“Boys & Girls Club is a garden. There are different herbs and spices and fruits, but the ground is fertile. So me — Educator/Artist — and others come in and we prune here and there, we add a stick there to hold up a plant, we water it, we make sure we expose it to the sun, but it’s a fertile ground for endless possibilities for the children, for me, for the communities we live in, and beyond.”

HABIBA ADDO

Regence Club
Volunteer focus: art + African drumming and dance
Community Health Worker at Urban League of Portland

Why do you volunteer?

I work with youth most of the time and some families as well. That’s my life’s purpose. I mean, those kiddos keep you real, they keep you authentic. My work with them is important for them, but it’s also important for me. The reason I started working with children is that I’m from a  different culture where I was raised by the village. Literally raised by the village. In this society there’s a push to raise kids in a nuclear family or a single parent household. And that’s not sustainable or practical.

This is why places like the Boys & Girls Club and Urban League of Portland are part of the village. We are an integral part of the village. We help with the growing minds and bodies of youth. Because parents can’t do it by themselves.

So where do you come in?

So I would be what they call aunty/educator/artist/community health worker for our youth. And I work to create a safe place for them where they discover and appreciate that they can be themselves. They have their own voice and they can make great, wonderful mistakes without punitive repercussions. It’s okay to make mistakes. They learn from them. They learn to work with each other, and that’s what real life is about. They learn the value of their own words, and actions, and what that means for the classroom and society at large.

Tell me a little bit about the specific programs you run at the Club.

I teach drumming and dance, mostly West African dance. Dances from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Senegal. So we’re learning about movement. We’re discovering and owning our bodies, whatever shape and size they may be. We’re learning about different cultures, cultures beyond our own. Exploring different worlds beyond our own and our neighborhoods.

EXPAND