PASSING ON THE LEGACY PROGRAM (youth policy and development):
Goal: To instill in Old Bende children, youth and young adults, the great cultural heritage of Old Bende and to inculcate in them a passionate appreciation for our belief system, thereby providing them with the tools they need to become productive torch bearers of OBCA in the United States of America and in Diaspora.
Objective: Organize a viable youth and Young Adult wing of OBCA with separate meeting days and agendas; Organize and execute OBCA Youth/Young Adult Day; Create a cultural education forum for OBCA Children and Youth; Develop and support a viable cultural curriculum that incorporates art, drama, and story-telling.
Observations: It is very sadly a factual tragedy that Old Bende Young Adults and Youth, both in college and in American/global workforce, even those in the middle and high schools no longer find any meaning in the affairs and activities of OBCA. This diminishing interest and enthusiasm among our young ones could perhaps be attributed to our mostly adult-centered activities and loss of vision and efforts to erect a loftier loyalty that will transcend the boundaries of age and youthful exuberance; hence the tendency for our young ones to “separate.”
Challenge: Old Bende Cultural Association (OBCA) must depend on the quality of our regular meetings and activities to maintain our place in this multicultural, multiethnic, and pluralistic community. Each of us has to take this phenomenon very seriously because our quality of life and future comfort depend on what we have accomplished today. We begin by making personal contact with our young people; share our values, motivation, and expertise with them while they are still willing to listen. We must challenge them to take action. We must work together to make it happen. We must also begin by incorporating them into the core of our activities rather than invite them as spectators. We must endeavor to promote a general understanding of the importance of passing on our cultural heritage and its impact on their continued solidarity, livelihood, and confidence.
RESOURCES: Human (Us), Temporal (Our time) and Fiscal (Our Money).