MRS. RAZO'S SPROUTS

A Resilience Project

Hello, I'm Ana Razo, I'm a community member who grew up in San Pedro. I attended Cabrillo Elementary, Dana Middle School and San Pedro High School but now I homeschool my two daughters and teach them farm living within our urban farm limitations. For some period I was a substitute teacher in San Pedro and an avid teaching volunteer for English learners in Wilmington before I became a Pod Teacher in the South Bay. During the pandemic I saw a growing need for learning pods and after working in Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach I decided I’d start a free learning pod in San Pedro. I started at Rancho San Pedro Housing Projects because it was where my mother resided when she first came from Oaxaca, Mexico. I was there every Tuesday and Thursday from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm providing learning support to young children from April to August. The ongoing gun violence in the housing community forced my decision to change our location. We are now working on preparing the plot for Mrs. Razo’s Sprouts at the Community Garden’s on Gaffey. We have been blessed at this new location by kind garden neighbors who are willing to lend a hand to this project. 
The specific purpose of this project is to build resilience through purposeful play and learning. As I make my way through the graduate program at APU, to earn a Masters in Science for Child Life, I hope to share my knowledge with my community by creating a Resilience Garden. My dream for this garden is to have a place where people can share their coping practices when faced with adversity. For myself and others around the garden, growing our own food or tending to our plants is the way we deal with stress. This will be a place where people can share their stories and where we can unite through our pain as a community.