{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/rx9377732r/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Fadia Mohama Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFadia Mohama is the Director of Strategy and Workforce Partnerships at Commonpoint Queens, a nonprofit social services organization that operates throughout Queens. Mohama recalls fond memories of growing up in Bolivia and in Miami before moving to Queens in 1999 at the age of 21 years old. Mohama describes adjusting to life in New York City, traveling to various neighborhoods doing door-to-door sales, and ultimately settling down in Forest Hills after getting married. Mohama speaks about becoming increasingly involved in volunteer work at Mohama's son's school and how that grew to getting involved in other community initiatives such as organizing events to benefit local small businesses and encouraging hesitant Queens residents to participate in the 2020 United States census. Mohama discusses the work of Commonpoint Queens, particularly its workforce development programs for youth and adults. Mohama also highlights the organization's assistance to the victims of a building fire, donations of baby supplies to struggling mothers, and coordination with other nonprofit organizations serving Queens.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["https://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/39867"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2022-04-17 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Fadia Mohama (Interviewee)","Dian Zi (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1970s-2022 (temporal)","Woodhaven and Forest Hills, Queens, NY; Miami, FL; La Paz, Bolivia (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFadia Mohama is the Director of Strategy and Workforce Partnerships at Commonpoint Queens, a nonprofit social services organization that operates throughout Queens. Mohama recalls fond memories of growing up in Bolivia and in Miami before moving to Queens in 1999 at the age of 21 years old. Mohama describes adjusting to life in New York City, traveling to various neighborhoods doing door-to-door sales, and ultimately settling down in Forest Hills after getting married. Mohama speaks about becoming increasingly involved in volunteer work at Mohama's son's school and how that grew to getting involved in other community initiatives such as organizing events to benefit local small businesses and encouraging hesitant Queens residents to participate in the 2020 United States census. Mohama discusses the work of Commonpoint Queens, particularly its workforce development programs for youth and adults. Mohama also highlights the organization's assistance to the victims of a building fire, donations of baby supplies to struggling mothers, and coordination with other nonprofit organizations serving Queens.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Fadia_Mohama_Queens_Memory.m4a"]},"duration":4709.536,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/173/893/original/Fadia_Mohama_Queens_Memory.m4a?1674141484","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mp3","duration":4709.536,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: This is Dian with Fadia. We're recording on the date of April 17th, 2022 for the Queen's Memory project. Do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queen's memory informed consent and copyright permission form that was shared with you over email?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=14.0,35.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=35.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Could you please say your full name and spell it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=36.0,41.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Fadia Mohama and it's spelled FADIA, and my last name is Mohama, MOHAMA.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=41.0,57.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Thank you, Fadia. What is the first memory you have for your childhood?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=57.0,60.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: The first memory? Oh, my god. I don't even - There are so many of them - playing in the park with my brother and my dad, just playing outside.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=60.0,85.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Please describe the apartment you lived in with your family in your memory.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=85.0,96.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Describe the apartment I live in now or growing up?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=96.0,100.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Growing up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=100.0,101.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So I - put my volume up. Can you see me? Okay. When I was little, I traveled a lot. I don't remember, obviously, but when they moved back to Woodhaven and we lived in a house. At that moment, I looked at the big house, but when I went back, it was actually a smaller house. When you're smaller everything seems huge. I just remember having like two living rooms, or maybe like a dining area in a living room, two bedrooms. But are you talking about describing the place and describing how I grew up in that house?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=101.0,152.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: You know, sometimes memories are connected to the spaces.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=152.0,157.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Okay, I remember mine just okay. Do you know what I remember growing up in these houses? My family and I are really tight. When we were little, I remember playing with my older brother. I remember when my little brother came and we're always just playing and my house is always full of animals - having pets has always been super important - my house is always full of animals.I remember my grandmother always growing the most beautiful roses in the front. I was always cooking together -  like my parents always had parties. Our neighbors always came over. We were always very active. I mean every day there was something to do. We were always out, we were never home, even at a young age. Now at the age of six, I will never let my son out by himself. But I remember going to the park by myself with my brother and because it was across the street. My brother and I used to go out - what do you call the baby frogs? Tadpoles, I think so, right? We used to bring them back to the house. My mom and my dad used to let it do whatever we wanted, but we were so adventurous, I guess. So we used to bring like we would find animals and bugs and we still bring them home and raise them. I think the best memories are in that home because we had the freedom to just be kids and be creative. And there wasn't like - of course there were rules and my mom was very strict when it comes to some things. But I just remember having freedom. I remember just feeling like I was able to explore and we were always surrounded by friends and family.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=157.0,290.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Can you also please describe the community you live in? Where was that? What is the best memory you had in that community you grew up？","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=290.0,307.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I have to tell you the truth because I [unclear] believe that was my thing, but then when I was seven, I moved to Miami. In Miami, we lived in a building. And in this building, we build such an amazing relationship with the people that live there. And we're still friends until this day, I wanna say there was what felt like 15 to 20 kids. They grew up in this building. There were a few families that my parents became really good friends with. And one of the best things about living in this building was we played every single day. I mean wait we would come home from school and then we would just do our homework and then meet in the pool. And we used to put together talent shows for our parents like during Mother's Day and Father's Day and we were like rehearsed and new kids on the block, and do dances, and then we used to pretend that I remember one time I was - we were playing classroom when I was a teacher and all the kids were like chairs. Again, it was like we had so much freedom to just be kids, and explore, and just be out. And I think those were my best memories. And then we moved to a house. I wouldn't say when I was like 11 or 10, I can't remember. The same thing like my parents gave us a lot of freedom to just be kids, you know what I mean, we would come home from school, we would do homework and we were just kids. That was the only rule that we had, was to be outside and play, come home for dinner, get ready for school and start all over again. So those are my best memories growing up with the community that we built, the friendships that we built. And in the stories we created, because sometimes when we meet and we talk and we laugh, we laugh so much like it just happened yesterday, like we still pretend to have weddings and we used to marry the kids. We were in the pool. You couldn't get us out of the pool, we were in the pool all day long Even when it was raining, we were still in the pool - our parents thought we were crazy. But the best memories I had with this community was that we had the freedom to be kids, and we had a ton of fun, we just had fun. That was just the number one responsibility that we had to grow up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=307.0,463.