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Reopening of Boys and Girls Club Celebrated
By Andrea Koskey The Daily Times
October 30, 2005
HUERFANO -- Dozens of community members and Navajo Nation Council representatives gathered in the Ha Naa'Dli Youth Center alongside the Huerfano Chapter House to witness the dedication and reopening of the center as a partner with the Boys and Girls Club of the Diné Nation.
"This is for our children," said Leland Leonard, director of the Navajo Nation Division of Education. "It is a positive place for kids to learn and benefit from."
The youth center has established a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club after many of the clubs across the Nation closed in December 2004 as a result of unpaid debt and funds withheld by the Navajo Nation.
The youth center, however, has been operating for more than two years with the support of various other organizations, but the $50,000 grant the center received Saturday during the dedication will help with future programs. According to building supervisors, between 20 and 80 children participate in after-school activities while up to 200 kids are at the center for other weekend events.
"It's a good place and it really benefits the community," said Virginia Nelson, program supervisor. "There are a lot of benefits for kids and since we've opened, a lot of crime has been eliminated. Suicide and drug activity in the area have gone down."
Chris Locke, center director, said, "The facility is a blessing in disguise. Since we've moved here the teen suicide rate is down to nothing. Things are working well."
Many of the area children that have been a part of the center's activities and after-school programs have said the center is beneficial to them and they like going there.
Sitting around a computer playing music and music videos from several rap and pop artists, Stacee Simms said it's a fun place to be able to go.
"We play games like basketball, volleyball and soccer," said Simms, 11. "I like coming here."
While Nelson Benally, 10, who comes to the center every day after school said, "It's fun to come here. I like it, there are a lot of things to do."
The center has a variety of activities and rooms for the children to use, including several weight rooms and a large gymnasium for games like basketball.
"I'm glad it's here," said Mary Lee Murphy, a former worker at the club who has two children using the facility. "It gives the kids a good service and good life skills."
Now that the center is a partner with the Boys and Girls Club, Locke said the grant money and the partnership will allow the volunteers to organize more activities and events as well as allow the children to compete in competitive sports with the clubs in Bloomfield, Aztec and Farmington.
"We are providing the children with a lot of activities and a lot of their leisure time is spent here, which keeps them off of the streets," said Locke.
With another club reopening under the partnership with the Diné Nation, Leonard said he would like to continue the trend.
"My goal is to have a Boys and Girls Club at every Navajo Chapter House," he said. "This is the fifth or sixth we've opened."
The next dedication will be Wednesday in Ft. Defiance, Ariz.
Source: Farmington Daily Times, October 30, 2005
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