New American Africans Youth Program

New American African's youth program is thriving as it never has before.  Recently, we introduced Ayi, our engaging, athletic and inspiring Youth Coordinator.  He remains the key to success for this program; kids love him, parents trust him and he has built strong relationships with the schools in Concord.  Every week, he spends time in Concord's middle and high school, running a high quality, one on one tutoring program that is made possible through the partnerships he has developed.  We have formed a critical alliance with Concord's federally funded after school program, 21C.  Students from St. Paul's School, a very prestigious private boarding school, come into the schools and help anyone who needs it with their homework.  Mostly, it is African youth who take advantage of this remarkable opportunity, but word has spread and other students stop by as well.

Two evenings a week, he offers programing on the Heights, the neighborhood in Concord where many new American African families live.  By far our most popular program, Marie Isimibi teaches dance on Wednesday evenings.  In a matter of months, she and Ayi have built this program from a base of five committed students to an entire roomful of dancers.  More experienced dancers take the newcomers in hand and make sure that they feel welcome, wanted and valued.  Marie is from Rwanda and speaks Kinyarwanda, the most common language for our most recently resettled African families.  Always, she gives instructions in Kinyarwanda, and then repeats in English.  With Ayi's help, she pushes her students to respond to questions in English.  ESL teachers have remarked with great pleasure at how quickly some of our newcomers are willing to speak up in English when they are in school.  The dance class has become a gateway to our tutoring sessions: Newcomers stop in to check out the dancing, they meet Ayi and then realize how much more NAA's youth program has to offer them as they undertake the arduous work of catching up to their host community peers.

But Marie is so much more than just a dance teacher who helps with English acquisition.  She vibrates with joy!  She has made it so much fun to be in her class, that every week, the number of participants grows.  Even though they are asked to speak some English, for the most part, she and Ayi have created a space where kids are free to  be kids.  They are removed from the stress of constant translation; they see their culture celebrated and uplifted.

In the past few months, the city of Concord has taken a firm stand against hatred and exclusion.  Almost weekly, events pop up where resistance is alive.  On January 21, New Hampshire hosted a Women's March, affiliated with the Women's March on Washington.  Our youth, with lots of help from Marie and NAA board members, make lunch for 150 guests.  They served a truly delicious cassava beef stew, and in the process, raised funds for a trip this summer.  During an Interfaith Vigil to support our Muslim, refugee and immigrant neighbors, they stopped in for an impromptu performance.  They have been invited to dance at an event called, "Art is a Form of Resistance."  They will be playing a leading role in a multi-ethnic dance party that will be open to all members of the Concord community who want to build friendships across culturally borders.   As our community grapples with ways to stand in solidarity, we expect invitations to dance to continue to pour in.

If Marie, Ayi and their students have a dream, it is to be able to practice twice a week.  Currently, we only have the funding for one evening a week.  Marie loves to see her students engaged and having fun, but she equally wants to see them become a truly well prepared dance team, one that reflects positively on her students and their culture of origins.  We welcome your help with this project.  A donation of $65 pays for one extra evening of dance.  A donation of any size gets us closer to our goal of bringing our youth together twice a week for dancing.