In Decolonising the Mind, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o discusses colonial effects on language and culture “…the destruction or the deliberate undervaluing of a people’s culture, their art , their dances, religions, history, geography, education, orature and literature……. and the conscious elevation of the colonizer”.
Communicating in a foreign language reflects “’real language of life’ elsewhere”, but this begs the question: while this was applicable to children who lived in an African village, spoke one language and when they attended school, spoke another, does it apply to the children of Africans in the diaspora today?
Culture is a product of the history of a people which in turn it reflects. Do our children know their people? Do they know where they came from? When we read, speak and are educated in a foreign language, we are divorced and disassociated from our natural and social environment. If this is by choice, no damage can be assessed. However, if this happens because of lack the materials that carry our culture, the damage can be addressed.
This is where the development of writing, reading and listening material comes in. We have a head start with Ng’ano cia Marimũ. Is this all there is to it? Is there a market for this?
The more I think about it, the more I think I want to discuss this issue with the young people in question. In my attempts to advocate for our languages, I have insisted that children should learn these languages because it is good for our nations. But, is it relevant in their lives? Do they want to know their people , are they interested in learning about where they came from? Are they invested in the societies their parents left? Most important, do they care? There is only one way to know: ask them!
This writer urges us to consider all sides of a story:
The dangers of the sinlge story: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
Stay tuned!
Jane, I absolutely love your insight and perspective on life. I think that you can establish a lot of pride in the young Kenyan community in Baltimore through using certain American books, like the McKibben book, to demonstrate how important it is to maintain one’s community.
So, for you, it’s about articulating the lifestyle of what Kenya was when you were growing up in the United States. That is quite an endeavor and I respect you immensely for undertaking it. I also think that it is quite necessary. I think that, as you said, funding would be an immense challenge, but I also think that there’s a lot you can do to show local and state governments how necessary your work is.
You can prove that you are actually not being ‘insular,’ so to speak, by preserving your own cultural traditions. You can show that you are actually drawing upon crucial lessons you learned as a child to make Kenyans in the Baltimore area feel prideful about their own journeys through life and maintain oral traditions.
So, maybe you could work on something involving community gardening at first. That’s been a really hot trend in our society. These urban areas developing gardens that support locally produced crops. Are there any crops or plants that are native to Kenya that could survive over here? I wonder if they would pass EPA regulations. But I think that there’s a tremendous amount of things you can do and I definitely see the need for it. Establishing a cultural center may be the basis for your community and I think this program is a great place for you to start.
Best of luck! I can’t wait to see how your project develops!
oops, I meant, what Kenya was when you were growing up there. Haha, and I guess showing how important that is for Kenyan children now growing up in the United States.
I have a couple of books that you may find useful, let me know when or if you’d like to know a bit more about them. I’ll post this on Blackboard as well in case you don’t see this.