Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this Thursday August 15th, 2024.
Have your host James here and we're joined right now by our good friend and our
new friend, Kazoo Tau. Kazoo thank you very much for being here. Thank you for
having me. Kazoo is the bilingual community health worker over at UW Extension.
We appreciate our friends over there always good to talk with and everybody
from there and great to have you in. This is our first show together, our first
solo show together. It is and I'm really excited. I did if you don't mind
I did want to get to know you a little bit if you don't mind. I always like to
ask people their origin story and where they're from and what got them into
doing this kind of work. So I'm curious what was it for you Kazoo? So I have I was
born and raised in Wisconsin so Wisconsin native and I've always been the
bridge. My parents were refugees from Thailand and so when it growing up I was
always that bridge for my parents whether it was at the grocery store or at
hospital visits or anything and so I was an interpreter when letters came in I
always helped them until they were proficient with English and so I've always
wanted to make a difference in the monk community when I was little and as I
grew grew up I decided I wanted to become a teacher and eventually that
dream came true and I became an English language teacher here at Wisconsin
Rapids Public Schools and after so many years I loved what I did however I
always felt restrained because I could only do so much within that scope in the
education world. You can only help families so much without going outside of
those boundaries and so when this position as a bilingual community health
worker came up at UW Extension I said hey that's exactly what I'm doing and
it's what I want to continue doing and growing and so I went for it and here I
am I'm here to help them and we're so happy that you're here we're so happy to
have you not only us here at the station but our community does and this is
something that we've needed for a long time and not just our community around
the world and specifically here in America we need we are a growing country we
are a country that constantly has new people coming into it and new people
learning the language. Now I grew up around this I grew up around a lot of
people that spoke a lot of different languages in a very mixed area in
Chicago and one of the things that I did and other kids did was helping so say
we're in a grocery store or something like that and the lady in front of us
doesn't speak perfect English or something in the clerk is having a hard time
it was nothing to step in and say hey she means this or something like that
growing up my father speaks very broken English and he's an American is
100% but he even has bad English so even explaining sometimes what he was
saying is an Italian what was oftentimes but what you are doing is incredible
vital work in this community and it's not only a great area that we've needed
for a long time but it makes our community that much stronger and better it
makes the members of our community feel more connected to that community as
well we can only strengthen the community it really does have a lot of
layers to it correct and you know I recently found out that in the Wisconsin
Rapids area the Montgomery has been a part of it for almost 40 years and you
know the among being in America for 50 years so that's huge already it's been a
long time however so many among community members have no clue what resources
are available to them and what truly is out there and so like my ultimate goal
and mission with my position is to be their bridge to help like them become
with with the bridge with healthier eating and active living and just be a
favor of health because there's so much out there that are the unknowns and so
I want to be there for them I want to be the resource the connecting
piece for different things like yesterday for example I had an elderly
among lady asked me about snow care in the winter time if I I live by myself if
I can't do it is there something out there that can help and support me or she
was talking about raking leaves and so you know I am that connection piece they
come to me I help and direct them out into the community if sometimes they
there's that language barrier I if they're there with me I will make the
call with them and be the connecting piece and be the being the interpreter so
that they don't have to worry about it once they get home if they're living
by themselves or if it truly is a language barrier here at home as well what a
what a resource and what what a thing to be able to have in our community but I
got to think too very rewarding job oh yeah definitely at the end of the day
even if it's a little just a little thing it makes it makes it all worth it
yeah it's it's simplest of questions and a great example I appreciate you
sharing with us and most people out here they already know this stuff and
don't even think twice about it probably known since you were a kid maybe
what to do in those situations but to whether it's a new member or just a
person that's been in the community and maybe hasn't been able to ask or
hasn't had somebody to ask or unfortunately afraid to ask that's another
factor in this too and so it's another good reason not only have you here but
to have this opportunity to bridge those things yes definitely and when you
mentioned that that bridge in a great word for this by the way how are some of
