Late afternoon sunlight streams through the skylight into the Graham Reading Room at the Youth Organizations United to Rise (Y.O.U.R.) Community Center as Mariama Davis asks a small group of 4th and 5th graders: “Does anyone have any issues with bullying?”

Gathered in the safe space of their after school program with their trusted adult friend Ms. Mariama, the children respond, “Yes, lots of them!” Mariama listens intently to the children’s stories of feeling intimidated on the bus and on the playground, and then introduces a role-play activity that gives them practice using words and body language to stand up for themselves.

After a day of sitting at a desk inside a classroom, the children throw themselves dramatically into their characters – using eye contact, straightening their shoulders and backs, and enthusiastically applauding each others’ performances -- not quite realizing Ms. Mariama has helped them acquire key life skills.

Everyone who knows Mariama is struck by her gentle approach to teaching and her ability to connect with people of all ages. Some of these skills Mariama may have acquired from years teaching at Alice Deal junior high, coaching softball, or raising her own three children. But Mariama also had a great teacher in her mother, Joyce Madyun, founder of Y.O.U.R. Community Center.

After almost 10 years of running an after school program in her basement and at West Elementary school, Madyun refinanced her family home in 1997 to establish Y.O.U.R. Community Center in a long-time community eyesore on Farragut Street.

As the children have grown up in Y.O.U.R.’s programming, some of the girls have transitioned into Petals of Primrose, a program Mariama founded three years ago to help girls aged 14-16 transition into womanhood with a strong sense of self, purpose, and community.

“The primrose is a flower that blossoms in the evening, only after being well-nurtured and watered,” explains Mariama, whose program meets every Wednesday and exposes its approximately 25 participants to creative writing, photography, etiquette and hands-on games for personal finance.

The inspiration for Petals of Primrose, which is also intended to prevent teen pregnancy, came out of Mariama’s own experience of being a young mother trying to support her son while pursuing her own dream of going to medical school. Mariama is committed to helping other young women realize their aspirations.

Mariama designed “Day in the Office Of….” a career shadowing project in which professional women from the community expose high school girls to varied careers such as criminal prosecutors, newscasters, and nurses.

To further broaden their horizons, Mariama recently coordinated a spring day trip to New York City for the group. The 9th- 11th grade students from DCPS visited the New York Mercantile Exchange, ground zero and saw Oprah Winfrey’s Broadway production of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple.” Yet, according to Ashley Shor, an 11th grade student from Cesar Chavez high school, the best part of the “wonderful” experience was learning more about the “goofy side”  ofother girls in the program and singing songs together in the back of the bus during the ride back to DC. 

Teenage girls making those personal connections, especially when they come from different backgrounds and parts of DC, is critical. “There are a lot of girl gangs out here,” says Ashley. “Girls beefing for no reason. They want to jump each other just for not looking at someone the right way. [Petals of Primrose] is like an alternative, like peer mediation. Girls can sit down, and get to know each other.”

In order to prevent teen substance abuse, HIV infection and teen pregnancy, there should be a lot of more programs like Petals of Primrose, says Ashley. “A lot of people, they go to school, they come home… they are going to the movies constantly or going to McDonalds. The school might offer after school programs, but maybe nothing that helps you directly with life.”

As Mariama and Y.O.U.R. Community Center make plans to develop a similar program for young men, Mariama is also continuing to pursue her love for science and nature. Since graduating more than 15 years ago from Dunbar High School’s pre-engineering program, Mariama would like to build a career educating others about their health now that her three children are all in school.

Y.O.U.R. Community Center currently serves approximately 125 children a year, most from Ward 4, through its after school program for elementary and teens, and a summer camp.

Contact Founder Joyce Madyun at 202-548-4913 or your4913@hotmail.com for more information, or if you can help make a contribution to their WISH LIST: a new van, funds for operating expenses, new computers.