HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC. CELEBRATES ITS 55TH YEAR OF CULTIVATING HOPE AND PEACE IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA: UNVEILS PLANS FOR SEPTEMBER 2023 PHILADELPHIA COLLARD GREENS CULTURAL FESTIVAL AT WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2023 - 10:00 A.M. PRESS CONFERENCE

House Of Umoja, Inc 

5625 West Master Street (David Fattah way)

Philadelphia, PA  19131

(215) 473-5893

Website:  www.houseofumoja.net

E-Mail:  falakafattah@aol.com

 

CONTACT:

Baba Hakim Tendaji

Coordinator, Philadelphia Collard Green Cultural Festival

Site Manager - House Of Umoja, Inc.

House Of Umoja, Inc.

(215) 473-5893

E-Mail:  falakafattah@aol.com

 

Your food is supposed to be your medicine and your medicine is supposed to be your food. ~African Proverb --

 

        PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA)  --  As it celebrates its 55^th anniversary, the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://www.houseofumoja.net), which has brokered peace and invested in the future of children and youths in the City of Philadelphia for five (5) decades, by providing life lines for approximately at least 3,000 adolescent males and positively transforming the trajectory of their lives, continues to cultivate peace and hope in the sixth largest metropolitan area in the United States.  On Wednesday, 31 May 2023 at 10:00 A.M. at 5625 Master Street (David Fattah Way), the House of Umoja. Inc. will convene a press conference to unveil plans for the Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival scheduled for 1 September 2023 through 2 September 2023.  The Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival (https://www.house ofumoja.net/collardgreenfest,html), which is a component of a series of events planned to commemorate the 55^th anniversary of the House Of Umoja, Inc., was founded by Dr. Mama Nobantu Ankoanda, an educator, former principal and founder of African-centered community based institutions in 1998 in Palo Alto, California as a means of raising funds for the Shule Mandela Academy.  It was exported to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the House Of Umoja, Inc. by  Baba Hakim Tendaji, a Philadelphia native who relocated to California for a brief time, and who served on the original Collard Greens Festival Committee in East Palo Alto, California (https://www.collard greenscultural festival.com/about).

 

              “When I moved from California back to Philadelphia and reengaged with the House of Umoja, I felt that the House of Umoja would be a great home for and steward of the Collard Greens Cultural Festival for the City of Philadelphia.  Creating a strong culture-based community that is focused on accessible holistic health and wellness, and impacting youth and young adult street culture with more positive alternatives that serve their interests and needs are among the things I want to accomplish with the Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival.  Our children and our youth must be presented with an alternative to the culture of street life and the tools to develop better ways of healing.  I am reminded of an African proverb which counsels us that food is our medicine and our medicine is food.  Through the Philadelphia  Collard Greens Cultural Festival, our children and our youth will learn that what we eat and what we put into our bodies impacts our physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being.  A balanced and healthy diet which includes vegetables -- collard greens, as an example -- is a component of accessible holistic health and wellness.  Collard greens serve as one of the many healthy foods that should be our medicine, and our medicine should consist of healthy foods that include collard greens.  From a cultural perspective, collard greens or Sukuma, which is the Swahili word for collard greens, is prominently served at meals that include fish or meat  or the main ingredient in stews in many African nations -- the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Benin; Nigeria; Tanzania; and Kenya,” explained Baba Tendaji who serves as the Coordinator of the Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival under the umbrella of the House Of Umoja, Inc..

 

          “For fifty-five years, the House Of Umoja, Inc. has cultivated hope and peace throughout the City of Philadelphia.  Through the Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival, the House Of Umoja, Inc will continue to work to cultivate hope and peace in the nation’s sixth largest metropolitan area.  Poverty, poor nutrition, lack of cultural identity, dysfunctional family units, and a lack of hope are some of the underlying causative factors of the current gun violence emergency that plays out on the streets and in public transportation facilities in our great city. A recent report issued by the American Medical Association which was recently brought to my attention pointed out overt racism is the source of early deaths for African Americans.  It is not difficult to see how this occurs.  African Americans are more likely to live in environmentally toxic communities as they reside in older homes with old pipes through which water flows that taints their water supply while African American children attend classes in old buildings which have asbestos and old pipes that provide a tainted water supply.  Most African Americans live in food deserts -- residential areas in which major food stores that could provide them with access to healthy foods -- fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, etc.  are not accessible.  Then there is the issue of health disparities that encompass lack of access to expedient and high quality medical care and preventative health protocols for African Americans and the failure of health and medical professionals to administer to African American patients the proper medical protocols mandated by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address life-threatening medical conditions and diseases  It is not difficult to understand why there is such a pervasive lack of hope in the African American community.    The foods, cultural events, and workshops presented by the Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival will help address many of the causes of the pervasive lack of hope in the African American community. If there is no hope, there will be no peace.  The mission of the Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival of  the House Of Umoja, Inc. is to cultivate hope and peace and move communities and our city to cultivate hope and embrace peace,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the House Of Umoja, Inc.

 

          Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc. (https://www.houseofumoja.net)  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.

          To register or learn how you can become  a volunteer or vendor for the 1 September 2023 through 2 September 2023 Philadelphia Collard Greens Cultural Festival which is hosted by the House Of Umoja, Inc and coordinated by its Site Manager, Baba Hakim Tendaji, visit the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s website at  https://www.houseofumoja.net/collardgreenfest,html .  Alternatively, you may contact the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://www.houseoumoja.net) by calling (215) 473-5893 or by sending an electronic mail communication to:  falakafattah@aol.com.

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