The church was decorated with many of the 1000 origami cranes that the children had created, and the programs were in the same shape. The 14 participants, ages 9-13, were dressed up to show off all that they had worked on for the past eight months. Parents and friends were assembled in the pews and food from the accompanying potluck dinner could be smelled cooking down the hall. The children were visibly nervous and a few mistakes were made, but salsa instructor Lysa-Monique Jenkins noted, “it’s not the mistakes people make but the way you recover from them.”

BuildaBridge’s after-school program, Create! Achievement, presented its end of the year art show June 20. The show, held at Second Baptist Church of Germantown, represented the culmination of the 3-6 p.m. structured after-school program and showcased visual art, music and dance skills the children had been learning since October.

Charlene Melhorn, Director of Community Programs and Group Supervisor Celmali Jaime began the celebration, welcoming the visitors and praising kids for all of their hard work. The participants then presented their talents. A drama entitled “choices” focused on the importance of working hard and studying rather than succumbing to negative influences like smoking, drinking and violence.

Several presented poems. One poem called “Independent Woman” touched on the author’s pride in her Jamaican heritage. Phrases such as “I am somebody,” “I will make it” and “I want a better future” were sprinkled throughout the poems, speaking to the authors’ general desire to be successful and free from many of the negative elements of their environment.

Next, four girls sang “Lean on Me” with the crowd clapping along. More musical performances followed, including a guitar, drum and violin trio, a guitar and drum duo, a drum solo and a rap, which was “changed from a negative rap to a positive one.” Four participants and two teachers then presented a salsa performance, with the rest of the participants and several members of the crowd joining the mix.

During her closing comments, Melhorn said, “this year we have watched these kids grow,” highlighting their individual growth and positive characteristics with the “specifically you” awards. Each participant got an award focusing on these positive characteristics, as well as a personalized, humorous award. Awards given out included “most observant,” “the encourager,” “Ms. Renaissance,” “most improvement,’ as well as “best pout ever” and “is it snack time yet?”

Soon thereafter, everyone enjoyed a potluck dinner. The room was decorated with many pieces of artwork, and a slideshow was shown.

Family to some of the participants sang the praises of the Create! Achievement program. Lorraine Gaines-Elliot, grandmother to four of the participants, said, “it’s great. It keeps them out of the streets. They enjoyed coming and did not want to miss a day.” Mona Phillips, the sister of another participant mirrored the sentiments, saying, “I think it’s awesome to see them grow this much.”