Kwanzaa 2011: Ujima/Collective Work & Responsibility Day- December 28th
Happy Kwanzaa
Collective Work and Responsibility/Ujima: Investing collectively in our family’s and community’s well-being, and working in  mutual beneficial way to create the best conditions and possibilities of life for everyone
Ujima/Collective Work & Responsibility Message
Collective work and responsibility is a powerful force in the construction of family and community, and in healthy development of children. This principle instructs that we are all responsible for the welfare and success of each other. All adults, for example, are responsible for the welfare of the community and for the nurturing and development of children. Similarly, all adults are responsible and accountable for the success and failure of neighborhood schools and the safety of the community. Neighborhood safety is most definitively grounded in a network of caring adults who monitor the behavior and skills acquisition, i.e., education of children in the neighborhood. Hence, as indicated above, collective work and responsibility is a powerful and transformative value, which if observed by critical mass of neighborhood residents, would have the effect of raising our neighborhoods to a level capable of producing persons of moral, academic, and professional excellence.
Collective Work and Responsibility Day Checklist 
Collective Work and Responsibility Day Checklist
ü    Ingathering activity, around a meal or designated time
ü    Read African/American proverbs, folktales, poems, or recite family story (optional)
ü    Highlight the Kwanzaa Symbol Kinara/Candleholder
ü    Reflect on the  Collective Work and Responsibility commitment for the current and coming year
ü    Family Feast
ü    Pour Libation (optional) for deceased parents love ones, significant others, heroes and heroines, all of those whose sacrifice make it possible for us to enjoy the freedom and fruits of our labor
ü    Candle lighting
ü    Make Collective Work and Responsibility commitment
ü    Take picture/record your commitments or Kwanzaa activities (optional)
ü    Using the Swahili greeting to greet each other. Harbari Gani (What’s the News) Response: Ujima
ü    Plan and/or do a collective work and responsibility activity.
ü    Make Collective Work and Responsibility commitment
ü    Take picture/record your commitments or Kwanzaa activities (optional)
ü    Using the Swahili greeting to greet each other. Harbari Gani (What’s the News) Response: Ujima
ü    Plan and/or do a collective work and responsibility activity.
Candle Lighting Activity 
Candle Lighting: On the second day of Kwanzaa the family lights the green candle. This candle is symbolic of the effort. The placement and order of the Kwanzaa candles teach and reinforce valuable lessons for the family. The green candle is symbolic of the prosperity of achieved success of the family, school or community. The lesson here is straightforward: children and youth who put forth the right effort (work and study) will achieve success in their grades and school performance. The same applies to adults.
Kwanzaa Journal Entry
What was my 2011 Kwanzaa Commitment: 1) Completed,2) Partially Completed, 3) Still in Progress
What are my 2012 Kwanzaa commitments?
By what means or method will I employ to achieve my commitments?
Post on Facebook (optional)
