From: Ruth Zerezghi (rzerezghi@gmail.com)
Date: Wed Jun 03 2009 - 13:09:48 EDT
*Denver Independence Celebrations*
* *
Denver celebrated Eritrea’s 18th anniversary of the victorious Independence
struggle and remembering all those who contributed to achieve this goal.
YPFDJ-Denver organized two events to add to the local Independence weekend
festivities which were kicked off with an exquisite start.
The weekend-long celebrations started on Friday, May 22nd with a youth
Independence DJ party at a local lounge in downtown Denver. We had an
impressive turnout of Eritrean youth as well as friends of Eritreans. The
night consisted of terrific music, dancing and great conversation. The
sense of pride and joy was contagious throughout the entire place; even
overflowing into the streets drawing people into the lounge to join in the
enthusiasm.
Off only a few hours of rest, YPFDJ-Denver and other enthusiastic Eritrean
youth were at it again, preparing for a second day of festivities which
included the 2nd Annual Community Barbeque. A significant amount of
volunteers arrived early in the day to help setup the various areas of the
barbeque. One highlight of the morning was watching the 20x20 tent be
setup; it started with only one person and grew to 20 young men working
together for one goal - getting a shaded-area ready for barbeque attendees.
The teamwork they displayed showed that whether the task-at-hand be large or
small, Eritreans always rally together to achieve the goal.
The daylong celebration featured games, great food, sports activities,
traditional cuisine, boon, sha’he and music for everyone’s enjoyment and
brought together Eritreans from all over Colorado. Everyone commented on
what a wonderful day it was and how much they enjoyed being brought together
as a community in celebration and remembrance.
The day, of course, was not without its small catastrophes, but in true
YPFDJ fashion, we turned those challenges into opportunities. At one point,
the excited community children all swarmed the inflatable bouncer causing it
to collapse on top of them with some of the kids stuck inside; don’t worry,
we were able to re-inflate the bouncer and also took the opportunity to
teach the kids about being patient while they awaited their turn. Things
were running smoothly until the weather turned and within seconds the entire
community was soaked by a heavy rain. In response, all attendees quickly ran
for cover under two tents, everyone huddled tight under both the
tents. However,
we didn’t let the rain damper our festivities; the kids continued to eat and
play games as they hide from the rain under the tables. The women continued
enjoying each other’s company over boon, himbasha and a sing-a-along, yea
that’s right, a sing-a-along. Cds, dvds, and t-shirts were flying off our
table, even as the rain continued. Overall, we had a tremendous amount of
support throughout both of our events. Though we were forced to end the
barbeque earlier than scheduled, everyone that attended showed great
appreciation to YPFDJ-Denver for providing the environment to celebrate
Eritrea’s Independence with their families, friends and community.
While YPFDJ-Denver continues to be met with challenges and attempts to throw
the organization off course, our organization continues to prevail over
those obstacles meant to hinder our progress. As this year’s Independence
Day celebrations come to an end, we remember the slogan, “*From the blood of
our martyrs, a new generation is born.”* YPFDJ-Denver has accepted its
responsibility as part of that new generation and will continue to overcome
all obstacles to progress towards our vision of a just, peaceful and
prosperous society.
*This weekend update was brought to you by YPFDJ-Denver*
*Pictures of the events:*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3yMnVW3ns
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"Young Peoples' Front for Democracy and Justice-Denver chapter"
"Building strong, patriotic and conscious youth"
Wetru Awet NHafash !!!
Zelealemawi ZeKri meinti helawiena beja zeHalefu !!!
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