On a beautiful day in May, the skies were blue and the sun was shining. Bokobokids village was bursting with color at the Widar Vrieschool in the northern province of Groningen, in The Netherlands.
Based on the Waldorf school philosophy which teaches the heart, head, and hands, the school held a spring market to showcase the best of crafting by hand through a community gathering of parents, grandparents, and friends of the school. Bokobokids were invited to showcase our philosophy of empowering children to tell stories through the oral African tradition and unleash their inner wisdom by tapping into ancient African knowledge.
The Village was set up. Benches were cushioned with African-printed throw pillows, Maasai shukas (blankets), and hand-made trinkets to inspire a feeling of being inside a contemporary African traditional hut. We also had an in-house djembe drummer, who is also a master Kora player. His soulful drumming was the perfect invitation to gather at the circle and witness an enchanting storytelling session by Phoebe who is one of our very own Bokobokids storytellers.
Phoebe’s immediate heritage can be traced to a multicultural ethnicity in Suriname which includes Indian and Chinese roots. However, when she took to the stage, her storytelling revealed her ancient African heritage through her beautifully mastered rendition of Madiba and the Magic Baobab Tree.
The story was written by Ioanna, one of our Bokobokids writers and storytellers too. ‘Madiba and the Magic Baobab Tree’ has been translated into several languages and can be downloaded for on our landing page.
The theme of our gathering was the baobab. Inside The Village was a sampling of delicious homemade baobab juice made by Reina Flor, who is one of our Bokobokids co-founders, and an inspiring nutritional health expert with an impressive career as a former Olympian. One of our educational pillars is nutritional health and the baobab drink was our offering to our visitors as a way to promote healthy and natural living. The baobab juice was quite popular with the children, some of who came back for second, third, or more helpings.
There were various activities to keep our young visitors occupied, such as tribal art face painting. At some point, the children made a long beeline waiting patiently to get their faces painted like African warriors, princes, or princesses.
We also had books on display. One of our Bokobokids published authors, Wakanyi, was also there to showcase her debut children’s book, “Sala, Mountain Warrior” which will be available in all major bookstores worldwide from July 2023. Wakanyi also read “The Legend of the Dancing Baobab Tree,” which is part of a series of African folktales that she has rewritten that are aimed at promoting sustainable development goals.
The day was filled with laughter and smiling faces of children who expressed genuine appreciation for the warmth and welcoming feeling that they felt inside The Village.
We are on a mission to bring Bokobokids Village to any country, town, or city to all children around the world. It is our joy to spread the knowledge and wisdom of our earliest human descendants from Africa and provide the world’s children with additional tools to tap into their inner world and shine their individual lights, for a better and more loving human family.
Bokobokids live event in Groningen.