the ways that you're you're helping with this whether it's training classes or
other things because out so we at extension it you'd be extension we've always
had multiple programs and groups ran in English however recently they've
adapted it into the monk culture they're making it making it culturally
appropriate and so and or translating the documents and curriculum into the
monk language so that if somebody who can't read English they are it but are
able to read monk they can definitely look at it and be like I can do this and
so one of the biggest things right now is strong bodies has been active in
our community we have a program running in Nukusa however that's an English
only program and so starting next week Tuesday and then every Tuesday and
Thursday for the next eight weeks I am starting a strong bodies program for
monk elders at the Montgomery Center here in Wisconsin Rapids and so they're
very excited about doing some strength training together they're really fun
group and then I'm also trained for Tai Chi for fall prevention and Arthur
Rites and it's something that Jackie one of my co-workers and I were talking
about possibly collaborating with the ADRC here in Wisconsin Rapids and offering
it for the community because that is something that's a high need and it's
very relaxing and the fall prevention is one of our biggest things that we
focus on because we want everybody to be safe yeah first off anybody no
matter who you are can be benefited by Tai Chi it is one of those things I was on
the fence on I tried it and I'd still incorporate some of it in my workouts
and everything great meditation piece great way to relax and calm the mind and
and really give your almost self a refresh to the day no matter when you're
doing it a great process and I'm really glad that the to hear how you're
combining certain things too because false affects all of us no matter what
creed you are or what have you as we get older to be able to combine these
and kind of if you will cover bases is really cool and it's something that
you guys at extension do so well the communication between different groups and
you and Jackie working together or other things like that it's it only makes our
community that much better that's a really cool idea with these different
whether it's the strong body strength training class or Tai Chi and for fall
prevention within arthritis can people still sign up for these classes so
strong bodies right now is closed for the group that I am starting however
once Tai Chi for fall on Tai Chi for fall prevention and arthritis it's in the
planning process at the moment and so for anybody that who is interested they
are more than welcome to call our woodcone extension office they can
definitely get on the list otherwise we will be sending flyers out there by
many meet like social platforms and so just be on the look oh well we'll keep
you up to date on that here as well and as we hear about it we'll make sure the
audience knows and I get you a good good audience for that one a good good
good group of people different groups to support stress reduction is
something else you're working on because I yes definitely because I'm sorry I
keep going I gotta get I'll just keep going I'm gonna keep saying your name so I
get it right so one of my biggest things besides the healthy eating and
active living at the elders is meant to health in the monk community it is
something that's very needed however something that's unspoken it's I always
say it's taboo to talk about it in the monk community if we don't talk about
it it's not real but it is there it's been around for many many years it's just
that no one really truly wants to acknowledge it and so right now with my
position I am collaborating with the family center they have a use group at
Rams and so I am going with them and we are having monthly use groups among
youth groups and hopefully our ultimate goal is to start at Rams and when
they're middle school and by the time they get to Lincoln high school they have
strategies to help with stress and they know how to process things or who they
can rely on or just the different strategies and resources out there that's
available to them when it comes to the topic of mental health in the last
handful of years even before the pandemic but certainly during and after the
pandemic this has become a hot topic in things that we talk quite a bit about
and so we've done a pretty good job there but before that we did not we as a
society did not cover this very well and it's something that my family and I
have been promoters of and talked about my whole life and it's really cool to
see everybody catching up to this and getting to this but we are playing catch up
with this topic so things like this are not only ways for us to reach people
earlier in life and help them get these tools to prepare and be more and more
prepared not only for high school but as the young adults and as adults and
all of this but there are things that and techniques and different things that
they'll learn and do that they'll do the rest of their lives with this this
the benefits of this never stop they just continue and and it also gives people
the tools to be able to figure out what works for them every mind is different
every person is different so what might work for me might not work for you
and and understanding this is really part of it too and being we still are in
the early days of this stuff so being it the more we work together and the
more opportunities we have like this the more we can really get data and
