Seven Tepees Cultural Exchange

In June, Cameron House Summer Programs teamed up with the Mission District’s Seven Tepees Youth Program to create an opportunity for youth to experience a new part of the city – and a new community. The idea came from Arlan Murillo, Program Director for Seven Tepees, after a visit to Chinatown.

“The last few summers, we have been taking youth around different parts of the city that are not familiar to them. Our staff would research interesting facts about the places we were visiting and give the youth a better understanding of the rich history of their city. Last year, after our students came from their visit to Chinatown, it hit me, we were playing tourist in our own city.” In his work, Arlan is a community builder amongst Seven Tepees’ youth and the Mission District community, so he naturally thinks of ways to expand that circle for his youth. “I love and respect diversity and, personally, I have been blessed to have a very diverse group of friends growing up. But this is not the case for many of our youth. I started to think that it would be so much better if we could connect them with youth from the neighborhoods we visit to make it more meaningful and personal.”

Cameron House’s Youth Engagement Coordinator Rene Kamm organized the cultural exchange activities with Arlan. Seven Tepees visited Cameron House for a tour and engaged with CH youth during teambuilding games on the Upper Deck. A week later, CH 8th graders visited Seven Tepees for a tour, followed by swimming with the Seven Tepees youth.

“Prior to our visit with Seven Tepees, some of our students had never been to the Mission neighborhood,” Rene said. “Walking through the Mission, many said the sights, sounds, and smells reminded them of China. In coming together, we realize we are more similar than we think.”

“They learned that Chinatown is more than just a tourist destination,” Arlan shared when asked what he thought the Seven Tepees youth learned from the experience. “This is a vibrant community that is as old as San Francisco, and they learned that there are youth here with stories to share and families similar to ours. Our youth heard about some of the struggles the Chinese community has experienced and some of these struggles were similar to what they have experienced.”

“Community building is also building bridges, finding commonalities, and learning from our cultural differences. There is no need for us to feel like tourists in our own city,” Arlan relates. “I want to encourage our youth and staff to see the value of these cultural exchange opportunities.  I hope this is just the beginning.”

Check out more about Seven Tepees Youth Programs at www.7tepees.org.