Childrens Window To Africa
Children’s Window To Africa was created over 25 years ago by Dr Valerie Iya Adeniji Lawrence. After being presented with research that demonstrated the power of Black children doing art within their own communities, Iya Adeniji was urged to create a program based on these findings which was housed primarily in public housing communities within the Greater Pittsburgh area. Initially the Children’s Window to Africa began as a summer program, but after it started to achieve notable results, the program expanded to additional communities eventually operating in almost 20 areas. Once it grew, it became a year-round program that was able to provide training and employment for all of its artists and staff.
“The purpose of this project was for African children living in America to develop love for themselves and their culture by being exposed to Africa. This was achieved through various arts and forms of communication: movement, music, dance, reading, song, storytelling, story writing, and hands on science are all used. CWTA also offered my first library, where books are given to the children. Ultimately, we want them to see Africa in themselves.”
– Dr. Iya Adeniji Lawrence
Our Foundation
Our Foundation We stand on the foundation of the Nguzo Naba and Sankofa as operating blueprints. The Nguzo Saba (7 principles of Kwanzaa), gives positive direction to our everyday life. The principles are Unity, Self-determination, Collective work and Responsibility, Cooperative economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith. We stand in the divine unification of wisdom from the Nile Valley and Yoruba Land Sankofa: “It is not taboo to go back and retrieve if you forget’ Our foundation is built on our connection to our Creator, respect to our Ancestors, and faith in our Children. Too often, African American children are not given the opportunity to learn to value and appreciate their cultural heritage and associated knowledge. These children are many times depicted as having no culture or as having a peripheral and stagnant role in both world history and contemporary society. Seldom are our children given leadership roles. Seldom are they held up as examples of goodness, decency, scholarship, genius, kindness, beauty, manhood/womanhood, or childhood. Sankofa, the Nguzo Saba, and what Dr. Ama Mazama (2021) refers to as, “Specific Afrocentric Education” allows us to retrieve our cultural inheritance to pass it on to our children. We increase the wealth of our communities present and future when we enrich the lives of our children.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Every Child Is
Talented
Every Child Is
Creative
Every Child Is
Valued
Every Child Is
Special
Every Child
Deserves Respect
Every Child Is
Deserved to feel safe and be Safe
Every Child Is
Every child deserves to learn how to Love from being Loved.
Our Vision Statement
- To connect children to the legacy of their African cultural heritage in order to raise each child's possibility of social, spiritual, personal and cultural wealth.
- To provide African cultural heritage training and resources to parents, teachers, and others working with and caring for our children.
- To connect our children to a community of care beyond and including immediate family.
- Each team members is a contributor to supporting the journey towards a proud and balanced Afrikan identity
- To connect our children to African myths of creation -i.e.. Yemoja as mother of civilization; Auset, Het Heru, Ogun, Shango, Dinkinesh, and others.
Our Mission
Childrens Windows to Africa, also known as Darisha La Watoto Kwa Africa enters public housing communities as a team of artists, African teachers (Baba Asa Hilliard), and culture bearers to open the mental and cultural windows for the healing and uplift of Black children through the following:
- Summer programming in communities
- Educational Conferences
- Winter Solstice education
- Summer Solstice education
- Autumn Equinox
- Spring Equinox
- Nutrition
- Continual support in schools & Educational Advocacy