*5625 West Master Street * Philadelphia, PA 19131 USA * (215) 473-5893 * E-Mail: falakafattah@aol.com
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and American Civil Rights Leader The Late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) -- As institutions, organizations, and individuals throughout the United States observe a national holiday on 16 January 2023 commemorating the birthday of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and American Civil Rights Leader the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the “Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Of Service”, in the City of Philadelphia --the nation’s sixth largest metropolitan area -- youths enrolled in the House of Umoja, Inc. ‘s (www.houseofumoja.net) UMOJA Youth Peace Corps will embark on their first field trip. Cognizant of the fact that there is an “inescapable network of mutuality” between the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being of Our Children and sustaining an environment of peaceful coexistence within our communities, the House Of Umoja, Inc., an internationally acclaimed institution, is ushering in the New Year with the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps Value of Human Life Afterschool Program.
On Tuesday, 10 January 2023, commencing
at 5:00 P.M. (E.S.T.) and concluding at 7:00 P.M. (E.S.T.), an orientation
session for the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps Value Of Human Life After School
Program was convened at the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s offices at 5625 West Master
Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The orientation session brought together students participating in the
program, their parents, and the program’s workshop leaders. Parents of the students enrolled in the UMOJA
Youth Peace Corps Value Of Human Life Program had an opportunity to learn about
the program; meet with the program’s workshop leaders, instructors, and social
worker; and to complete and submit their child’s enrollment documentation.
The UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, the brainchild of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President and Chief Executive Officer of the House Of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net), is an influencer leadership initiative which fosters the value of human life, peace, African-centered culture, healing and the concept of community. Operating under the umbrella of the House Of Umoja, Inc., the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps is a predecessor to the multi-tiered Fattah Peace Academy. Students enrolled in the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps will learn about the strategies developed and implemented by the House Of Umoja Inc. to help end a gun violence emergency fueled by territorial disputes among Philadelphia’s gangs five (5) decades ago which culminated in the “No Gang War In ‘74” Peace Campaign that dramatically reduced gun violence and resulted in gang leaders signing a peace treaty -- the Imani Peace Pledge -- which they honored.
“Through the Umoja Youth Peace Corps, the House of Umoja, Inc. will introduce Our Children -- the ‘Emerging Keepers of the Planet’ to the principles of peace. Participants in the Umoja Youth Peace Corps will also be introduced to critical thinking and career development. They will learn communication skills and about self-care and apathy. Dog training will be the medium through which students will learn about selfcare and how to develop apathy and its importance. Each day will begin with a meal. During each week, we will have a local field trip planned for the students, and there will be one out-of-town excursion. As we observe the birthday of the late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and American Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and as the House Of Umoja, Inc. facilitates the Umoja Youth Peace Corps, I am reminded of an observation Dr. King made, ‘We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.’ It is my hope that Our Children who participate in the Umoja Youth Peace Corps initiative will understand that they are connected not only to their family but also to the community in which they live. It is an understanding that will guide their thoughts, decisions, actions, and even their failures to act. Their connection to their community is that ‘inescapable network of mutuality’. Their thoughts, decisions, actions, and even their failures to act shape not only their destiny, but the destiny of their family, their community, society as a whole, and even generations unborn. Thoughts, decisions, actions, and even failures to act changes the trajectory of the direction of lives . . . the trajectory of the direction of families, communities, and society. It is the trajectory of the direction of lives, families, communities, society, and even generations unborn -- that ties us into a single garment of destiny. We are all connected. There is no getting around that,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, President and Chief Executive Officer of the House of Umoja, Inc.
Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc. is an internationally acclaimed institution that has, for five decades, designed and implemented timeless Global Models for eradicating violence, fostering community development, creating economic sustainability, and addressing many of the key challenges that prevent boys and adolescent males from reaching their full potential and maturing into productive and successful adults. Its successful track record of positively transforming the lives of approximately 3,000 male adolescents and reducing gang violence, moved universities and institutions to seek the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) were among the institutions that sought the House of Umoja, Inc.’s expertise on gang violence reduction, youth programming, and community development. Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter, Jr. and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan recognized the House of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work that has been documented in published articles such as “A Summons To Life,” by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org) in 1981 and “The Violent Juvenile Offender,” by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime and Delinquency (www.nccdglobal.org), in 1984.
For further information about the UMOJA Intentional Community, the UMOJA Youth Peace Corps, the Fattah Peace Academy, and the House of Umoja, Inc., visit the organization’s website at www.houseofumoja.net or call (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to: falakafattah@aol.com.
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