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: And after Miami, where did you move to?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=463.0,469.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I stayed in Miami. I went back and forth to Bolivia for a little bit. There were two times - one time when I was 16 or15. I don't remember the dates, but I want to say I stayed for 6 months. I stayed with my brother and his mom, from my dad's first marriage And then I went again, I wanna say 20, yeah, I went when I was 20 and I lived with my brother's mom for 6 months, which I love and adore and she was like a second mom to me. And then in 1999, when I turned 21, I moved to New York.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=469.0,515.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: You moved to New York. Why New York?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=515.0,519.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I came here when I was 16. So we lived with my parents. We lived here when I was a baby. I don't remember, but I remember my mom telling me all these amazing stories about New York and just the life we had here and the dogs - you're gonna hear a lot about our pets. By the way, we had pets - in Miami when my father bought a house, we had bunnies, we had turtles - any animals we found, we just played along (with). I just remember the stories and my mom tells us all the time about all the pets that we had here. When I was 16, my best friend and I came to New York for - I didn't want to have to turn 16 and neither did I want to go to prom or that's something interesting. I wanted to travel. So I came to New York with my best friend. It must have been like 15 or 16. And did you remember falling in love with the city? I remember just thinking one day I'm gonna move here. Just love the people, love the culture, love the food and so much to do here. But I like the whole city, like the hustle and bustle, like I'm always busy and I love being busy. So New York was like the perfect place for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=519.0,599.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Which community did you move in when you first landed in New york? Jackson Heights, I think.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=599.0,605.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Woodhaven. When I first moved here to Woodhaven with a friend of mine and her cousins, we lived in a basement. It was like four of us. I just love the fact that I was here. My neighbors thought I was crazy because I would wake up every morning and we were like “MORNING!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=605.0,633.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Can you please share with me a story that you had in Woodhaven?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=633.0,642.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Just to my neighbors? I remember just feeling like - when I first went to Woodhaven, again, I was so happy to be here, but I also remember having little second thoughts because again I came from Florida, super friendly, and talked to everybody. In Miami, if I was in the elevator with someone and we hit it off like we're having dinner that night like we're just hanging out like that's just the way I grew up. And that's the way my parents were. My parents were very inviting, everybody was always in my house. We're always having dinner at our house. Our house was never empty, neighbors would just walk in. Now for example, like you have to call somebody, hey, are you busy? But in Miami, people would just show up to the house. That's just how I grew up. So here when I moved to Woodhaven, I remember just loving the Bodegas, the trains, the hustles and bustles. But I remember one of my very first memories was there was a neighbor that I always liked saying hi to, and one day she was like,what did I want? I was like, what do you mean what I want? She's saying - [laugh] I was like, why do you think I want something? Like we are just neighbors? She was like, okay. But I remember what the heck? Woodhaven taught me something else. I was on the train and I was smiling at everybody and this guy started following me. And I was like oh wait, in New York, you were not constantly trying to become best friends with everyone. I have to learn my boundaries. So that was one of my first memories. Woodhaven was warning the New York attitude, the boundaries, and knowing who to say Hi to in the morning.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=642.0,764.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: So you stayed in Queens, since then, since Woodhaven.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=764.0,770.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Not very long. I moved from there. I went to Jackson Heights. My grandmother lived their - lives there. So I moved with them for a little bit. I love Jackson Heights, my best memories were in Jackson Heights. Again, I loved the people. When I moved, I used to come in the summer with my best friend.  I worked in Jackson Heights at the restaurant, yeah, just love the people in the culture and the food and everything. And then from there I moved around, I went to Rego Park, I moved to Howard Beach. I went to Boston for like 8 months. Then I came back, and when I came back, that’s when I went to Howard Beach, then I went to East New York. I moved around a lot. Jamaica. I moved everywhere to experience it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=770.0,832.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Like every part of New York, let's say.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=832.0,836.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I was doing door to door sales. So I used to travel everywhere. I would like to go to the Bronx, Brooklyn, all of Queens, Washington Heights. I just took the train and went everywhere.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=836.0,859.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: You landed in Forest Hills now. So why is Queens so special? Why do you want to start a family in Queens? Please tell me a little bit about your connection with Queens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=859.0,875.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Sure. So when I finally settled, I traveled a lot for work. I went from place to place uh for every few months because of my job. My husband and I finally settled in Woodhaven again. And I again, I loved the neighborhood and then we became really good friends with a lot of our neighbors. Again, I just love that in New York. You can wake up in the middle of the night. And if you're hungry, you can walk to a Bodega and grab a sandwich and milk whatever you want and just walk back. That was fascinating to me. But as we got a little bit older we started to try new restaurants. We would always come to Forest Hills. And we fell in love with Austin Street, of course. We used to come to that. I don't know if you might know a little bit, the New Orleans restaurant,  Mardi Gras, that has been on Austin Street for many years. We used to go there all the time and we would go to all the restaurants. And then when we were sitting at dinner and we were like we should move to Forest Hills, this is an amazing city. And I looked at the school, I wasn’t having my son but I knew I wanted to have kids one day. So a little bit to schools, then that's how we moved. We ended up falling in love in Forest Hills, moved to Forest Hills, and have been here since. One of things I love about the community is it kind of brings you back to the way I grew up in Miami, where everybody knows everybody, it’s a tight community. And one thing that I love about Queens, especially after the pandemic, is that no matter what's happening, if we are in trouble or we are in need, anything can happen. Queens know how to come together and they know how to help each other and support their neighbors. And I have seen that from people that have no money whatsoever and are absolutely struggling to people who have millions. It never really matters. Everybody just comes together. And that's the one thing that I love about this community, and I love about the Queens community. The pandemic has really shown that and not only the pandemic, and when we had hurricanes. But again, when the pandemic happened, I saw and witnessed and was a part of something greater than I've ever experienced was how people in Queens come together to help each other and help people that they've never even met, which is something that is just amazing. That's why I love Queens. [crosstalk] That was one of the reasons. There are like 100 reasons.