|
Copyright (c) 2007 Gaptel innovative Solutions Inc
People from many parts of Africa have been coming to America for quite some time for leisure, business, and education.
Through many of those years, cultural identity was not an issue because the African communities were transitory. Many people
did not even come with their families. Many Africans did not want to live far away from home for long. This mind-set is
reflected in a Yoruba proverb that says, 'Ajo ko le dundun, ki onile ma re’le,' 'No matter how pleasant and enjoyable your
sojourn abroad has been, you must return home.'
But in the last couple of decades, more and more Yoruba people have been migrating permanently to the United States, Canada,
Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. Due to unbearable economic and political conditions in their home countries, they
have been making their homes and raising their families in western world. The feeling these days is expressed in this Yoruba
saying that contrasts sharply to the earlier one: 'Ibi ti aiye ba ba’ni, ni a ti nje,' 'Home is wherever you find life in
abundance.The Yorubas settling outside their home country have had to deal with a sense of cultural dislocation, as a result
of being immersed in a varied and very different cultural enviroment. Yoruba descendants express a common passion for passing
on their language & culture to their children, for the sake of posterity and to give their children a deep sense of
identity and high level of self esteem. Obvious in all these efforts is that Yoruba people are striving to provide their
younger generation with cultural roots that will hold them firmly, help them grow, and give them a sense of identity, which
many believe has helped them cope with the difficult transition to life in America and other parts of the world.
Yoruba people believe in strong family and cultural ties. They belief that one day they will return home. Yoruba people want
their children or foreign spouse to be able to fit into their Yoruba community when they return home. With this in mind,
Yoruba people have a burning desire to pass on their language & rich culture
to their kids and/or foreign spouse. They love to teach them the etiquettes of respect for elders, eating in public,
greetings, mannerism and dress code. This is their dream.
A person’s language constitute a big part of their identity.
Language is a tool of communication, and not segmentation
If you have no language, you have no culture,
'Preserving Your Heritage Language is the key to preserving your next generation, giving your child a true sense of identity
and a high level of self esteem.' -- Soji Oyenuga, 2006
We as Yoruba people believe that by teaching our children our culture we will one day go back to our fatherland triumphantly.
Yoruba parents abroad are very busy and industrious people. They continually faces the challenges of creating the time and
knowing the technique to help teach their kids to understand, speak, read and appreciate Yoruba language and culture. Yoruba
parents abroad urgently need to 'rescue' their next generation from being lost due to lack of language and cultural transfer.
They need external help to achieve this lofty goal. They need to have an interactive and entertaining educational multimedia
that will teach their Kids Yoruba language and culture in the 'context' of what their kids are used to in this western world.
|
