History
OUR STORY
On the American Side
In 1997, the Family Services Research Center (FSRC) of the Medical University of South Carolina was asked by the state of South Carolina to conduct a project to address community violence and youth crime. The focus of this project, called the Neighborhood Project, was to randomly select a high-crime neighborhood in South Carolina, join with the people of that neighborhood and work together to put in place their ideas for solutions to problems concerning children in their neighborhood. Union Heights, an inner-city, African American neighborhood in North Charleston, South Carolina was selected as the site. The leaders, parents, youth, and other citizens of the neighborhood determined three areas of concern:
- High rates of youth arrest and criminal activity
- High rates of youth suspension and expulsion (exclusion) from school
- Low access to prosocial activities (i.e., the youth did not have enough to do and were being pulled into the drug trade).
FSRC staff and people of the neighborhood pulled together to put in place interventions that included:
- Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for youth engaging in criminal activity and substance abuse and their families
- Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for youth at risk of suspension or expulsion from school
- Development and implementation of neighborhood-based positive and drug-free activities.
The Neighborhood Project was in place for three years. Outcomes of the project included reduced rearrest and substance abuse among referred youth, decreases in community violence among children, decreases in expulsion and suspension and increases in days in school, increases in youth and community participation in prosocial activities, and an 85 percent reduction in police calls for service. The community center in the neighborhood (Gethsemani Center) became inundated with activities in the day, evening, weekends, holidays, and was especially important during high-risk times such as after school. The activities developed were the ideas of the community and were specifically designed to be consistent with the cultural interest of the neighborhood, while introducing different cultures and ways of life. The activities included four initiatives:
- Education Initiative
- Fitness and Recreation Initiative
- Family and Neighborhood Cohesion Initiative
- Entrepreneurial and Job Initiative
The mechanism underlying the success of the Neighborhood Project was the way the University (MUSC) leveraged its intellectual capital through a committed MST research team from FSRC joining with the leaders of the Union Heights community. By prioritizing the input of the neighborhood leaders, this university-community partnership transformed a once violent and drug-ridden community into a supportive place for parents to raise their children, and a safe, nurturing environment for the elders of the community.
It is not unusual for universities throughout the United States to reach out to "disadvantaged" communities. It is however extraordinary for such outreach to be thriving a decade beyond the original funding and for energy generated by the initial project to take on a self-sustaining life of its own, redefining and broadening the initial outreach mission and propeling it from a local neighborhood-based initiative to a trans-Atlantic program of global scale.
A book was written about the neighborhood project:
Swenson, Cynthia Cupit, Henggeler, Scott W., Taylor, Ida S., Addison, Oliver W. (2004), Multisystemic Therapy and Neighborhood Partnerships: Reducing Adolescent Violence and Substance Abuse, Guilford Press.
Djole African Dance and Drum Company
Pertinent to Project OKURASE is the history of Djole. In 1999, as part of the Neighborhood Project's fitness and recreation initiative, a small grant was attained to provide six weeks of lessons in African dance and drumming. The activity went over so well that it continued and became a children's dance company. Today Djole is comprised of roughly 25 African American youth from the neighborhood who are ages 5-17. The children of Djole have performed in Charleston, around South Carolina, in New York City, and in Africa. The children of Djole have always been active in community service and in 2004 they began fund-raising activities to conduct HIV/AIDS prevention work in Ghana.
On the African Side
The African side of the project was started in Ghana by Samuel Nkrumah Yeboah, who is named 'Powerful' by the people in his village. In 2000, Powerful founded an organization called Nkabom Artist and Craftspeople Association in Accra, Ghana. Nkabom started out by organizing musical events and facilitating workshops with children to address health and environmental issues. In 2002, Powerful registered Nkabom as a nongovernment organization (NGO) and began to build the infrastructure necessary to conduct work in HIV/AIDS, malaria, and environmental issues. Their work primarily focuses on prevention by getting children and youth off the streets and into education and job training. Nkabom's mission is uniting artistic talent to share skills and give training to street children and orphans, creating environmental/health awareness and education through performing arts, and building a platform for talent development in the arts. In addition to the work in Africa, Powerful conducts work in the UK, such as workshops and teaching at universities and in the schools and corporate team building. The focus of the work in the UK is with children.
From Parallel Work to United Link
Work was being conducted in America by FSRC and Gethsemani Circle of Friends with African American youth who were at risk of experiencing community violence, substance abuse, and school expulsion. These very children are descendants of West Africa. Simultaneously, work was being conducted in Ghana by Nkabom with street children who were at risk of experiencing violence, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition and disease.
In 2001, Djole needed performance-quality drums, as the company had advanced from a children's group having lessons to a dance company conducting public performances. Dr. Cynthia Cupit Swenson of FSRC and the director of the Neighborhood Project was introduced to Samuel Nkrumah Yeboah (Powerful), a master drummer, master craftsman and instrument maker from Ghana. This fateful introduction over e-mail started the "UNITED LINK" which was to become more apparent in years to come.
Following their introduction, Dr. Swenson expressed an interest in bringing the children of Djole to Africa for a humanitarian trip. She suggested they could bring books and other educational material for the children of Ghana. Powerful was gracious but quickly informed Dr. Swenson there was a real threat to their country and if the children of Djole wanted to help, help was needed in addressing the AIDS epidemic. Books would be great but a larger issue was at hand. Children were living on the streets with nowhere to go. Dr. Swenson quickly got the message.
Djole fund raised for two years and in August 2006, 21 children from Djole Dance Company, parented by the Gethsemani Circle of Friends, traveled to Ghana and worked directly with Nkabom to develop and deliver an educational AIDS prevention dance/drama in several cities and villages throughout Ghana. A large national event was held at the Arts Centre of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, in conjunction with the Ghana Dance Association. The purpose of the AIDS dance/drama was to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS through traditional African methods in the arts. The target population was street children. The event was broadcast throughout Ghana by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
Four independent filmmakers accompanied Djole on this trip and are working on a documentary of this undertaking. From this memorable undertaking, Nkabom joined Gethsemani Circle of Friends, the children of Djole Dance and Drumming Group, and FSRC. A global partnership was born. Everyone involved was committed to doing more and to coming together for to create a better life for the children of Ghana. The leaders of all groups decided to band together and create Project OKURASE - following the famous quote from Henry Ford - "coming together is a beginning. keeping together is progress. working together is success."