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=875.0,1067.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: I also live in Queens. Austin Street is my favorite. I totally get what you mean. So let's go back a little bit to your early days. So I know that you start volunteering with Hands On Miami, and then in Bolivia with another organization, so you have a lot of volunteer experience. Can you tell me why you decided to volunteer so much, what's one of the first memories you have volunteering with these organizations?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1067.0,1105.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: When I was in high school, one of the requirements to graduate was to do volunteer work - you had to do a certain amount of community service. So I found this organization called Hands On Miami. I don't know if they're still around, it was over a long time ago. And then I remember the first time I volunteered - I volunteered and I don't remember the name and I think it's called Bridge something Bridge. And this was for kids under the age of 18 who were taken from their parents because their parents were in whatever situation, right? Like the court decided that they should not - like now we have the foster care system, right? But this is a place where kids used to go and live, while their parents either finished rehab or they were out of jail or whatever the circumstances were, right? I was starting to volunteer there. We used to go to big games. We would watch movies together. We would just hang out. And I remember I was  meeting this one girl who was 17 and I was young,  I must be like 16, 15, I just can't remember, but we became close. We would hang out. We would make bracelets. We played games. We used to talk. I remember her saying that when she turned 18, she had to leave this place. And uh. She didn't know she was gonna go, because at that time they didn't really set the kidsup. It was just like you're 18. Now you're considered adults, you have to leave the place. And I just remember being so devastated, I was so young, I couldn't help her and I couldn't bring her to my house like I didn't know how my parents would react. My mom mostly, my dad passed away when I was younger. But to me I was like, I just remember thinking how important it was to volunteer because we built such a great bond. In her hardest moments, we became friends. I remember what that did for her, I also remember like the little kids. I also remember going into that place and the kids used to run and then hug me and we used to play and we were hanging out. So just remember that feeling of giving back and what small acts of kindness can do for someone who's going through a lot. I started just doing more volunteering. I started volunteering at the hospital. Remember my ways to make ice cream for the kids. We used to read books for the kids. I was so lucky with everything that I had. And I'm not talking about - we were not wealthy or anything, but just lucky being like I had my family and my friends and just things that again, I am not talking about things, I am talking about the life I had. So I just wanted to give back, just like having that feeling of gratitude. For me it’s the gratitude, and just thinking, feeling lucky again for what I have. And just give back.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1105.0,1337.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: When did you start to volunteer in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1337.0,1343.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I wanna say when my son started kindergarten. When my son started kindergarten, I stopped working, I quit my job. I was home for a little bit and I started volunteering in the school. And little by little, I just started getting more involved with participatory budgeting and with the community board. I started doing events in the neighborhood, trying to bring people together. I volunteered a lot in my son's school - we did a lot of fundraisers. We did a lot of drives. When my son turned five, one of the reasons why I started volunteering in Queens was because this is the neighborhood he's going to grow up in. This is where we're building that strong foundation. So it's important for my son to see the importance of giving back and being part of a community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1343.0,1416.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Can you please share with me a memory of volunteering, but with your son?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1416.0,1424.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So thanksgiving, I wanna say. The pandemic started in 2020, right? Okay, sorry, by the way, [crosstalk] I feel like it was a lot of years ago.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1424.0,1437.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Yes, February 2020.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1437.0,1439.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So,  that year, we went to the supermarket. As I don't know if you’ve noticed,  but my friends and I, we started a group called Our Children's Voice. And we were trying to get more involved in education. And it's another story. And then when the pandemic happened, we were like we need to shift gears and we started asking our friends and family for money.\nThis is when we started buying diapers and groceries for families and wipes and formulas and whatever the family needed. And we had the money, we'll buy it and send it to them. I used to usually use InstaCarts to send everything because of the pandemic. But for Thanksgiving that year, my son, I and my mom went to a supermarket and we bought a whole bunch of groceries. They ran out of turkey but we bought it in some Spanish countries. They don’t eat turkey, they eat pork. We bought a fork, we bought chickens, we have one turkey, and we found one turkey in the aisle. We bought groceries, I believe, with like 4 or 5 families. We put the bags together, and then we went and we dropped them off to the families. That was like one of the very first things that we did together. In the house, my son helped me put together some like bags of toys and bags of clothes. We dropped it off at someone’s house. But that was for the very first time that my son came with me to do something like that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1439.0,1558.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: I know you mentioned that you started this group with your friends and you're also the president of Queen's Connection. Can you tell me just a little bit more about like, there are so many volunteer-based initiatives you started in Queens. Please just tell me more about your volunteering experience in New York also in Queens overall.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1558.0,1585.