Single mom Shiree Russell said her 17-year-old son was always looking for male role models, until he found them in Sankofa.
“As a single mother, I can’t teach a boy to be a man,” she said. “I could trust they’d instill things in my child to become a productive citizen.”
Not only did Sankofa students come to respect and trust their facilitators, they also grew to respect and trust their fellow students and hold them accountable for their actions.
Richard Monegro-Gonzalez’s father was hospitalized and his friend was shot to death last week, but the 16-year-old still showed up for school at One Bright Ray every single day because of Sankofa.
“I’m going through it, but due to one of my friends that’s part of the program telling me, ‘Just keep your head up and come to school,’ that’s the only way I’m focusing,” he said. “Basically, that’s telling me, like, to not give up on myself because other people see potential in me.”