Posted Date: June 11, 2008

Newsome House's Cultural Camp To Explore Mali

By Lendora Washington
NJG Summer Intern
Howard University Senior

   On June 23rd, a group of fortunate children will embark on an exhilarating cultural exploration of Mali, the seventh largest country in Africa, which will end on June 27th. However, there will be no need for passports, luggage or plane tickets to complete their journey into Malian culture. As participants in Cultural Explorations Summer Youth Camp of The Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center of Newport News, these children will be able to explore the rich culture of Mali right here in the Hampton Roads.
   “We've done the camp for the last three years and we change the theme every year,” said Donna Davis, Historic Site Coordinator. “This year it's Exploring Mali because it's in line with the Virginia SOLs.”
   “We try to be in conjunction with the SOLs of Virginia and along with our mission statement,” said Shaun Stith, Education Specialist.
    The weeklong Cultural Explorations Summer Youth Camp will take a maximum of 25 students from 3rd to 6th grade. These students will be exploring Mali though the use of fun programs focused on art.
   “They will be going on tours and viewing African Artifacts and seeing African sculptures museums,” said Davis. “ And Dylan Pritchett is coming to do storytelling.”
    Dylan Pritchett, a member of the National Association for Black Storytelling, will provide the campers with real taste of African culture. Pritchett uses the African oral tradition to tell stories for entertainment and enlightenment about history and culture.

   “I always tell African stories,” said Pritchett. “My style is to explain the story. Generally, when I tell stories it's about kids.”
    Through storytelling, Pritchett hopes to leave the children with a feeling of connection to the African culture. His goal is to both make the story relevant and give a historical perspective.
   “Through storytelling, I hope that they have to gain an understanding of how the story transcends time and how the characters of the story have the same dilemmas of our time,” said Pritchett. “There is a connection and correlation of the story and what's going on today.
    In addition to the storytelling, the campers will enjoy performers from the Hampton Roads area.
“We have drummers and Swahili dancers coming to perform at the camp,” said Stith.
    The camp's various activities are funded by the 25 dollars per child fee, as well as generous donations.
“We ask for donations from different organizations like Wal-mart or Harris Teeter, said Stith. “We save money by doing everything ourselves. We have four staff members and we also have volunteers that fill out applications. We call volunteers to come out a chaperone, when we go out. We also do local activities that don't require as much funding and we make do the best we can.”
    The campers are provided snacks, books, and transportation to the field trip sites. The parents of the campers must provide a bag lunch and transportation to and from the campgrounds in Newport News.
   “The city of Newport News provides large tents which are 40X100,” said Stith. “We use these tents in a large grass area. The campers will be in the tents learning about the culture of Mali.”
    Within the tents the students will be prepped for the local activities. The campers will be taking fieldtrips to the National Botanical Gardens and the Hampton University Museum.

   “Before we get the involved and go into the museums, we give them plenty of information,” said Stith. We want them to have fun but they have to learn first. It's like Jeopardy, you can't play unless you know the information.”
The Cultural Exploration Summer Youth Camp believes that the camp should be available to any child that would like to participate, if space permits.
   “At no point and time do we turn the child away for not having money,” said Stith. “We are not a free camp but we will work for them. Our board has donated money. The money that we do receive does not go into our pockets. We break that up to help the parents supplement what money they are missing for the camp fee, on a case-by-case basis. It's all about the kids and the community.”
   Registration for The Cultural Exploration Summer Youth Camp ends on June 13th. To reserve a spot or to get more information call (757) 247-2360.

 

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