2 minute read
One Book One World
BY LAURA NI
One Book One World Volunteer
When people think of Asian Americans, most people might have the impression that they are a group of people who are diligent and smart but silent. For so many years, Asian Americans seemed to only mind their own business, but did not have a voice that society was able to hear and recognize… until now! While the crimes and violence towards Asian American people increased, we started realizing that we needed change. We are a voice that needs to be heard. We represent a culture with a long history that needs to be respected. We have many contributions that need to be known and recognized. We are an important part of this country!
Therefore, in March 2021, a group of Asian American parents in Illinois started a book drive called “One Book One World (OBOW)” to promote and increase the awareness of Asian American culture, history, and contributions to the communities and the entire country. They are raising funds and donating books to local schools and communities. Rapidly, a few other states joined this program including Washington State. Since the end of April 2021, One Book One World in Washington State has donated over 80 books featuring five Asian cultures to more than seven schools in Greater Seattle communities. They have also built up relationships with more than 17 schools in three school districts, including the Issaquah School District, and eight different cities.
Even though Asian Americans are still a minority group in the United States today, its population has changed dramatically in the past 20 years as more and more Asian immigrants moved to this country.
Self-recognition becomes an increasing concern in the Asian community. How do we help our kids be proud of Asian culture and understand it as an essential part of the diversified cultures in the United States? How can we get more cultural support from our community and be better understood by other community groups? These are the questions/ challenges that many Asian families and their communities are facing today. That’s why when OBOW started in Washington State, it immediately attracted many families and students. The volunteer team has been growing; we have now more than 40 volunteers recruited and 14 of them are students. People want to participate and contribute because they believe this program can help our kids while also helping people of other cultures learn and understand more about our Asian traditions.
In the near future, One Book One World will keep synthesizing the results from our pilot projects and presenting Asian cultures to the broader community nationwide. It will keep donating more books to more schools, as well as seeking partnership with school PTSA/PTAs and other community organizations like libraries and community centers by hosting culturalrelated events such as storytime, talks by authors, etc.
After all, the ultimate mission of OBOW is to improve cultural competence by strengthening self-awareness, mindfulness of diversity, cultural knowledge, and cross-cultural skills. There is a lot of work to do, but it’s important to keep moving forward.
If you would like to support OBOW or learn more about it, please visit: http://mandarinplayground.weebly.com/one-book-one-world.html
