The Village House

A Place Where the Community Learns, Bonds and Grows . . . Together

The mission of The Village House in East Baltimore’s Oliver Community is based upon the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” At The Village House, local residents have the opportunity to engage in thoughtful and stimulating activities that are holistic in nature and critical to building healthy communities.

In its first year, The Village House served local youth by implementing an after school program which offers homework help, tutoring, art and yoga classes and an organic gardening and nutrition program. The adult residents participated in a Grandparent’s Day Breakfast, a holiday party, and Monday Night Football parties.

Residents have come together to form a community outreach group initially called The Village House Resource, Activities and Action Committee. They are the lifeline to the community and can harness the “indigenous” assets and energy of their neighbors, while we simply provide the space and structure for them to organize and thrive. They inform ReWired for Change on how best to serve the community. We are committed to keeping resident stakeholders at the table.

One of the first actions of this outreach group was to stake their claim in the community and create a more solid identify for themselves was to change the name of their group from The Village House Resource, Activities and Action Committee to The Village Council to better reflect what they believe to be their role as the Village Elders in their community who will lead the way for the next generation. In addition, they initiated their first community action in early October 2011 – a Drive By Clean Up of the neighborhood leaving signs in their wake which raised awareness in the neighborhood of the Village Council and that they are living up to their slogan: ”We are people who see what needs to be done in our community — AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.”

By having children, youth, adults and seniors engaged, our goal is to link cultures and generations while creating a safe environment that will decrease violence, crime and dysfunctional behavior prominent in the community. Older adults have the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge as well as give back to their community. Youth develop a strengthened sense of personal, familial and social responsibility while gaining a greater respect for the wisdom of their elders and a better understanding of their culture, heritage and history.

We believe it is important to offer community residents the space and support to work together to develop their own resources. In fact, much of the social, cultural, and educational programming is designed in partnership with members themselves. By offering a safe space for inter-generational bonding, ReWired for Change seeks to make the unified, cohesive village a reality in inner city communities. Ultimately, our objective is to guide the community into taking full ownership of their Village House – leaving them with that which is rightfully theirs through personal investment and a collective vision.

In addition, Village House Director, Koli Tengella, has done such a wonderful job connecting with the community residents and developing local partnerships, that the Village House may be ready to begin a transition into the community ownership model ahead of schedule. We invite our supporters to follow new developments at the Village House, as the year moves forward by staying tuned in to our website!

After School Program Activities Tentatively Housed at Zion Baptist Church and 2 Neighborhood Schools

Many thanks to Pastor Marshall Prentice, members of the Zion Baptist Church and Board of trustees for their generous offer to allow the after school program to be housed in their facility, as we address maintenance issues at the Village House. Also, congrats to our Director who has consented to instruct his Kujijagulia Project on location at two local schools which means that he will be exposing the power of art and media as a tool for social justice to over 40 children this school year. Awesome job, Koli — your energy and dedication to East Baltimore’s children is unparalleled!

Kujichagulia, the theater and filming for social justice project

The ReWired for Change/The Village House Director is leading this Open Society Institute initiative has been expanded into in two local schools. The Black Mental Health Alliance of Central Maryland is joining this partnership at one of the schools. Together communities can serve our children and expand their horizons.

The Village Council

The Council is comprised of volunteer local residents. They are fast becoming what we thought they would be — the lifeline to and pulse of the community. They are the way we know what’s going on, what is needed, who to go to for what type of help: they know who the chefs are in the community who will run the grill or cook for house events, who the artists are who can design fliers for events, who the people with skills are and those who love to work with children, those who have an entrepreneurial spirit and like to sell things on the street, garden and so forth — They are the very valuable and absolutely essential human resources that will transform the community. Only residents can truly harness those resources and energy because they have lived in the community for years. What we can do is help them organize and provide a space and structure for them to give and grow their community using the assets ‘indigenous” to the community. They inform us on how we can best serve the community. It shows our commitment to keep resident stakeholders at the table – so they can eventually drive the vehicle. Developing this group is the purpose of The Village House. The Council is the linchpin to its success.

The Village Council meets bi-weekly. Together these community residents have set measurable goals and benchmarks as well as collected funds from one another for the design and development of Village Council T-shirts. On October 15, 2011, The Village Council came together to execute its own first community outreach project — a block cleaning around the area of the of The Village House and its partner Zion Baptist Church. What an inspiring event to behold — eight committed Village Council members decked out in their new custom-designed t-shirt cleaning their community. In appreciation for their work, they received a coupon redeemable for a grilled hotdog, a bag of chips, and bottled water.