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So with Queen's Connection, like one of the reasons why I started that was because again, I love Queens and I wanted to connect the community with the local businesses that were in the area. So one of the things that we did -  I did a little bit of consulting and did social media for some of the businesses. The main thing that I used to do was I would reach out to local cafes and local restaurants, and we would do events. I would hangout with all my friends and invite community members and their neighbors to come. We used to do pic nights. We did vision boards. Women and empowerment groups. We did business card exchanges like networking events. This was all really based on bringing the community together. One of the things that I found on social media is that some people would say things like they didn't have friends or they didn't feel connected or so doing these events for me was trying to connect. And also let people know what an amazing community we live in. And it's amazing, tiny, little mama and papa businesses that we have that bring so much. I also started noticing that more and more like we're buying more online and we're doing more things online and we're going to like them. I still do that. I'm not saying that  - but I try to like balance when it comes to shopping. I realized that most people were going to like corporations to get things, right? For example, Chipotle. So at one of the coffee shops, I did a lot of events in, and some people would come in and be like, I didn’t know this place even existed. When we did our event, one of the things that we did was giving a little tour of the place and talking about the amazing, Italian goodies that they had and how everything was authentic. And so that was the goal of Queen's Connection - connecting not only the community with the small businesses, but also connecting the community to people, so people had a place to kind of go and hang out and meet other people that were interested in the same things, right? Like the woman in empowerment groups, the vision board. I did one time at the theater cafe. We did - mom and sons date night. So it was a little good thing, and then it was another one that was a daughter and father date night. They will come and have dinner. It was just like little things that there were also a lot of things that I did growing out that I was like all these families should have access to. And just you don't do these things. So it was fun. And that's what Queen's Connection was  - connecting community members with businesses and connecting community members with community members.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1585.0,1770.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: So you are kind of bringing Miami to Queens and just kind of the way …[crosstalk ]to what? You're like, bring Miami to Queens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1770.0,1779.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: A little bit. We're just more like, I was just the way, again, the way I grew up, bringing my best memories to my adult memories. I was in a meeting when they had asked one of some of your best memories that you have growing up. And I remember just going, nothing really has changed. For me, it's more - I was always out in a bow and super busy and getting involved, and hanging out with my neighbors, and going out places. And I am simply here now as a grownup.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1779.0,1821.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: You mentioned that Queens Connection is all about connecting local, small businesses with a community. I know that the pandemic must hit the little business very hard in Queens. Can you tell me a story of that - maybe with a Queens Connection or just like a memory of your own - about how small businesses were hit hard in Queens during the pandemic? And how you will be able to help them connect with the community more.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1821.0,1858.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So, when the pandemic started, I stopped doing the Queens Connection. The reason why was - it was hard for me to really do anything, because all my events were in person. Everything that I did was in person. I was bringing people into the businesses. We were doing it again, painting nights and we were doing it ourselves. So that was hard. But when the pandemic started, nobody thought it was gonna last this long, right? So I was like, all right, let me look. I was actually working with Commonpoint Queens at that moment. We're doing the census. So, when I saw the ad for the census, to do the census, I was like, this is 6 months, this is perfect. Again, I can go around the community. I can talk to the community. It's like, I would love it. I'm gonna apply for this, so I did it. And I was like, I have 6 months to do this. And then the pandemic happened. I was like perfect time instances came at the perfect time. In six months when this is over, I'll go back to doing my Queens Connection, and then I'll go back to doing my events and doing the networking like all the things. But apparently, obviously, we're still in the middle of a pandemic.\nNow. We are definitely going back to doing that but I accepted a full time position of Commonpoint Queens. So I haven't done the events. I haven't been able to do the events here with the local businesses, but one way that I have been supporting the businesses is, if I find a restaurant that I love in the neighborhood, I still share it. I put it all over social media because I still have a really big connection with the community. During the pandemic, my family and I tried to order at least once or twice, it supported our favorite restaurants. And again, we shared it on social media. The local cafe was one of them. They were getting really creative with their menu. So we were always sharing on our Facebook just so people knew that's what they were doing and people should order. We were always encouraging people to if they could, you know because of the pandemic, a lot of people lost their jobs. It was really tough, but anybody that I knew I was always talking about supporting small businesses by ordering as many times as you could, food and to take out and get the food delivered. So we did a lot of that, which I didn't mind because I don't cook. But that was my way of supporting. And then again, anytime we need anything, we'll just go to the businesses around here. But again, I don't want to make it sound like I only support (local businesses),  I also do Amazon and I also do it. So I do a little bit of both, but I try to balance it. Because with Amazon and Instacart, it's more about convenience than anything else. But I try to do both. So I'm not like only doing the big source. I also trying to support small shops.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=1858.0,2062.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: I totally get you, I kind of stopped going to big chain restaurants after the pandemic, and support more local restaurants because I want them to survive. And also, the best food would also always come from the local small business.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2062.0,2077.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yes! And the food is so much better anyways. That's the one thing we don't go to (chain restaurants). If I ever go to a known restaurant because somebody invited us. When it comes to food, we only like to go to mama and papa restaurants, just because we feel that the quality of the food sometimes is a little bit better. And then again, thank you for supporting that. So when it comes to food, absolutely. But when it comes to groceries and buying like other things, we do it all on Amazon and in the local supermarkets, but restaurants 100 %. And we're foodies in my house, so we tried to really go to mama and papa restaurants.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2077.0,2128.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: So you mentioned the census a little bit. I know that's kind of the beginning of the pandemic. And I remember there were a lot of political conversations about that census. Tell me about your experience with census and what's your takeaway from that experience?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2128.0,2153.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: It was really tough to do the census because of the whole - you know, a lot of people were afraid to fill it out because they thought that somebody was going to deport them. And then we're gonna find their status here. It was really challenging. And we had to get really creative with the community. So we can assure them that their information was safe and the importance of filling out the census and how important it was for the schools and medicaid and just everything that comes with figuring out the finances and our representatives. It was really challenging. I mean people were really afraid to fill it out. And we mainly worked in neighborhoods where a lot of people didn't have a social security number. So we had to run a lot of workshops. We did a lot of training, too, but we had to run a lot of workshops. And I love the fact that our team was like the liaison between the community and the Census Bureau, or Census NYC as well, we were working with both just to let them know what people were afraid of, what questions they had and so on. But it was just really - on top of everything that was going on it was just really sad to see how some politicians, I might say, don't care about the community and that's not the right thing. But how some politicians sometimes felt like they didn't see a certain community, because it didn't really matter to them. So it was really hard. But we did what we could. We were supposed to do 4,000 census applications. We ended up doing like 11,000. Yeah, we like it when I tell you about my amazing team - we were going to schools, we were going to the library, we're going to the parks, we were doing town halls, and we were calling people, we were doing live Facebook events. We worked with a lot of - this goes back to the whole Queens community, like people who are not only working with the census contract, people that had nothing to do at the door, not getting paid, got involved, because they understood the importance of filling out the senses applications.  