Executive Summary of Ujima Enterprises mission through services in education, cultural identity, and community service.

1. Ujima Enterprises Incorporated (UEI)
Cradle To Commencement Project:
A Comprehensive Program To Address Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
“ Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome [Vacant Esteem, Ever-present Anger, Racist
Socialization] is a condition that exists when a population has experienced
multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to
experience oppression and institutionalized racism today…. Multigenerational
trauma together with continued oppression and absence of opportunity to access
the benefits available in the society leads to Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.”
(PTSS, pp. 125, 133-139) –Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary
Executive Summary
Mission. Ujima Enterprises strives to foster family self-sufficiency and student success
through cultural heritage, arts, and academic skills instruction and to assist parents, to reduce
drop-out rates and promote student confidence, learning, academic excellence, and intercultural
communication skills in their children.
The project will:
 Prepare UEI to expand current services and develop as a training base for other
communities that desire to establish the Ujima Village concept in their local community.
 Develop long-term support relationships with families of children from birth through
high school who are at-risk of school failure and vulnerability to engage in anti-social
behavior through: (1) Ujima Parents As Teachers (UPAT) for families from prenatal to
kindergarten; (2) Ujima Sasa! after school and weekend program for families from fourth
grade through high school graduation and (3) African Youth Training Circle (AYTC).
 Target African American and Latino families in zip codes 49007, 49001 and 49048
(Village One); and urban communities in Battle Creek (Village Two) locally identified in
collaboration with Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Public Schools.
 Function as a partner organization with Battle Creek and Kalamazoo public schools and
other organizations that share the UEI mission.
 Provide parent incentives and awards to encourage their participation in their
children’s education in UPAT, Ujima Sasa!, and AYTC.
 Fully staff and intern organizational capacity of UEI in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo.
 Expansion of African dance and drum instruction for students enrolled in all three
programs, their families and community;
 Support the Ujima Sasa! Parent Leadership Council (PLC) in their increasingly active
responsibilities for programming—particularly the annual student recital and the
annual Juneteenth Concert.
 Extend our academic curriculum to include entire families in a genealogy project
through DNA testing and genealogy research.
 Provide additional professional development training for nine Parent Educators and
train five more Parent Educators for greater capacity to serve more families; provide
books and parent-child activity materials to families in Village One and Village Two.
 Engage Dr. Wade Nobles as consultant to the “training of trainers”, support AYTC
activities with stipends for trainers, work with youth crews, and support the outdoor
training and African Cultural Immersion Study Tour activities.