GAMAE Arts and Culture: Safeguarding Garifuna Culture and Heritage
© GAMAE Arts & Culture, Eleanor Castillo-Bullock
“Garifuna leaders from Dangriga living abroad, and the social effect of their out-migration from Dangriga, Belize created the existing current challenges in the maintenance of the Garifuna culture.”
GAMAE was founded in 2004 to address Dr Joseph Palacio's claim. The organization aims to be a leading Garifuna NGO in the United States, particularly New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. GAMAE acts as the instrument that brings together and connects the Garifuna from Belize to create programs and projects on a national, international and global level. Our main goal is to help with the Garifuna crisis of poverty, diseases, unemployment, and language loss, just to name a few. GAMAE has been created to show that as long as we are alive, Garifuna is alive! We want to tackle, confront and face our crisis head-on to make a change and to become Change Agents.
The Vision of GAMAE
Our mission first and foremost is to uphold, uplift, promote, protect, preserve and safeguard the Garifuna Heritage, Culture and particularly the Garifuna Language.
The GAMAE vision is the unification of professional and progressive Garinagu from Dangriga. Joining forces, Garifuna leaders and professionals, can create an alliance, collaborate and utilize expertise and resources. An alliance can develop, implement and participate in economic, social and cultural programs and projects worldwide to help the Garifuna Nation deal with its current crisis. Issues span from the endangerment and extinction of the Garifuna culture, and particularly the Garifuna language, to poverty, diseases and unemployment that are rampant in our Garifuna communities in Dangriga, Belize. The aim is to create and implement a strategic action plan and assure its completion.
© GAMAE Arts & Culture, Eleanor Castillo-Bullock
Promoting Garifuna Culture and Engaging Children
I promote the Garifuna culture and language primarily through our Organization, GAMAE International Garifuna Performing Arts Company (GPAC) and our "Habinaha Garinagu Garifuna Language Performing Arts Program". A Program I co-founded to exhibit our traditional Garifuna culture and language through the performing arts, including Garifuna poetry, traditional Garifuna music and songs, classic Garifuna dance genre and Garifuna drama.
We started to engage the Garifuna youth by working with the children of the members of our organization, and children from the Garifuna community. In most cases, the parents in the community are excited to engage their children in a group that is teaching Garifuna history, heritage, spirituality, culture and especially the Garifuna language.
Habinaha Garinagu Garifuna Language Performing Arts Program in 2011 © GAMAE Arts & Culture, Eleanor Castillo-Bullock
What challenges do we face?
Organizations must always struggle with issues regarding their human resources and funding to continue and sustain work. Most of the time, and even up to today, my sister and I are still using our personal funds to make things happen in our organization. This often includes the cost for business, administrative and professional services, for information technology (IT), development, equipment and for programs, workshops, seminars logistics including travel, gas, tolls, food and other miscellaneous required when teaching, training and educating a community of children, youth and young adults.
Regardless of the challenges, it is my hope to continuously empower, inspire and influence the Garifuna children and youth to become leaders in their own community. I wish them to be in a position and have the ability to lead and guide others to become successful, productive and influential Garinagu.
GAMAE Habinaha Garinagu Garifuna Language Performing Arts Workshop, Brooklyn, New York, 2010 © GAMAE Arts & Culture, Eleanor Castillo-Bullock
Contact:
27 Morningside Avenue
Keansburg, New Jersey 07734
Phone: +1 732-895-5960
Email: elebullock@yahoo.com
Written by Eleanor Castillo-Bullock