Rites of Passage

For the past fourteen years Kwame Dawes has conducted a program for young people in the South Sumter area of South Carolina called Rites of Passage. Dawes developed this program as a way to supplement the educational work being done at the South Sumter Resource Center which works with at-risk youths and young people who are seeking opportunities for personal development. 

Rites of Passage is a flexible program that seeks to give young people the grounding of community support through a series of workshops and activities that allow them to learn about their individual and collective histories, about moral and ethical challenges that they face, about how to set life goals, about how to give back to their community, about how to discover their creative skills and find ways to develop them. All this is done in a context that regards the community as a resource for the passing on of valuable lessons that will only enhance the opportunities available to young people. 

Rites of Passage is a portable and flexible program that can be tailored to suit the needs of any group of young people.