Flip Flops for Kenyan Kids

FLIP FLOPS FOR KENYAN CHILDREN

A knit hat, a cute little skirt, a sweater and A PAIR OF FLIP FLOP SANDALS TO MATCH, this is joy and the mother is appreciative.

I travel every year to Kenya on Cultural Reconnection Mission, a way to seek the common culture with women in a part of the world my ancesters were stolen from 500 years ago. I have been to African 6 times and it is the country of Kenya, I love. Unfortunately, some of the large humanitarian agencies collect billions of dollars from American people some for the children in Kenya. Unfortunately, it is the small efforts that make their way to the children and their caregivers. Having a personal interaction with those who are being self sufficient is a satisfying way to partner with caregivers. The impact of HIV/AIDS leaves children orphaned and vulnerable. Through African American Kenyan Women (AAKEWO) supports many humanitarian efforts that create self sufficiency in conjuction with our Kenya colleagues Nyisango Women. We promote collective action, capacity and leadership building and sustainable solutions.

Sending 5,000 pairs of flip flops on a 40 foot cargo container along with medical supplies and books created capacity building for both African American women and the Kenyan women. We base our work on collective action, we focus on a solution that is created by the Kenyan women and bring resources to that solution to bolster success and sustainability and then move onto the next problem, next solution.

One Family at a Time

My life is committed to helping families become self sufficient. I do this in collective action with others. I am committed to First Place a school for homeless children and agency that allows families the support to become stable. In Kenya I support women who are becoming self sufficient.

The African American Academy - can not close

The African American Academy in Seattle was organized and opened out of the frustration of African American community that Seattle Public Schools had not created a curriculum or taught in ways that African American students could learn at the same levels as their white peer group.

After 17 years of underfunding, inadequate personnel selection race based assessments that preclude learning styles of African Americans there is still an achievement gap. There are several African American professors of education who travel to Kenya and other African nations to support the learning outcomes of African Children. As school has been built in Ghana by an African American Seattle School employee. How can this occur while children right in their own city are failing? Well, it occurs because those who know how to educated African American students and hold themselves and others to high expectations have not been allowed to take a significant role in AAA. So, they go where they are wanted and where excellence is wanted and expected.

Thankfully, most of those who created the AAA are still living and know that when establishing AAA the existence as a school was very much a treaty with the community. The school was not a whim of any particular board or administration.

And with this, those who can bring teaching and learning to African American and African born children must do this at home in Seattle as well as in African nations. It is time for Seattle Schools to give AAA the funds that belong to the children, teachers must teach or accept the training needed to teach African born and American African children or move to another school. Administrators must lead in ways that support the cultural respect for a community of African heritage and remove all residuals of colonialism and slavery.

The African American Academy can not close, because it will say to historians that no, we could not teach African born or American African children to be excellent even in the year that America voted an American African into the office of President of the United States of America