It was amazing to see so many nonprofit organizations, so many volunteers, even students, like high school students, get involved to make sure that community members were filling out the census. So that was like the amazing part of doing it. But it was also sad to see -  I remember calling some politicians and saying, hey, can we do something with your office? And they never called me back, never did anything, just kind of like whatever. And then the Trump administration says all the things that they say to scare the living crap out of everybody. That was just really hard for me, just because growing up, and again, this is the reality of life right? You grew up thinking that people get into politics because they care about their communities. And I'm not saying that they don't, because I've worked with some politicians that are just amazing and they're like in the community, with the community. Then there are others that just don’t get involved, don’t care, that's what it seems. This is my view of how I saw it. But that was just that's just the way it goes, right? Like not everybody does everything with their heart, right? They do more with their pockets. And that's just the sad story of the world, not only Queens, just the world.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2153.0,2423.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: That’s amazing - 11,000, that's like more than twice of what you were supposed to get.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2423.0,2427.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yeah, we really went out and hit the ground and door to door.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2427.0,2432.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: And that was during the pandemic. So you mentioned that you started with your current job at Commompoit Queens in January 2020. That's right before like the pandemic, [crosstalk] right! So tell me a little about Commonpoint Queens, what does this organization support and why did you decide to join this organization?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2432.0,2465.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Commonpoint Queens is a nonprofit organization. The office that I work for - they have different locations, and every location does something a little bit different. The one that I work for is the Hub, which is located in Elmhurst. And what I like to call, we like to call it, is a one-stop shop. So we opened during the pandemic in 2020. I don't remember what year we were in, just don't mind me, but we opened our office in Elmhurst. And we went to work, a lot of us went to work every day. It's a nonprofit organization that offers resources to the community, free resources to the community. And they have a workforce department. They have two. So they have the opportunity youth department, the opportunity youth department works with candidates from the ages of 14 to 24. And they help students get their high school diploma for those who dropped out. They also help with vocational training classes if they're 18, and they help them get internships.\nSo one of the biggest challenges that a lot of people have is that they cannot get a job because they don't have any experience. But how could you get experience if you just want a job, right? So what this program does is that they help students either complete their HEC and then start a location. I mean I'm sorry, to complete an internship with different partner organizations, where the participants get some experience and then through the process of their internship, to the process of everything, they help them with websites. They do workshops, like parenting workshops because there are some teenagers that are parents. They do professional development workshops and categorize a resume, like how to do a cover letter, how to go to an interview, everything that they need, all the tools that they need in order to be successful. There are other trainings and there's just a lot of different things. I can last for another hour if I tell you everything. Then there is the adult workforce, that department does some similar stuff. We work with 18 and up, no age limit, they have to 18. And in our adult workforce department, we have job readiness and vocational training classes. Now we prepare adults to find a job. Same thing, we help them with the resume, their cover letter, mock interviews, and a reference letter. Then there are vocational training classes where it could be in the house. Field,  IT field, security guard, culinary arts, community health worker. And the great thing about all these vocational training classes is that there's also a professional development part of it. So not only do they have to finish these classes, but they have to learn how to -  so the resume, all of that. There's also English classes and literacy classes. And then we have volunteer volunteers, we help people fill out SNAP applications and rental assistance, anything that has to do with the government. A food pantry. I mean you name it, we do workshops. One of the many programs that I run at Commonpoint Queens is the task force, [unclear]. I will ask about names later. [unclear], and then we do civic engagement and vaccine outreach. And then the test and trace with the New York Health Hospitals, we took a vaccine, COVID-related, anything COVID-related. But we also do a lot of outreach to let the community know that we're here. And then we have all these resources, we have mental health, we have legal advice, we have lawyers that we work with, and financial. You name it - we have everything. And if we don't, we have partners who do. So we try to let the community know that we're here, and then we support them through, especially during the pandemic. We have so many people. So that's pretty much where Commonpoint Queens does. Like mine in the office that I work in. But then, that's it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2465.0,2737.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: I know you started as a Census Director for them, and then you kind of keep your journey with them afterwards. At the beginning of this interview, you mentioned that during the pandemic, you see, like Queens  residents, they just help each other in a way that even they never met with each other. They are connecting with each other and trying their best to help their community at the best. Then, can you tell me a story of that when you work with Commonpoint Queens? A story of Queens residents just helping each other during their work.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2737.0,2779.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Sure, I have so many, but I'm gonna tell you one. [crosstalk] You can tell me two. I can tell you 100. So I don't know if you remember there was a building, one of the buildings I think it was in Jackson Heights to Corona that burnt down and residents had to leave and it was just a big mess. So we were helping a few of the families, but there was one or two families in particular that lost everything and they had kids. So I asked them to come to the office. We help them fill out applications for benefits at the moment, whatever it is that we could support them. But I also went on social media and I said, hey, I need clothes. We talked about the families and I said, I need clothes for the ages, the sizes of the mom, sizes of the dad, sizes of the grandparents. And I put it up on my facebook and then I mean, bags and bags of clothes and toys were donated to Commonpoint Queens to the office. We gave them so much - a lot of clothes, some toys, food pantry. We were able to send them. People gave me money, so they were to get groceries. One of the participants completed the Equity Digital Literacy class we had. We have at Commonpoint Queens, that if you don't have a computer, and you want to learn how to use a computer, once you complete the class, you get to keep a chrome book, because she was having a really hard time in the shelter. You know, you can’t do all the applications on the phone, because when they left the building, they had to fill out all these forms, so they could get housing. Just a big hot mess. She completed this digital literacy class and she was able to keep the chrome book. So she was able to use that chrome book to fill out her applications or whatever it is that you need. But that was just one way that using all the resources that we have at Commonpoint Queens and the community coming together that we were able to provide all that clothes, the food, the toys, the little laptop, all the benefits that we also were able to connect her to. And my [unclear] are lawyers, and sometimes they take the case, sometimes they don't. But if they don't take the case, they actually give them advice and what to do. So that was just one instance of how working at Commonpoint Queens and my connection with the community came together, and they were able to provide all of that for them. \nThat's that. Then there was another time we put together a baby shower for some moms. Again, a lot of the families that I work with don't have social security, so they don't qualify for a lot of things. We did a baby shower for, I believe like 20 moms from the neighborhood. And we were able to buy them a lot of stuff. But again, we're a nonprofit, so there's always a budget to everything.