Native American Academic Summer Program

Our Academic Summer Adventure promotes education, builds youth self-esteem, sparks curiosity, and shapes strong, healthy, contributing members of society. This summer our students improved their reading, writing, math, and science skills in a fun and friendly environment. These dedicated youth were also treated to fun and educational field trips to locations in and out of their community.

Thanks to an in-kind donation from Laces of Grace, we distributed 69 pairs of brand new shoes to our students and other children in the community! We also distributed 40 new backpacks and luggage tags to students for the school year among other much-needed school supplies.

NAAF partnered with the USDA and Arizona Department of Education through the Summer Food Service Program to provide healthy and nutritious lunches and snacks to children in Gu Vo District and the Tohono O'odham Nation's capital, Sells District. This was a welcome addition to our program and gave us another opportunity to focus on health and wellness education on the Nation. A total of 3,273 meals and snacks were served over 6 weeks! It was a true delight seeing the youth respond positively to these healthy meals. At the Al Jek Recreation Center in Gu Vo District, we were honored to have guests from the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service team. Among them were Jesus Mendoza Jr., Western Regional Administrator; Sarah Stever, Program Specialist; Michael Ladd, Tribal Liaison; and Suzanne Callor, a Nutrition Program Specialist with the Arizona Department of Education. Our guests were treated to a traditional Tohono O'odham song, sung by three students about the four directions, as well as a warm welcome from Gu Vo Chairman Manuel. This visit meant so much to us as the USDA team traveled all the way from San Francisco to see our vibrant community in action.

This summer our students had an inside look at the roles associated with their Tribal Council at the Legislative Council Chambers in Sells District. They had the opportunity to meet with Legislative Council Chairman Timothy Joaquin and learn about the importance of the Council's work. To commemorate the experience, the students' picture was printed in the local newspaper, The Runner! On the way back to Gu Vo, the students were treated to a tour of the KOHN FM radio station in Ouijota. Many children later expressed how fun and educational the trip was for them. On another trip, our students were thrilled and inspired by the Pima Air and Space Museum, where they learned about the history of aircraft used during WWI and WWII. A few of the older youth were fortunate enough to speak with veterans at the museum. The veterans expressed enjoyment over speaking with the youth about their experiences as many of these servicemen were around the same age when they enlisted. In addition to these exciting adventures, the students loved swimming at the public pools in Ajo and Sells, AZ! What a fantastic summer! :)

Links:

• NAAF Website
• NAAF Facebook