understand okay hey this is working this is not and all of us benefiting from
it oh definitely and like I said you know it's it's a really it's been around in
the Monk community forever it's been around in the community as a whole but in
the Monk community it's fairly new fairly new concept for people to understand
and so I want the kids to understand but yet it's the educating the parents
about it as much because if I can teach these kids strategies and give them
different resources as much as I want but if parents don't educate
themselves about behavioral health and mental health then we can make a little
difference but ultimately at the end of the day it is the parents that are
going to take them to therapists or different resources that are out there
these kids need the support of their parents and so it's bringing these kids
together for support teaching them all these different strategies and how to cope
with stress and different things however at the same time we're hoping to
eventually educate the parents bringing them in just letting them know that it
is truly a different it is different within the Monk community it looks different
however it it is there and so for them to support their kids at home
whether and at school and just out in the community so that we can be we can
grow and we can become a community as a whole and one of the things that I
always like to bring attention to whenever we have the opportunity is the how
we are more like than not and how we have more in common than not and whether
that is with people in your own community and you see somebody and like we
don't look anything alike but you got a ton of things in common it's the same
thing with where my old neighborhood or this neighborhood or any of those
things wherever you're listening wherever you're from mental health is a
topic and it is something that we all could do better about not just in a
society before each other and for ourselves you do this work and you it pays
dividends right away it's one of those things you put in the work and it pays
off and not for nothing it's on us as adults to do this for kids like this is
part of the job of being an adult and look at this speaking for myself here
I'm not I don't whether you have kids or not is not a part of this
conversation we're all adults and we all help raise these kids we all as a
society do kids aren't just paying attention to parents the paying attention to
adults and how we handle things and how we go about things the way we treat
each other the way we treat these topics they are going to be taken over one
day I looked this up before we were talking turns out kids of the future I was
blown away by that didn't even know so the more we do these things the better
that our future is going to be this is an investment in that it's a great
idea great program I'm looking forward to talking again and talking hearing how
this is going and and how it is working with not only that but getting the
family center involved as well I should mention I'm on the board the family
center and I always appreciate when we see nonprofits working together or
different organizations kind of working together similar to what you were
saying with working with the preventing falls class and combined kind of
combining some of that and everything we're only that much stronger and getting
the information out maybe even to more people oh definitely and I feel like
one of the biggest things with my position and in my role and what I want to
continue doing is partnering partnering with community partners and because
there I am that resource for so many families and so many people however I'm
not the expert and so being able to know being able to know who is able to
offer what and what resources are out there and available to everybody you
know that just comes with conversations and just being able to have that
relationship with those community partners we're speaking with Kazooa Tau
bilingual community health worker with our UW Extension friends and before we
wrap up I didn't want to get into the teaching advocacy advocacy skills that
you're doing through education this is a very cool topic it is and so whether
it's it's really all across all age groups within the Mung
community I want I always say how do I teach advocacy without saying I'm teaching
you how to advocate for yourself and so I owe being from the world of
education I love just teaching and just having fun and just being able to see
the light bulb go off and so whether it's a part groups or classes or things
like that I want them to understand what resources like I said is available
to them in the community what they can where they can go to if they wanted to
have a wide membership where they can go or how they can do that or if they
wanted like I said snow removal where can we find the resources there or
raking leaves or I don't know how I can pay my electricity bill you know I want
them to be able to I can help them and guide them but I want them to be able to
raise their voices and eventually speak for themselves and advocate for
themselves so whether it's me holding their hand or me starting that conversation
with them and then eventually having them finish that conversation I want them
to be able to advocate for themselves and and like I said I don't want to say
you're at this is how you advocate for yourself you do this and it's a script I
want I want it to be real and so like I said educating through advocacy
educate like teaching them how to do that it's just great knowing that there's
