Posts Tagged ‘Project S.E.L.F.’
“SAMATABAXDAY” (survivor)
Amged (Alpha Kemet) Yusuf, poet, abstract artist, and Coordinator of the Backyard Initiative Project S.E.L.F. CHAT team provided The Alley Newspaper with this information about this piece- “SAMATABAXDAY”(survivor): “In our native language, “Warda” means flower. She is the symbol of all the women in our Backyard Initiative Citizen Health Action Team (CHAT) and the Somali community at large. And she has a story that”'s often voiceless, unheard in an all-male dominated environment that needs to be told over and over again. The image is an artistic expression of the Warda”'s story illustrated by myself and produced through a process of discovery and deep conversation with members of Project S.E.L.F. Back home, when the day is over and the sun goes down, we use to gather in a circle around an elder and listen to inspiring tales full of wisdom to sustain us all for generations to come. There is something meaningful and healing in storytelling [...]
PROJECT S.E.L.F. (Save, Educate, Liberate, Free) CHAT
Recent Project S.E.L.F. Annual Ice Cream Social and Free Henna Decoration Project S.E.L.F. (SAVE EDUCATE LIBERATE FREE) is an Immigrant Health CHAT group that established a program called “Nomadic Expressions” which aims to assist youth, elders and families in healthy living and artistic expressions through poetry, open microphone performances, information workshops and community dialogue. The face of immigrant youth in our society has been negative as there is often more emphasis on those engaged in negative behaviors. Immigrant youth in our community are misguided and confused by conflicting messages between mainstream society and their original cultural ways. Communication across generations is strained and challenging. Youth are not responsive to guidance from the elders and are conflicted by peer pressure. (more…)
