For my capstone project, I worked with Umme to research the issues that children face, especially the ones who need to carry oxygen cylinders on daily basis. We planned to make a flexible oxygen cylinder holder that can sense children’s movement so that they don’t always need to be assisted by an adult. However, the process wasn’t very easy as we started working on it, due to not having enough resources. Considering the research and also the accessibility to resources, we had to change our initial plan. We ended up making a car seat belt for the oxygen cylinder that can be used while traveling; it will secure the cylinder well, preventing it from possible accidental drips. After making our product, we presented our project as a proposal to the organization that funded us. Our main goal was to spread awareness on this issue which barely gets spoken about in our community so that people who are in power can take a step toward changing the issue. It was a different and unique experience for both of us. We have learned to think critically about the people and give back to the community that we are in. We noticed how difficult a task could be even though it may seem an easy task to do at first. Lastly, we have to acknowledge not to be afraid to change our plan if things don’t work out the way we wanted to be.

My group and I created a PSA about lead poisoning and how it impacts people, especially children in Philadelphia. As I have learned about the harmful impact of lead poisoning in class, this made me choose this topic. I liked the whole process of making a PSA about issues that people are facing in our community. A good thing was that we communicated well as a group to finish this video on time. If I were to do this PSA again, I would’ve like for us to be in the video for at least part of the video. I think the meaningful part of this experience is that I was able to be a part of spreading awareness that might possibly help someone.

The global water crisis is an environmental justice issue because environmental justice advocates protection for all people regardless of race, gender, or religion. Not having access to clean waters impacts people’s health as pollution, lead, and other toxins in water can pose many critical health conditions. What stood out to me is that many peoples are suffering from access to clean waters even though 71% of the earth’s surface is covered in water. I guess we don’t have enough resources to utilize the natural sources that we already have.