\nAnd then I was like, no, I'm gonna ask my beautiful community. So I went on Facebook, and we created an Amazon wish list for all the things that we were missing. I put it on Facebook and I was like, hey, we're putting together a baby shower for 20 moms. These are the items that are missing, and every single day I got a whole bunch of boxes delivered from Amazon in my office. And of course, a lot of other organizations donated too, like we got diapers, food pantry. I mean just so many things. But I remember how we were all every time my boss came and we were so excited. But the moms left, and not kidding you, like a lot of them, we have to call a cab because they left with so many things, they left with diapers, they left with wipes, they left with bottles, they left with toys.\nTwo moms, one like we have raffles, because we have some big ticket items like the most beautiful diaper bags and we got. I mean just so much, again, this was a combination of Commonpoint Queens and the community coming together. They left four or five bags filled with things for their babies. So when their babies arrived, that was another beautiful way of the community coming together. And me being able to use the resources that I have at work.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=2779.0,3069.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: That's beautiful. It reminds me of an old saying - it takes a village to raise a child. And I feel like in your stories like Queens come together, it's like a little village to provide resources to these moms.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3069.0,3086.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yeah, I would tell you, before Commonpoint Queens, when the pandemic happened, with Our Children's Voice, a friend of mine who is Gianina, and by the way, like Gianina amazing. And I don't know if you're interviewing her, or I know, I submit or her name. So Gianina had put it on Facebook. She said, oh my god, does anybody have any leftover diapers? Like we need diapers and this again in the middle of the pandemic. And I was like leftover diapers, like as a mom I was like, and people were like I have six diapers here, I have a pack here like, everybody was trying to come together. I was like Gianina, can I do an Amazon wish list, and I was like can I ask my friends to buy some diapers so you have more than what you need and she was like absolutely. So I remember going to different brands and different sizes and she only needed two. That’s all she needed. But crazy me, I put 75 different diapers on the Amazon wish list. I put a bunch of [unclear]. I was just like adding stuff just in case, because I wanted to give people options. I went to bed, I woke up, and the entire list was like a book. Every little everything I put on the list. People bought them. And I called Gianina. And I was like, oh my god, I was like, the entire list has gone. Everybody bought everything and she was like no way. And I was like be prepared because you were about to get like 75 boxes of diapers. And she was like no way. And then as the days came in, she couldn't even walk into her apartment with so many boxes of wipes and diapers, like I mean everything was just delivered to her house. And she was able to give diapers to so many families. But I just remember that's how Our Children's Voice, we completely redirected the purpose of this group. And that's when we started asking people for money, so we can buy groceries. We were collecting food and donating it to food pantries. We were getting diapers, we were getting food, we were getting clothes, like we're just getting so many things. That's when I was like we live in the best community on the planet. Because in the time where people have lost their jobs, when people are going through so much, people were donating so many things and we were just like every single week we were going with nut trucks for cars, but we were just donating so much food to the food pantries. We were donating diapers, formula, clothes - I mean you name it. And the best thing about this was I remember dropping off things to the families that needed it and they lost their jobs that were not working. There were like not being able to pay rent and I would drop off diapers and I would drop off food, or I would drop off whatever, and they will come out with like things that they had and they were like - Hey, i'm no longer using this, can you please find a family for it? And I was just like holy crack like at that time we're all crying because we just couldn't believe it, but that's what Queens does. Like we got donations from people who were about to get evicted to the people who had so much money, like everybody came together. And that's how the whole thing started with Gianina, how we started doing all this stuff. So those are three stories I had to share with you. I had to share that story with you with Gianina, just because of how she only needed two diapers and ended up getting 75 overnight. It was crazy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3086.0,3336.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Beautiful, that's really beautiful. I really like the way you describe Queens about how diverse it is, not only culturally, but economically. You have super rich people, and then you also have people who may get evicted, but they have some kind of common points, like they were all community members of Queens and they tried their best to help each other no matter how many resources they have.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3336.0,3365.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yep, it was amazing. I'm telling you like the whole year, we're just falling, like almost every single day, just because of the beautiful things people were doing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3365.0,3374.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: I know now you serve as the Senior Director of Strategy and Workplace Partnership. Can you tell me a little bit about the partnership part? Because I see that your partner with other organizations or finding funds from other resources, like in New York city, Health and Hospitals, HRA and other organizations just tell me a little bit more about that part.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3374.0,3400.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So one of the things that I do is - I'm constantly looking for partners that I can work with to bring the resources for the communities and partner with Commonpoint Queens. So, for example, I am the chair of ECRC with Elmhurst Corona Recovery Collaborative, which consists of 25 non profit organizations in Corona and Elmhurst. We meet once a month. We've done some events together, what we talk about, all the resources that we each have and how we can come together to do vaccine outreach, there's been different times when I've had a participant in common, we were not able to like help and assist. So I reach out to ECRC and they're like, send them to my organization and we will take care of them. There's been times when people have called me and said, hey, Fadia. I have a client here who's going through this, can you help her? Like absolutely sending her to my office tomorrow. We'll set up an appointment and we'll take care of it. So that's the kind of partnerships that I'm looking to build, not only to bring resources to the communities, but also come up with ideas and how we can better serve the Queens community by doing events, too, like we do a lot of events - that are, surprisingly, I can't tell you how many times we've been out in doing events. And people have no idea what is available to them. For example, the Queens Library offers so many different workshops and so many resources and people have no idea that is available. You know, so that's what we do. And Queens Library is one of the members of