AP Bangkok summer internship

Some of my photo and video work at AP Bangkok

Mental health advocates march to demand rights

Mental health advocates marched in the Chicago winter chill on Feb 5th. The organizing team is part of the Mental Health Movement, which works with both mental health service providers and customers to lobby and improve the state of mental health services in Chicago.

Almost three years ago, the city closed six public mental health clinics. The march, which took place while the last mayoral debate was going on at ABC 7 studio downtown, aimed to educate candidates about the value of public mental health clinics to low income and minority communities.

Advocates also proposed their vision for Chicago’s public mental health services in the next years. They urged the city council to open or reopen two clinics each year for four years to establish a safety net for the mentally ill across the city.

“It would only cost each taxpayer 25 cents a month to keep the clinics open,” said N’Dana Carter, an activist with the Movement. “It is affordable and desperately needed service.”

In addition, members of the march demanded greater educational effort from the Public Health Department to let people know that there are accessible resources in their communities when they are feeling depressed or anxious.

[A version of this blog post is on Social Justice News Nexus; More photos on flickr]

SpotHero shifts into high gear with parking app

By Penny Yi Wang

Parking in the city is never easy, but SpotHero, a Chicago-based technology company, has found a way to help commuters. The start-up’s mobile apps find discounted parking spots in real time and allow users to pay online or in the app. The company, which launched in 2011 with three co-founders, now has 30 employees. SpotHero has just added four new cities to its roster of seven.

Shot on an iPhone 6. Music: Batty McFaddin by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Qatar driving culture explained

One of the first things expats need to get used to when they first come to Qatar is a distinct driving style some people have on the road. Where did it come from? No one seems to have an answer. Perhaps this audio clip might be able to help a little.

A Qatari perspective on driving culture in Qatar–

(Originally published on Qatar Living)

All about Qatar: caffeine addiction, reading culture and media freedom

As part of last year’s video journalism class, I made three other news packages about the community that we live in. These three clips tackle issues such as growing caffeine addiction, the lack of reading culture and media freedom. Here you go-

Tradition makes way for modernization: local market faces close down

Modern shops and malls will soon replace Souq Al Haraj, but shop owners and numerous customers are not quite so pleased with the decision.

[Doha News] Qatar strives to expand honey production, but heat a challenge

Amid plans to move away from its dependency on food imports, Qatar has been experimenting with commercial beekeeping and honey production. Over the past year, the country’s Ministry of Environment has set up about 30 farms in the north, located strategically near indigenous Sidra trees. From their blossoms, bees gather nectar to produce sidr honey, […]

[Doha News] Crowds throng MIA park for Flugtag

Thousands of people turned up to the Museum of Islamic Art Park on Friday to watch some three dozen manmade “flying” machines launch off the pier and into the water, along with their “pilots.” None of the machines went very far, but people seemed thrilled nonetheless to be a part of Qatar’s first RedBull Flugtag event. Throughout […]

Profile: Dive Free

Khaled Mahmoud is a diving instructor at Poseidon Diving Center in Doha, Qatar. He loves diving because it gives him freedom.

Qatar showed ambition to tackle food security issue at COP18

At the eighteenth UN Climate Change Conference, Qatar presented many of its pioneer projects in adapting to climate change.

Penny Yi Wang

third-culture journalist. china, qatar, america, thailand.

VJ