Ujima Friends Peace Center is a worshipping Quaker community of people of African Descent who have committed themselves to the village with residents of North Philadelphia to decrease various forms of violence that arise from systems of oppression. The Center can be contacted at admin@ujimafriends.org. Below is a story about their summer plans.
Looking for Friendly Spaces
Ujima Friends Peace Center is launching its Freedom Summer programming for 2021.
Each summer, Ujima has engaged children in a program that uses Africana social justice literature to cultivate a love for reading, peace, and justice. We will use Freedom School and Mpatapo curricula, which blend the Quaker SPICES with the African Centered value systems of Nguzo Nane and Virtues of Maat.
During this year so many of our children have been locked down in their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many middle and high school students find themselves battling depression and various forms of mental illness.
This summer, Ujima Friends Peace Center is planning a program that is 100% outdoors
This summer program emphasizes literacy, wellness, conflict transformation, and care for the environment. Ujima Friends Freedom School will target 15-20 middle school children and 5 high school students. Numbers are limited by the need to be able to social distance on the bus.
Not only do we want to have our children outside, we want them to experience, “Friendly” spaces.
Therefore, we are reaching out to Friends to see whether there are places/spaces that can be shared with our children just once a week. We are excited to announce that we have already secured a partnership with the Historic Fair Hill Burial Ground community. Thus, once a week we will spend a day at the Fair Hill Burial Grounds doing our Freedom School curriculum and participating in the Urban Gardening program.
We are looking for Places to share with the following characteristics
1. At least 3 more Friendly outdoor spaces that we can visit once a week. Space should have grounds, bathroom facilities (either indoors or out). We would love to visit Friends Schools & camps, retreat centers, and meetinghouses with outdoor properties.
2. Sites that can be visited just one time during the summer for a special trip.
3. Opportunities for swimming.
How to Help and Get in Touch With Us
A major expense of this program will be transportation for daily bus rental, which will total about $9000 for the summer.
Donations can be made for the program directly to Ujima Friends Peace Center or to our fiscal partners Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School for the Ujima Friends Freedom School 2021.
Reach the Center at admin@ujimafriends.org
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