ECRC. So, we're out in the field, we're trying to constantly let people know here's what the Queens Library does. This is what the Queens Museum does. This is what New York Health and Hospital does. Just like bringing those resources, but again, building those partnerships for me are important, not only to come together for the community, but also to empower each other. If we continue to empower each other, this is not a competition. This is something that I love about the organizations that I work with, and then we partner up with. We don't ever see it as a competition, but we were constantly empowering and supporting and helping each other to, again, to make sure that we're serving the community, because that's what we're supposed to do. And that's what we love to do. And then in another way, too, building these partnerships has been able to give us the idea of different things we can do, they’ve shared different grants with us so we can apply to. And every time we apply for a grant and we get it, we're able to hire somebody. So that also helps with people looking for work and giving people an opportunity to work with an organization like us. And then same thing, [unclear]I know the Queens museum right now is hiring. So they sent me their job ads and I connected with other work, other partnerships. And I say, hey, Queens Museum is hiring right now, if you have any participants or any clients or anybody that you're working with that you think will be a good fit, send me their resume or send me the Queens Museum. So again, this is all of us trying to work and just kind of navigate and network and make sure that we're doing what we are supposed to doing and what we love doing. So that's just - I work a lot with the Queens Borough President's Office. We do a lot of town halls, a lot of workshops, and a lot of events. If there's so much that we have to do that we're doing for the community, so they know that we're here, and then we're here to help. My team does a lot of outreach, and again, I can't tell you how many times before like, oh my god, I didn't know that I can take a free class. I didn't know that. Like one of the vocational training classes, for example, we have this beautiful partnership with Per Scholas. And they are the ones who, you know, when we built this partnership with them, they were able to provide the IT classes for the community. People pay thousands of dollars for these classes. And one of the reasons why a lot of people don't go to school, they don't really follow their dreams because they can't afford it, they don't know the resources, they don't know any of that. So we've been able to help people attend and do these classes, complete these classes, get their certifications and then start a career in IT. So this is what these partnerships are doing. And this is my job, is to continue to build partnerships like that, so we can continue to uplift the community, empower the community, and really just bring those resources that are going to help and support our community members, reach that goal, whatever that goal is, because everybody's goal is different. But whatever that goal is, we're gonna help them, and we're gonna guide them to get to where they need to bring.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3400.0,3730.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Education is almost like a privilege here in the states. Everything is capitalized, like you mentioned, it's so expensive to take classes. And what you do is like creating a sustainable community by not giving them resources, but teach them how to find those resources, and the community can get uplifted. That’s really amazing. I wonder, since you have so many experiences with volunteering and activism in Queens, for someone who is maybe a new resident of Queens, or who just got engaged with volunteering and activism Queens, do you have any advice for them? Or do you have any tips for them?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3730.0,3788.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yep, get involved, like people simply don't know where to start. The best thing about social media is it’s the most powerful thing on the planet. Get involved in your community groups and find the right people, like don't just find the people who love their community, like surround yourself with people who are passionate about helping others, and so many doors are open after.\nVolunteer with nonprofit organizations. Trust me, everybody needs volunteers like we are always looking for volunteers. If you have kids, get involved with your school, go to the school you can, like go to the after schools, go to the program. This is how I started here in Queens was really with the school, like learning and volunteering, and joining the PA, and meeting other moms that had the same exact goal. Being part of the PA was one of the ways that I got involved with participatory budgeting, which I never even knew existed before I became a mom. Like going to these meetings and from there, I start volunteering with the community board six. They just get involved. I started small. And even if you cannot, you don't have the time to volunteer and you want to do something. There are groups that meet after work. There are so many different groups that meet after work. And they meet once a month, and they talk about the community and they talk about what they can do together because everybody is different. I was lucky enough though, when my son started kindergarten, I was able to stop working and dedicate myself a year just to be there, but not everybody has that, right? There are so many different ways to volunteer. There's so many different ways to get involved. There's just so many just find what works for you and just find what you're passionate about. But there's nothing better than to give back. Whether it's very little or a lot. It makes such a big difference in your life, but it makes a big difference in your family. One tiny little act of kindness can mean the world to somebody else. So sometimes people are like, I don't have time to volunteer. You don't need all the time in the world. You can do one hour, a day, a week. You can do half an hour a week. And just reach out to nonprofit organizations and say, I only have one hour a week to do something. Or I know, for example, at Commonpoint Queens who always give you for someone in mock interviews, if you are professional and you're super busy and you're an executive, you want to volunteer an hour to do a mock interview and help somebody prepare themselves to be professionals. That's another way. If you really want to do something, you'll find a way.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3788.0,3970.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: And I like the term you used, find the right people. You emphasized on the right people. Can you tell me a story of you finding the right people and doing something with them in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3970.0,3986.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Omg, I have so many right people. Can I just tell you like, I have the most amazing friends on the planet. I have so many different groups. It's not just one. I have so many different groups. But again, for me, it started in school and joining the PA. When I joined the PA and I started volunteering in the school like that was my first thing in Forest Hills, that was my first time feeling this is what I really wanna and I stayed with it. But just like my son it seems what a difference they made when the parents were in the school all the time. But one of my best memories was just doing the PA at my son's school. We did a lot of food drives. And again, that's how I got involved with participatory budgeting. The best memories I would just tell you one - we raised - one of my friends started a giving back initiative, and during thanksgiving, we picked three organizations that we would donate to. So every classroom, every grade will pick one of those organizations and the whole class will bring donations, whatever it was. We picked the school in Brooklyn and they needed food and all these things. And we went to drop off the donations after school. And I just remember being so fascinated with the school. They had a food pantry. And this is kind of like what I also like to like to food pantry and getting an education. So this principle would collect the food, diapers, paths, just different items and hide it in the closet in that school. So anytime a family needed anything, they would go into the closet, pick up whatever they needed, and that's how he supported their school. That was one of my best memories at one on one was going to that school and learning what that school was doing for their families. That we were part of that, like we had a small part of that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=3986.0,4130.