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During the summer months, WE WIN Institute brings youth to Africa on an
Educational Tour and Cultural Rites of Passage. This is an opportunity
of a lifetime. The trip enables young people who are involved in our
Rites of Passage programs to experience what they have been studying
throughout the year. Many prominent adults have accompanied our youth,
including Dr. Carol Johnson, the former superintendent of the
Minneapolis Public Schools. Young people who are not part of the Rites
of Passage are also able to come to the "motherland." All young people
who make the journey, must work to earn their money for the trip. We
have learned that when children work for the trip that they appreciate
it more.
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WE WIN has taken young people to Ghana, Senegal, the Gambia, and Togo.
They have seen the treacherous Castles, where Africans were held as
prisoners until they were boarded onto ships in chains, going through
the notorious, "Door of No Return," which sent them through the Middle
Passage, never to see their homeland again.
Young people learn about the foods and plants that are indigenous to
Africa. They visit mueseums, meet with chiefs and queens, and met the
vice president of Ghana. Students also meet other young people in the
various countries that have gone through their own rites of passage.
They dance together, play drums, swim, learn to barter and get a real
connection of the greatness of their history and culture. They leave
understanding the contributions that people that look like them have
made to Africa and to the world. No child comes home the same. They have
a great pride in being African!
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The two week trip requires extensive fundraising. The trip averages
$3000. It is a lot of hard work and commitment on the part of the
children and adults that accompany them. Most of the children that take
the journey are low income and live in the inner-city where many have
not been out of Minneapolis, yet alone the United States. They learn
what is required to get a passport. They learn the importance of being
on a schedule for the fundraising as well as the rigous schedule that
they must follow in Africa. All financial support of young people to
Africa is welcomed and encouraged!
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For those who would like to come with or more importantly, sponser a child to go to Africa, please contact us at (612) 721-2364.
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© 2007 WE WIN Institute Inc.
