as her pride in being a long-time resident there. She also shared with us that college years were the best time of her life; as she attended college with her husband long after working and having a family, she understood and appreciated the value of college education. Our conversation with Mama Glow was enlightening as her wisdom, compassion, perseverance, and gratitude really shone through and inspired us to give back to our communities.