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Beautiful. It's just from small, smaller communities like a school. And then you just connect those like smaller communities. And then you have a partnership and then you're serving the whole Queens community. Yeah, so I think one of maybe my last questions would be - First, like, where do you see yourself in 5 years? Do you think you're still going to be in Queens and get involved with activism?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4130.0,4165.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Yes, I will continue to be in Queens, continue to do what I do. I love what I do. I don't think I'm going anywhere. I'm hoping to still be with Commompoint Queens because I love what they do and the resources. So I want to do more, I have a whole bunch of ideas that my team and I are talking about doing at Commonpoint Queens. We want to bring more workshops. And so I think that in the next 5 years, that's what I wanna do. I wanna help the company grow more like a nonprofit, and obviously like our department. And I want to focus on education. Education is the most powerful thing that you can provide to a community. And we want to do parenting workshops, and continue whatever I'm doing now. I wanna do it ten times more. I want to be ten times bigger in five years and just continue to serve our community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4165.0,4234.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: You mentioned education, what’s your plan of education, events, or outreach in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4234.0,4247.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I'm sorry, you were cut off in that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4247.0,4249.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: What's your vision or your ideas for education in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4249.0,4257.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: So I'll give it to you again. I'll give you an example with Per Scholas. What I've seen this program do for our communities has been so amazing that we're trying to like, again, I love getting creative, my brain works like a hamster wheel like it just kind of goes in circles. And I'm always trying to see how we can improve this. How can we do more? How can we improve? And how can we bring it to work? So with Per Scholas, we do this class called the IT support class. This is a 12-week program and this 12 week program, once a week, the students and learners have a professional development class. So not only are they learning to be an IT specialist, but they're also learning how to be professionals. Then we have people who come and talk to them about what it's like to be in IT, how they get started, and how they became successful in that career. Again, we helped them with the resume, with the cover letters, reference letters, mock interviews. Our first cohort was last year and graduated in January. Out of the eight students that we had, seven of them are working and started their career in IT and they're doing really well. They're getting their experience in It and in a few months from now, we're looking to get them into more of a higher level position. And then in a year or two, we're trying to, where our goal is to get them another certificate, so they can continue to grow in their career. And in this cohort that we just started, they're gonna graduate on May 20th. There are 19 students, and out of these 19 students, the same thing they're doing is professional development. So what I am seeing is the importance of bringing these kinds of classes, vocational training classes, that are not a year long, not 2 years, not 4 years. Which again, listen, everyone should be able to do it. But this type of training comes for someone who cannot go to a 4 year college, cannot go to a 2 year college, cannot go to a one-year. They don't have time to go to a one-year college. We have parents, we have people who graduated 20 years ago, and we also have high school students or high school students who just graduated in our class.\nSo these kinds of opportunities, I think, are so valuable. For community members that want to start a career, just don't know where and how and don't have the time to do a long-term thing. So these are the types of programs that I wanna continue to look at and try to see how I can help. There's a lot of organizations that are doing this already, but for Commonpoint Queens, I wanna see how we can do more of these. We are in the health field, and we have security guards. We have all these things, that we have seen what these vocational training classes have done for our community members.\nSo for me, education is the most important thing when it comes to giving people that tool that it's going to empower them, to do better and start a career in that struggle. Because new york is so expensive, and it's just getting ridiculous to live here, that if we give them, if we give our community members, the right tools in order to be successful and make that kind of, not only make that salary that they need in order to survive here, but do something that they love and they're passionate about. I think that eventually things are gonna start looking up for a lot of community members who never even thought they have this opportunity. So education, for me, is the most important thing that you can do. And education doesn't necessarily mean a career. Education can also mean teaching someone how to be a parent, right? Or how to like parenting classes, how to set goals, how to… There's just so much, but that's my ultimate goal in the next five years and just kind of get really creative and bring education. Let people know that we're here and they can do this. Not only in IT, but like health, we have community health worker programs, we have [unclear], pharmacy technicians. There's just so much that the community doesn't know about. So we wanna make it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4257.0,4541.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: We're living in the age of chaos - politics, inflation, pandemic, everything. So how do you think people like us, normal people who are not very engaged with activism and volunteering can come together in Queens and build a better community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4541.0,4567.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: I'm gonna say, how we can do better as the community is kind. Like you said, we're living in the world of chaos right now where there's just so much stuff. For one thing that I've seen a lot, but I'm seeing both, right? I'm seeing all the amazing volunteers because I'm surrounded by that. But I'm also seeing a lot of hate crimes and a lot of - just people are so mean now. \nI've gone to restaurants and people were rude to the waiters. They're rude, like everybody's so entitled, not everybody. There's a lot of people who feel entitled and feel like their opinion and their presence is the most important one on this planet. Nobody else matters. And we've seen a lot of that now. I think the best thing that we can do as human beings, as residents on this planet, is to be kind. And that's where we have to start. People need to stop judging and just jumping to conclusions all the time and thinking the worst of everybody. Just be kind, and give everybody the benefit of doubt and think the best of someone into proving otherwise. Just do better, start with that, it takes small steps. It's just as little if everybody does one small thing and you put it together, it turns into the biggest thing ever. So the advice that I have for everybody is just be kind. Everybody is struggling and everyone has, excuse my language, but everyone has shit going on in their lives. It's not just you. It’s everybody. Just to be kind. It has to start there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4567.0,4681.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: Be the change you want to see in the world. Thank you, Fadia. And I think that's all the question I have. Is there anything I didn't ask, but you still want to share with the audience? Any stories?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4681.0,4700.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: No. Thank you so much. Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4700.0,4702.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dian Zi: It was really a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4702.0,4707.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893/transcript/41465/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fadia Mohama: Same, and now I guess I'll see you around.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/85750/file/173893#t=4707.0,4709.536"}]}]}]}