Community and Citizenship – Week 4

1. Identify five important issues in your community. (i.e. parking, pollution, access to healthcare or education). Be specific. Why do you consider these issues to be important?

Immigrant Population: Each year the number of immigrants that settle in Hamilton is highly unpredictable. They leave everything behind for the betterment of their future along with the worlds. My issue deals with the way these immigrants are treated and misused in a small city like Hamilton. According to me, immigrants new to the country need assistance to settle and adjust to the new environment which means having access to services which can help acquaint them with the sense of belonging in the community. However, immigrants usually get neglected as they’re not considered as a part of the family. Students from Hamilton pay about $2000 per semester where as newly arrived immigrants pay about $6000. We’re given the right to work and get paid $10.25 per hour just because we hold a citizenship card. Whereas immigrants that are found in Hamilton get paid less than $8 per hour with no days off.

Low Income: Low income affects access to health related necessities such as to shelter, nutritious foods, warm clothing and education. It can also affect the overall well-being of an individual as low income may increase stress, lower self-esteem and limit participation in the community. In Hamilton, a wide range of low income people are found on the streets everyday begging for money. Off course, they can quit the usage of drugs and drinks in order to save for the time of need but addiction has caused people of Hamilton to become beggars. People either have low income which can only support a few members of the family or are left jobless causing them to get on the wrong path. Education: Hamilton has the least amount of proper education given in schools. Since education is costless in Ontario the applied and academic curriculum both range at a very satisfactory level. My schooling from grade 5-10 was completed in Hamilton and Kindergarten through grade 4 and from grade 11-12 was completed in Saudi Arabia and I can tell you there’s a huge difference. Back home I was taught under a strict hard material curriculum till grade 5 and grade 11-12 was University level education. The books I used were all made for University students but we were the ones using them in high school. Whereas in Hamilton education matters the least to youngsters, they hardly even carry a bag full of books. The difference shows the importance of education that Hamilton needs to improve upon.

Taxes: It’s ridiculous, 13% tax whether we earn or buy due to HST. From buying a property to buying a piece of bread it all contributes to the hardships the community has to deal with.
Waste-management:
City of Hamilton has a policy of the limited garbage along with limited weight that can be left outside our house. My mom is a Pakistani housewife which means she’s always in the kitchen preparing meals for the neighbours, family, friends, and for special occasions ( i.e: Pakistani weddings) . We at least require more than two bags to be put outside during special occasions but as heartless at it may seem City of Hamilton has always left more than two bags of garbage behind with a note of being overweight.

2. Describe your previous community involvement: what made you decide to volunteer or otherwise take action? My previous community involvement has travelled back and forth from Saudi Arabia to Canada. Starting from Saudi Arabia, I was a part of a charity organization that worked together to help the needy living in Pakistan. Along with that I was a part of Habitat for Humanity and was given a huge opportunity to visit Thailand and build a school for a poor village. We held donation funds each week before going to Thailand so we could buy a year of supplies for the children in the village where the school was going to get build. In Canada, I volunteered to assist elderly people that weren’t in the state of performing everyday tasks. I visited them every week and took care of them as if they were my own. Also, I became a peer tutor at Hill Park Secondary School for mentally challenged students where I educated them with the best of my capability. 3. What are the major barriers to community involvement? How do you think you could encourage more people to participate?

According to me, the major barrier of community involvement is the schedule we revolve around. We spend half the day at work or school, the other half goes on commuting and spending quality time with our families. The weekends are spend on doing house hold chores, completing assignments, and taking care of our loved ones. I believe community participation can increase through the use of our free time instead of travelling around, taking vacations, and spending excessive amount of money. People go around the world each year, maybe for just the one time they can sit down and think about the community that they’re a part off. Making a small change through a chain of gatherings or even creating organizations that donate items or money to the needy are only small moves can cause wonders to happen.