They make sad faces and try to climb into the UCLA van with hope
of going home with their mentors.
The children from the Ujima Village Development hate to see
their UCLA mentors leave after their weekly homework help time.
Elisabeth Turner, a second-year political science student says
she looks forward to the eagerness of the children she tutors each
week.
UCLA residents from De Neve residence halls Evergreen and Fir
are part of a unique partnership with children from Ujima Village,
a low-income housing development in downtown Los Angeles.
The partnership began in 2003 when a De Neve resident was
looking for a mentoring program with which to become involved, met
a leader of the Ujima Village and decided to help out. Today, it
has become a regular activity for several dorm residents.
Every Tuesday from 2 to 6 p.m., approximately 15 UCLA students
help inner-city children with their homework.
The partnership at Ujima Village is offered by the Los Angeles
County Community Development Commission and gives college students
the opportunity to earn credits while building relationships with
the children involved.
Thursday, UCLA students hosted a special Valentine’s Day
craft event at Ujima. Students were scheduled to make Valentine
cards with the children, play games and spend the afternoon with
them.
“The partnership with UCLA and other universities shows
the children and youth their potential,” said Michael Jones,
program director for the commission’s service-learning
venture.
The partnership between UCLA and Ujima is one of many that the
commission has set up between local universities and city
developments.
“One of the most successful parts of our program has come
from De Neve,” Jones said.
The partnership is the first of its kind at Ujima, said Shelly
Thompson, Residential Services supervisor at Ujima Village.
The mentors involved in the program believe they have made it
successful because of the relationships they have built with the
children.
“A lot of care, love and compassion go into the
program,” said Dayna Baker, resident director of De Neve
Evergreen and Fir, who has been part of the partnership from its
creation.
“We’re trying to build a relationship, and not just
do community service. We try to go as regularly as we can so the
kids recognize us. It’s amazing to see how their faces light
up when we get there every week,” Turner said.
Volunteers encourage the children to think of college as an
obtainable option, and they invite them to visit UCLA as often as
the children can.
“The interaction with college students gives the children
a great outlook on life. They feel like they can get to
college,” Jones said.
Because funding for the partnership came from a grant from the
UCLA Center for Community Partnerships, volunteers continue to
mentor the children at a time when budget cuts have affected some
of Ujima Village’s other residential services.
“The UCLA team has stepped in since budget cuts and
provided for tutoring, teaching and field trips. They’ve been
amazing,” Jones said.
In addition to visiting Ujima Village once a week to help
children with their homework, volunteers also plan recreation
activities for the children for one Saturday a month.
Baker encourages students to get involved in the program only if
they intend on being consistent.
“We strive for consistency, and we want all of our
volunteers to be very dedicated,” Baker said, “I stress
to the parents of the children that this is a relationship we are
establishing between the students and children, and we will
continue to come back month after month."