Debbie Johnson knew she’d have to put extra effort into helping her daughter Harper learn more about her dad, Fenton Edman, after he died last fall.<\/p>\n
“I want her to learn about her dad’s heritage and culture,” Johnson said to CBC Hamilton about Edman, who was born in Jamaica.<\/p>\n
Edman moved to Canada in the early 1980s. He was 62 when he died in October 2021 after a lengthy illness.<\/p>\n
Johnson said she then heard about the Afro Canadian Caribbean Association of Hamilton and District’s (ACCA) summer camp in Hamilton, and signed up Harper, 8.<\/p>\n
“I want her to experience everything that she can.”<\/p>\n
8-week camp teaches kids about culture
\nThe eight-week new summer camp, with roughly 40 participants between ages six and 12, is part of a broader initiative by the association to provide programs and support for Black children, said Evelyn Myrie, president of ACCA Hamilton.<\/p>\n
The camp wraps up later in August.<\/p>\n
“They are learning about team building, they are also learning [about different cultures] and foods,” Myrie said, adding the campers have made Jollof rice. The West African dish is typically made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables and meat.<\/p>\n
“We talk about eating healthy and \u2026 we talk about and share different recipes.”<\/p>\n
Myrie previously said ACCA would be leading a project, under Ontario’s Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy, aimed at preventing crime and violence, and increasing awareness and self confidence in Black youth.<\/p>\n
At the time, she said, the provincial government was giving ACCA $284,671 for the Rites of Passage project \u2014 one of 11 new community-based programs aimed at deterring youth from becoming involved in crime or victims of it.<\/p>\n
“Building on the program, we added to it weekly activities for some people through a summer camp format,” Myrie said Thursday.<\/p>\n
“A range of issues are being covered at the camp, including building self-confidence and learning about cultural pride \u2026 we’re focusing on some approaches to address kids making poor choices.”<\/p>\n
Harper is having ‘time of her life’
\nJohnson said Harper is “having the time of her life” at the camp.<\/p>\n
“As soon as I picked her up from the first day, she was just saying how much she loved it because ‘it was totally awesome.'”<\/p>\n
She said that some days, Harper has returned from camp dancing.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what the African dance they were learning was, but she was showing me two moves.”<\/p>\n
Harper said she’s been enjoying the camp activities, such as dancing and drumming.<\/p>\n
She’s also made some friends.<\/p>\n
“It’s good,” she told CBC Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Johnson said she’s glad she enrolled Harper.<\/p>\n
“I feel it’s more important now more than ever to allow her to experience everything that I can’t give her. While her dad was still alive, he could enrich her in his experiences, influences and his background.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Afro Canadian Caribbean Association camp is part of initiative to provide programs, support to Black children<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":13218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,12],"tags":[7,30,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-13221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-entertainment","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-entertainment"},"yoast_head":"\n