so much potential out there that they can do for themselves but it's just
the unknown and once they know it I'm hoping that they are independent and can
do it for themselves I'm happy that we're and it's a great job by you
outline wise because I'm happy we're wrapping up here I feel like this
encompasses so much of what we've talked about in the last half an hour and all
the different things that you were covering and different work that you are
doing over there with extension the empowering people is is something that we
can't do enough in life and society and certainly people you know we've talked
a lot about the youth and empowering them and making sure that they feel
better as they go forward in life and not only are able to communicate and
conversate and understand the world that they're in the society the town that
they're in and those things but feeling stronger and more confident going
forward this goes for adults too and maybe even in some ways more so to adults
that have lived in this country for a while or been here for any amount of
time and and not understood certain things are not been able to understand
certain things or communicate certain stuff anybody I've never been out of
the country but I mentioned Chicago and there's plenty of parts of Chicago you
go to Little Russia you go to Chinatown you go to different places like that and
it isn't just walking in there and everything's in English everything's in a
different language everybody speaking a different language like they don't just
say it's little it's Chinatown like it truly is that environment and I've been in
a lot of those places and it's confusing and it's and I don't understand
stuff but every person that I've ever run into in those worlds go out of their
way to what do you need little boy what do you need this or whatever as a kid
and stuff and and they do such a good job adapting to us here is an
opportunity for us to adapt to them and to help and put a bridge out at that
word again that you I love that word making a bridge between this because this
this not only strengthens our community metaphorically but it truly does
literally strengthen our community it's stronger these are community members
these are taxpayers these are people that are adding to our community they have
jobs their neighbors they are no different than any one of us except for the
fact of the language barrier oftentimes so them having that kind of taken out
of there and getting rid of that just adds up to our community being that much
stronger and better and more profitable and all of these things oh yeah
definitely they are your neighbors they are your friends and so just like
you said you know being working together you can definitely make this
community stronger and you know we can work together and make it a stronger
community build it to become a better community for our future because we want
it to be great for our kids and because I wanted to know one other thing too
that I I don't know if you notice this or not but going through your notes and
talking a little bit about this with other people that have been in a similar
job to yours and everything I appreciate that you really see the gray areas
and things I think a lot of us like well what were the main what is the main
question somebody would ask in this situation or something you kind of get
your bullet points and your main things to talk about you're covering gray
or snow removal things like that they're important stuff but things we don't
think about all the time and you know a lot of us are just oh that's just
common knowledge or we've experienced that I immediately as soon as you said
that earlier that example my my my my heart clenched up I felt bad for that
person I was like man that's not that ain't cool nobody should have to go
through that it's so cool to have a resource here to cover that gray area as
much as it is for all these other things the classes and different things that
are available you're doing some really good work over there and it's
appreciated thank you James and we're looking forward to hanging out and getting
to know each other more and talking more and more about this you'll probably
back next month sometime or coming up soon so we're looking forward to that
and seeing what else you guys got going on over there and how these programs
are developing and everything please do us a favor and when you have like the
Tai Chi for fall prevention and some of these things a little more the details
of them let us know we'll spread the word about them on our morning shows and
different opportunities we'll make sure you get a good a class a good attendance
for that yeah once it's all set in stone we'll definitely share it with you
because if people have fault questions they want to know more about some of
the things we've talked about today how can they reach you how can they find out
more they can email me at cazio ua dot tau t h a o at w i s c dot edu or you can
call the extension office it is thank you it is 715 421 8502 that's my direct
line so definitely call that yeah encourage you to do so everybody and then
and again I cannot thank you enough for the time thank you so much for joining
us cazio thank you for having me we'll have more midday magazine coming up for
it be sure to join us tomorrow on the program where in part one we'll have state
senator Patrick test in joining us and then at 430 Caleb McGregor talking about
community night trivia here at wfh are locally grown radio
