On the 7th, 14th, and 21st of May 2021 Institute of Afrikology in partnership with Africa Unite begun the Africa Month celebrations with Africa Friday’s activations “Know Africa” information session where each activation had one lead facilitator and we managed to reach over 400 learners. The main aim of the session was to deepen the understanding of Africa, the continent, her heritage, and her culture, especially for young people.
The session at Vumandaba High School and Mazibu Primary School was facilitated by Peer educators from Africa Unite and the Institute of Afrikology team from Ivory Coast and Rwanda who shared the history, food, music of their countries and how they live. We also had representatives from the Kwa Thoyana Royal council. Additionally, young people from Ivory Coast, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe shared with learners their country’s history, culture, numerous ethnic groups, language, festivals, art, food, and music.
Learners were very excited to learn about other African countries and to learn few words from Swahili, Shona, and Kinyarwanda. Learning to speak a few words like ‘Amakuru’ (how are you) or ‘Muraho’ (good day) got the participants excited. The teachers and the principal were also very happy about the sessions, and they requested that we continue to have more of these sessions as they play a critical role in changing the mindset of the learners which had the potential of curbing social ills including xenophobia.
They also recommended that there was a need for positive parenting and gender-based violence programs for their learners and parents as gender and domestic violence were rampant in the community. Moreover, they requested future collaborations in tackling the socio-economic challenges faced by their community.
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