By Andrea Muriuki
Lowell, MA—Lowell High School is a school filled with an abundance of cultural diversity which includes a wide variety of African cultures. Students and teachers recently shared their different experiences of Africa.
Of the many African countries represented in the LHS population, there are Algeria, Nigeria and Kenya situated in the North, West and East respectively.
Lowell High sophomore Esther Kimani is one of the many Kenyan Lowellians that celebrates Mandraka Day, which commemorates the day Kenya got partial independence on December 12, 1963, and Jamhuri Day, the day Kenya won complete independence from the United Kingdom. The day Kenya’s forefathers won the Mau Mau war, Mashunjaa Day, known as Heroes’ Day, is also celebrated.
Since moving to Lowell in April 2014, Kimani described her adjustment as very hard. One problem was the food. “Kenyan food and U.S. food are two very different things. When I first came here, I stayed one week without food.”
Another problem is that being born in Kenya leads to having a very distinct accent, which leads to miscommunication.
“Some words are very difficult to say and a lot of people [misinterpret] what I am trying to say” said Kimani.
Even the Superintendent of Lowell Public Schools is part of the African community.
“I was born in North Africa, in a country named Algeria, where I learned in French language,” said Superintendent Salah Khelfaoui, at the autumn English Language Education Family Night Program in the LHS Little Theater.
Algeria is currently the biggest country and the eighth largest populated country on the African continent at 39.2 million people.
Another member of the African LHS community is Mr. Arhuidese who was born in Nigeria and had taught there for over twenty years. Teaching has always been Mr. Arhuidese’s main occupation due to the fact that he finds “joy in making an impact on students.”
Mr. Arhuidese celebrated traditions in Nigeria that are similar to the ones Americans do in the U.S. He celebrates Christmas, Independence Day, and New Years. At the end of every year, his family goes to church and thanks God for bringing them this far in life.
Mr. Arhuidese has noticed many differences in American and Nigerian schools because he has taught in both countries.
In the U.S, libraries, laboratories, and computer labs are a lot more furnished than in Nigeria, yet the students don’t take advantage of that.
Another thing he noticed is that there is a lack of respect between a student and teacher as opposed to in Nigeria, where teachers are greatly respected.
Mr. Arhuidese has faced some struggles since moving to the U.S. “Settling down wasn’t as hard as finding the information needed to become a teacher,” he said.
Getting the job of his choice was hard because he was “not being accepted or taken seriously because of [his] color or accent,” yet he never gave up. He started out as a substitute teacher and gradually made his way up to a French teacher. He has been teaching at Lowell High for the past five years.
While some people have immigrated to America from Africa, others take interest in Africa and choose to vacation there due to its rich culture.
A member of the LHS community, Barbara Hodgson, an ELL Lead Teacher who has spent twenty-two years teaching a supporting New-Comer and refugee students at LHS, has visited Algeria due to her interest in it.
Many African countries are represented at LHS, and though a common stereotype is that all Africans speak Swahili, however African students differ with regards to language, race, economy and religion
After travelling Algeria for two years, she built an awareness of the differences in African culture.
Overall, the Lowell community has been exposed to an abundance of African cultures. Still, “people don’t understand that Africa can be urban, rural, suburban, rich, poor and/or Islamic,” explained Hodgson.
Some Americans even get their information about Africa from stereotyped movies like Tarzan or the Lion King, she noted.
At times, misinformed students may put all African cultures together without considering colonial history, language or race.
North Africa can be a very different cultural experience than Central Africa, and South Africa can be very different than West Africa.
“Africa is not just ‘black Africa’ and many Americans lump Africans as the same,” said Hodgson regarding her experience with the North African country of Algeria.
Africans can be different races, religions and cultures, according to Hodgson.
At Lowell High, Africans and non-Africans alike provide different views of African culture.
(Edited by Emeritus Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Mai)
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