THE UK’s first pop-up school to empower Black girls is looking for donors.
Delali Kalitsi is the founder of Akoma, which is an education justice organisation for Black girls in the African diaspora.
The company has a community of 250 girls from Lewisham, Southwark, Croydon and Lambeth, who benefit from having a voice and a chance to take part in the creative education programs throughout the summer.
But says with an increasing number of Black girls being excluded from school, she desperately needs to raise funds to meet the growing demand for her service.
“Donors need now more than ever to support the life-changing community care of Black girls in London” she said. “The death of Eliane Andan, Child Q and the reoccurring mistreatment of Diane Abbott will send a clear message to Black girls that they are unseen and undervalued.
“School exclusions among Black girls have tripled in the last year, and they are already a student demographic that are twice as likely to be excluded from school in comparison their counterparts.”
She added: “By donating, donors are advocating for Black girls to have a safe space in which they will have a sense of belonging, and a voice that will be listened to.”
Kalitsi hopes to raise enough money through donations to cover the costs of specialist teacher stipends, educational resources and rent for the pop-up school residency.
Place to belong
The pop-up school is for Black girls aged between 8 and 14.
It aims to develop girls’ creative, collaborative and critical thinking skills through summer-long programmes.
Kalitsi said her grassroots pop-up aims to develop Black girls’ creative expression, collaboration and critical thinking skills, give them a sense of belonging in education spaces and help facilitate their integration into the arts and cultural sectors,
The school is free and projects are taught by artists, plant biologists, material designers, ceramicists, musicians and qualified teachers.
In 2023, the school launched during the summer holidays at Lewisham Art House in south London and provided workshops on photography, engineering, plant biology, music and other subjects.
Speaking to The Voice, last year Kalitsi said: “By developing an exposure to community focused learning projects, our students develop their soft skills including collaboration, risk taking and problem solving.
“They develop a sense of belonging among teaching artists and youth workers who identify with their needs and challenges, and this plays a huge role in their social awareness to have a voice in our society.”
In 2021, data uncovered by Agenda, found that Black Caribbean girls were permanently excluded from school at a rate double that of White British girls during the academic year 2019/20.
To donate to the Akoma pop-up school fundraiser click here
Source: www.voice-online.co.uk
