Fedgeling Program

We understand that our kids have unique challenges as they straddle the worlds of Nigeria and the United States. The goal of this program is to provide to them a community that is uniquely theirs, one where they can learn more about their Nigerian culture, identify how that culture fits within the continuing story of the United States, and establish relationships with people who understand exactly how they feel.

This started the way these things generally do, from the germ of a marginally related discussion. Many years ago, someone posted in the Americas WhatsApp group about a town that was for sale. Then the jokes started about how the Association should pull together and buy a town. The discussion then  morphed to an idea about buying some property, renting it out and maybe using the property to host a Summer Camp for our kids. The Summer camp idea resonated with some people and someone said “oya, those that are interested in a Summer Camp for our kids should form their own WhatsApp group”. The interested members formed their own WhatsApp group, where the “Summer Camp idea” languished in the group chat for another few years. Then Covid hit. As we had discussions about how the lockdown was affecting various social circles, and how Zoom was helping, we talked about our kids, how the lockdown was affecting them specifically, and Ngozi Ogene mentioned that it might be a good time to bring them into a Zoom with their peers. So, she was challenged to go ahead and put something together. The first Virtual Camp was held on the 23rd of October, 2021.

The grade school age (elementary through high school) children of FGCE alums resident in the United States. The parents need to be current with their dues.

We thought that it would be nice to come up with a name for the kids’ group. We tried asking the kids what they would like to be called, and seeking opinions from parents and other alumni, but nothing seemed to be quite right. One day it just hit the “Fedgeling Director”  – the kids are our fledglings, our school nickname is “Fedi”, so why not call the group “Fedgelings”. Feedback has been that the name is quite popular, the kids love it. and it makes them feel seen to have their own name.

Right now, we have it structured for one major activity a year, with ancillary activities scattered throughout the year. Our goal is to have a camp every other year (during non-reunion years) and then skip the camp during reunion years, in favor of an excursion into the reunion city. 

As part of the ancillary activities, we have started offering Igbo classes. We have partnered with an alum who offers language classes. She works with us to customize the classes to our particular needs. We are currently working with her to develop a program that will have the kids regularly taking classes, so that they can consistently get better.

Camp is, at this point, held virtually through Zoom. It is a one-day event. Before the event, the Fedgelings are sent “swag bags” containing t-shirts, bags, notebooks and pens, books by Nigerian authors and various treats.

During the course of the day, the campers are introduced to different aspects of the culture, such as festivals and ceremonial customs. They are also given history lessons about different parts of Nigeria and are encouraged to learn the meanings behind their traditional names. We also have Financial Literacy as part of the instruction. All instruction is handled by alumni members who graciously volunteer their time.

The overwhelming response from the campers has been along the lines of “why don’t they teach us this in school?”

Camp also offers an opportunity for our Fedgelings to get to know other parents from our school, as we always have the parents come on and introduce themselves. We seize every opportunity to grow this network for our kids.

Expand the universe to include alums outside the Americas, as well as non-alums living in the United States. There has been a lot of excitement from people who do not currently qualify to have their kids in the program. Once we are firmly established within our Americas community, it would be nice to offer the program to those people who have expressed an interest. This leads to the next point …

Turn this into revenue for the association. The program already serves as a “dues collector” for the association, since only people in good financial standing with the association can participate, so people pay up when they want to enroll their kids. We look to moving further, and as we extend the program to non-alums and non-Americas members, the fees for the program will begin to generate funds for the Association. Frankly, I look towards eventually circling back to where the idea started, and acquiring real estate for the association.

One thing that we had to drop from the initial plan was a mentorship program. We did not have enough alums signing up for a mentorship to be feasible. We look forward to having wider participation and a larger  pool from which to draw mentors.

There is no one else running a program exactly like this – with emphasis on a rounded out cultural experience, and the testimonials of the Fedgelings and their parents give us the encouragement that we are on the right path. We look forward to many more years and expanded participation.