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STEPHON: IT’S A JOURNEY BACK TO THE MOTHER LAND BY WAY OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. STACY BAILEY-NDIYAE IS EMPOWERING YOUNG KIDS HERE IN LOUISVILLE AND SIX OTHER COUNTRIES IN AFRICA TO GET THEM PREPARE AS FUTURE ANCESTORS. >> [SINGING] >> WE FOCUS ON THE POWER OF USING AFRICAN HERITAGE CULTURE AS A TOOL TO HELP DEVELOP COMMUNITIES WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE CAN THRIVE STEPHON: BRIDGE KIDS INTERNATIONAL WORKS WITH COMMUNITIES TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A SENSE OF CULTURE. THEY FOCUS ON THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, WHICH REFERS TO THE DISPERSAL OF AFRICAN PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. >> PART OF THAT, USING THE AFRICAN HERITAGE CULTURE, IS CONNECTING PEOPLE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, SO THAT’S AFRICAN AMERICANS, AFRICANS, BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, BECAUSE QUITE OFTEN, WE MAY SHARE A NEIGHBORHOOD. WE DEFINITELY SHARE A CITY, AND JUST BECAUSE WE MAY KIND OF LOOK ALIKE, WE DON’T KNOW EACH OTHER. STEPHON: KNOWING WHERE YOU COME FROM IS WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT HERE STUDENTS LEARNING EARLY HOW TO EMBRACE DIVERSITY AND GO BEYOND WHAT THEY SEE ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS. >> AND THAT’S WHAT WE REALLY WANT. WE WANT PEOPLE FROM THE VARIETY OR THE RANGE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA BECAUSE WE KNOW IF WE START WITH YOUNG PEOPLE, DEVELOPING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS EARLY ON, THOSE CAN TAKE THEM THROUGH OUT THEIR LIFE STEPHON: STUDENTS LEARNS SON OF EMPOWERMENT TO KEEP THEM UPLIFTED AS THEY LEARN ABOUT VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD. >> FOR ME, WHEN I SEE THAT HAPPENING, NOT ONLY DOES IT GIVE ME HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, BUT IT GIVES ME HOPE FOR THE PRESENT. WE NEED THEM RIGHT NOW, SO WE NEED THEIR IDEAS. WE NEED THEM TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE THAT THEY CAN STEP UP AND SOMEHOW PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMUNITY. STEPHON: STACY BAILEY-NDIYAE CO FOUNDED BRIDGE KIDS INTERNATIONAL SEVERAL YEARS AGO. THE HEADQUARTERS IS HERE IN LOUISVILLE THEY ALSO OPERATE IN GHANA, MALAWI, RWANDA, KENYA AN SENEGAL. >> IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE. IVE BEEN BLESSED TO SEE SOME OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE FROM AROUND T WORLD. WE’VE DONE A COUPLE OF BRIDGE KIDS CAMPS IN SENEGAL, AND WE HAD SOME YOUNG PEOPLE FROM LOUISVILLE GO TO THAT AS WELL. STEPHON: THE PROGRAM COVERS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE ENVIRONMENT, WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND HEALTH. BUILDING THESE RELATIONSHIPS EARLY ALLOWS THESE FUTURE ANCESTORS TO LEARN FROM THE PAST AND NAVIGATE THE PRESE >> THE DECISIONS THAT I MAKE NOW ARE ABSOLUTELY CRITICA IT’S KNOWING THAT THEY EXIST ON THIS CONTINUUM AND ITS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT GROUN YOUNG PEOPLE AND IT SETS THEIR FACE TOWARDS THE FUT