I've lived and grew up in San Francisco all my life, I was attached to the city and I loved visiting its iconic landmarks along with what the city had to offer ever since I was five years old. I would love going to Golden Gate park, the Golden Gate bridge, and visiting the beautiful ocean by the bay. I had never loved anything more than just exploring the city I call home. At eight years old, I visited downtown in the tenderloin. I was there with my dad, strolling down the street until something had caught my eye. A group of homeless people gathered at what had been my favorite ice cream shop. They used blankets and bags to settle down. At that age, I didn't understand what was happening. Intrigued, I innocently asked my father if they were playing a game like duck, duck, goose, and that if it was possible if I could join in on the fun. My dad looked down at me, how small I was, and gently explained that there was no game involved. He told me about the homelessness, and the crisis around the city that many people didn't have a place to live. I remember I couldn't grasp what he was saying, and finally realized that not everyone had a warm bed waiting for them at home. It made me see my beloved city in a new light. That moment stuck with me, and as I grew older, the challenge amplified into transportation systems like BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transit), buildings, and parks. I began to understand the complexities around homelessness and how heartbreaking it is for the community. That's when I knew I wanted to take action. Originally, I strived to take action to build a software to help spread awareness to the crisis in San Francisco, but then, my curiosity peaked. I wondered what other issues other cities across our nation may face, and that they might need a platform to counter these opportunities like the homelessness in my city. Then, I started to build Tewen.
Tewen is a unique tourist business site that aims to spread awareness about social issues in various cities while offering traditional tourist experiences. Tewen operates in six cities: Boston, Chicago, Hartford, New York City, Minnesota, and San Francisco, and unlike typical tourist systems, Tewen stands out by employing the people of the city as tourist guides. By doing so, Tewen aids locals to take action in being an agent of change by offering services to those unfamiliar to the city and community that they've been apart of and live in. Additionally, these tourist guides can give actual tourists a great time by offering tours to city attractions they know much about, while also enlightening them to be well-versed in its social challenges. For instance, in San Francisco, they can educate tourists about homelessness, which is a prevalent issue in the city. Those who use Tewen's web app can choose tours that focus on understanding and learning about these urban challenges, in addition to enjoying the usual tourist attractions like driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, visiting Fisherman's Wharf, or taking a ferry across the Bay. The core mission of Tewen is to raise awareness about societal issues across different cities, in order to understand what our nation can do to create good change. By offering tours that highlight these challenges, Tewen encourages visitors to not only enjoy and appreciate the sights the city has to offer, but also gain a deeper understanding of the city's social landscape in order to understand what the challenge is really like in a city and what they can do about it. This approach is intended to foster empathy, education, and potentially inspire action among locals of the city. In summary, Tewen uses and leverages tourism as a platform to educate and spread awareness about the complex social issues faced by cities such as homelessness, which engages both visitors and local youth in meaningful advocacy for these issues.
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