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UPDATE! Aunty Oye is our Hero!
By Erin Hall, Volunteer Intern | September 17, 2012
Yesterday, WUSA9 News featured Aunty Oye, a culinary storyteller and nutritional educator, as their Friday's Hero as a part of Hero Central.
View the news cast here
Aunty Oye comes to Martha's Table every Tuesday and teaches culinary story telling and nutrition education to the children in our pre-k classes. She believes it only takes ten minutes a day to boost a child’s confidence in public settings by just allowing them to introduce themselves and taking part in group activities. As well as teaching the children about nutrition, she has also led several workshops for parents about cooking well-balanced meals for their families. She believes that if parents can engage in culinary storytelling, children will improve in both language and confidence.
The Gannett Foundation and WUSA9 wanted to honor Aunty Oye as a hero and came to Martha's Table to film her in action. Aunty Oye, her crew and the hard-working staff of Martha's Table created a farmer’s market on our playground where families could learn about eating healthy. Tables were covered in fruits, vegetables, and other tasty foods for children to select and take home. Aunty Oye created a delicious Western African dish with chicken, rice, a kale salad, and a few other sides to make a wholesome meal with a cultural twist. The parents of the children in pre-k classroom came to Martha's Table to enjoy the special lunch.
Aaron (3 ½ years), a student at Martha’s Table, asked Aunty Oye “Where do you get these ideas?” When Aunty Oye told Aaron the ideas come from her head, he quickly responded, “That’s a good head!” Children like Aaron love the scrumptious alternatives of healthy food that Aunty Oye has introduced to them.
Fit Kids DC was also at the Farmer’s Market teaching Zumba dances to the kids on the playground while emphasizing the importance of fitness and staying active. With plenty of smiles, the children had a fun and exciting time learning new dance moves and shaking their hips with their dance instructors from Fit Kids.
Thank you and congratulations to Aunty Oye for making her vision come true and teaching our families the value of eating healthy!
