Milwaukee Youth
Youth from NeuLife Community Resource Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin have been actively working on their cultural portfolios, exploring and expressing their own story of life as young people in the United States. The projects created include:
1) 9 March 2009
Introduction to South Africa was provided in the form of a power point, giving an overview of the Country and its diversity.
About Me: Youth created an introduction page about themselves, including their picture and a description, drawing, or collage of their interests. Each child was given their own disposable camera to take pictures about the aspects of their life and community which they find important
2) 10 March 2009
Express Yourself:
▪ The sessions started with a game in which the youth were given a piece of paper which had quotes from the writings, poems, or songs of influential African American Artists. The participants wrote down the names of the artists they knew, including poets Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes, and Hip-hop artists T.I. and Nas.
▪ The youth discussed the significance of music and poetry as a way of channeling one's life experiences, expressing oneself, and gaining understanding and unity.
▪ The participants created a CD mix of their favorite songs to share with youth in South Africa
3) 11 March 2009
My Culture: youth created pages about a cultural holiday or tradition
▪ Many decided to do this project in the form of holiday cards, creating Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Birthday cards which gave a description of their traditions inside
4) 14 April
Picture Project
▪ Youth received their pictures which were developed from their disposable cameras. The pictures included their friends, family, neighborhood, stores, and houses
▪ Pictures were used to create pages of the portfolio explaining the pictures and their significance
▪ Some participants chose to make picture collages, others added paint, stickers, or drawings to their page to express their individuality and creativity
5) 15 April
Community Project
• Youth discussed the pay it forward project they created for their community
• Youth created a page explaining and drawing the community projects, what they like about where they live, and their ideas for making it a better place
6) South Africa Speaker 5/6/09
◦ Nthando visited from Cape Town, South Africa and came to the center to speak with the youth. He began by introducing himself and then answered any questions. The youth were very involved in the South Africa discussion, asking great questions about the culture, language, landscape, and social issues such as housing, segregation, and HIV. The children enjoyed listening to Nthando speak Xhosa and very interested in the variety of languages in South Africa. Nthando also explained his work with HIV and AIDS through the Desmond Tutu HIV center in the township of Nyanga and Masiphumelele. The youth were very knowledgeable about the virus and engaged in a conversation of possible approaches for prevention. A number of students explained the importance of abstinence as the best form of prevention. Another student, recognizing that abstinence prevention does not apply to everyone and every circumstance, explained how he hands out condoms at school to make sure other students are protecting themselves if they decide to engage in sexual activity. The event concluded with the children sharing some of their pictures and projects they have been working on to exchange with the Cape Town youth.
1) 9 March 2009
Introduction to South Africa was provided in the form of a power point, giving an overview of the Country and its diversity.
About Me: Youth created an introduction page about themselves, including their picture and a description, drawing, or collage of their interests. Each child was given their own disposable camera to take pictures about the aspects of their life and community which they find important
2) 10 March 2009
Express Yourself:
▪ The sessions started with a game in which the youth were given a piece of paper which had quotes from the writings, poems, or songs of influential African American Artists. The participants wrote down the names of the artists they knew, including poets Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes, and Hip-hop artists T.I. and Nas.
▪ The youth discussed the significance of music and poetry as a way of channeling one's life experiences, expressing oneself, and gaining understanding and unity.
▪ The participants created a CD mix of their favorite songs to share with youth in South Africa
3) 11 March 2009
My Culture: youth created pages about a cultural holiday or tradition
▪ Many decided to do this project in the form of holiday cards, creating Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Birthday cards which gave a description of their traditions inside
4) 14 April
Picture Project
▪ Youth received their pictures which were developed from their disposable cameras. The pictures included their friends, family, neighborhood, stores, and houses
▪ Pictures were used to create pages of the portfolio explaining the pictures and their significance
▪ Some participants chose to make picture collages, others added paint, stickers, or drawings to their page to express their individuality and creativity
5) 15 April
Community Project
• Youth discussed the pay it forward project they created for their community
• Youth created a page explaining and drawing the community projects, what they like about where they live, and their ideas for making it a better place
6) South Africa Speaker 5/6/09
◦ Nthando visited from Cape Town, South Africa and came to the center to speak with the youth. He began by introducing himself and then answered any questions. The youth were very involved in the South Africa discussion, asking great questions about the culture, language, landscape, and social issues such as housing, segregation, and HIV. The children enjoyed listening to Nthando speak Xhosa and very interested in the variety of languages in South Africa. Nthando also explained his work with HIV and AIDS through the Desmond Tutu HIV center in the township of Nyanga and Masiphumelele. The youth were very knowledgeable about the virus and engaged in a conversation of possible approaches for prevention. A number of students explained the importance of abstinence as the best form of prevention. Another student, recognizing that abstinence prevention does not apply to everyone and every circumstance, explained how he hands out condoms at school to make sure other students are protecting themselves if they decide to engage in sexual activity. The event concluded with the children sharing some of their pictures and projects they have been working on to exchange with the Cape Town youth.
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Pictures of the Center taken by youth
Youth creating their portfolios of their lives in Milwaukee
Cleveland, Ohio Boys Hope Girls Hope
