When you plant a seed, you cannot just abandon the soil. You must nurture it and tend to the seed so that it will grow into a beautiful and flourishing blossom. At Al-Bustan – ‘The Garden’ – they do just that. This non-profit organization is dedicated to educating youth about the Arabic language and culture through well thought-out contact with the language, art, architecture, music, dance, and natural atmosphere of the Arab world, As the founder and president of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, Hazami Sayed has been in charge of developing and organizing diverse projects to nurture the potential latent within youth. Through the promotion of diversity, this organization has proven that a garden is more beautiful when it includes flowers of different colors, shapes, and sizes. This week, allow the MidEastConnect to take you away from this busy world by stepping into Al-Bustan, Stop and smell the roses, enjoy the harmony of the hummingbirds, and learn more about culture, all in this week’s Non-Profit Spotlight.
The mission of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is to educate children and
youth about the Arabic language and culture through structured
exposure to the language, art, architecture, music, dance, and
natural environment of the Arab world. “Al-Bustan”, Arabic for “The
Garden”, also strives to promote understanding and respect both
within the diverse community of Arab-American children and youth and
among children and youth of various ethnic, religious, and socio-
economic backgrounds.
Most notable milestones
Launched Al-Bustan Camp four years ago. The camp has grown to include young campers as well as teenage and post-college counselors. . . .Established 3 years ago a master/apprenticeship in Arabic percussion for 10 to 15 year old children of diverse backgrounds. . . .Supported an afterschool program for Arab-American high school students. . . . Developed several youth produced videos exploring aspects of culture and identity. . . Piloted this year a series of music/dance/drama workshops culminating in school performances. . . And hired our first part-time paid staff in fall 2005.
What’s the niche?
Providing arts-based thematically integrated programming, in a fun and enriching way, for children and youth of Arab and non-Arab heritage.
Main Objectives
supporting the Arab-American community’s pursuit and
affirmation of its cultural identity within American society
exposing and educating children and youth, of Arab and non-
Arab heritage, to the language and culture of the Arab world
using a common language and cultural heritage to bring
together the diverse community of Arab-American children and youth
supporting the development of Arab-American youth leadership
by empowering youth with a deeper knowledge of their cultural
heritage and history and creating opportunities for greater
educational engagement and academic achievement
making the Arabic language and culture accessible to a wider
audience of children and youth and their home communities in an
effort to promote cross-cultural awareness and exchange.
What’s in store for the future?
Building upon and strengthening our ongoing programs and seeking to implement new initiatives.
Who would you like to be contacted by?
Families, educators, artists and anyone else interested in participating in or contributing to our programs; and companies/businesses interested in donating or offering employee-matching funds to support our organization.
supporting the Arab-American community’s pursuit and affirmation of its cultural identity within American society
exposing and educating youth, of Arab and non-Arab heritage, to the language and culture of the Arab world
using a common language and cultural heritage to bring together the diverse community of Arab-American youth
supporting the development of Arab-American youth leadership by empowering youth with a deeper knowledge of their cultural heritage and history and creating opportunities for greater educational engagement and academic achievement
making the Arabic language and culture accessible to a wider audience of youth and their home communities in an effort to promote cross-cultural awareness and exchange.
Yardstick of success
Our ability each year to continue with and to develop initiatives that encompass the objectives of the organization. Each initiative will have its own success criteria based on its stated goals and on feedback from children, parents, teachers and others. Continued institutional co-sponsorship, ability to expand foundation support while diversifying funding, and maintaining financial stability are key measures.
Goal yet to be achieved
Raising enough funds to develop the organizational capacity to manage and implement programming that furthers our objectives.
Best practical advice
Imagine, be visionary, take some risks. . . without losing sight of your mission and accessible resources.
Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture
Comments on Al-Bustan Camp:
“I liked this camp because I learned more Arabic and can use it when I go to Morocco.” –Yusuf, 7-year old returning camper.
“There”s a great sense of community in the camp and it’s really nice to come together and focus on the beauty of Arab culture versus all the stuff that we see in the media. . . No matter who you are, you can be yourself here.” — Millan, 17-yr old counselor
“As an immigrant whose kids don’t speak the language on a daily basis and aren’t exposed to the culture, it means a lot when my sons come home and sing a traditional song, or tell me what they learned about the souk or Ibn Battuta. . . I think they will remember these things forever.” — Khalil, parent of returning camper and counselor.
Mentor
Charon Battles — a Program Director at the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts — who has helped us identify and pursue funding opportunities for organizational development. Asian Arts Initiative — a local non-profit organization that grew over the past ten years to become an established arts organization, providing a cultural and political voice for the Asian-American community in Philadelphia.
What motivated the people who started the organization?
Personal motivations for the founder, Hazami, to provide her young boys an opportunity use the Arabic language with other kids in America, for them to have the Arabic culture be a part of their everyday life, to be equally comfortable when traveling back and forth to the Arab region.
What keeps your organization motivated today?
Collaborating with various educators and artists. . . Interactions and positive feedback from the children and youth and their parents — desire to continue to seek ways to touch peoples’ lives in some significant way, to provide a meaningful way for people of diverse backgrounds to interact on a personal human level. . .
What do people in the organization like best about it?
That we have developed a unique, innovative model for educational programming in the US related to Arab culture. Our programs have elicited deeply transformative experiences for participants and highly enthusiastic audience responses.
What do people in the organization like least about it?
Our programming is ahead of our organizational development that so much depends on volunteer support.
Biggest pastime outside of work for most people in your organization
Traveling and exploring new places.
Person most interested in meeting that would be beneficial for your organization
There are so many interesting and talented Arab and Arab-American
performing and visual artists that we would love to have come to
Philadelphia, for them to perform or exhibit their work here, as well
as conduct hands-on workshops with youth and educators. That is
something we hope to have the organizational capacity to initiate and
actively pursue in the coming year or two.
Leader in business most interested in meeting that would be beneficial for your organizaion
Abdel Mohsen Al-Qattan for his philanthropic support of Arab cultural and educational programs and institutions.
Three interesting facts about the organization
The organization was founded by three board members and grew within
three years to include six members with an advisor and a “Friends of
Al-Bustan Committee” to be formed this year. Over the past four
summers of Al-Bustan Camp, 76 campers and counselors have enrolled,
with 40% of the participants returning. These participants are of
diverse ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds – from
Arab, Anglo-Saxon, Southeast Asian, and African-American, to Muslim,
Christian and Jewish, with a number of need-based scholarships
provided. Each summer there is a team of nine or ten highly talented
teachers/artists, specialized in their respective fields, most of
whom have been working at the camp since its start or are returning
for a second or third summer.
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