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Latest News
Ujima Village celebrates fifth anniversary
By
Ida Doolan
Director
of Communications
An indoor picnic to celebrate the fifth anniversary of
Ujima
Village,
a tax credit- funded, 52-unit apartment complex on
Pennington Avenue
for low- and
moderate-income seniors and adults with disabilities, took place Sept. 17 on
the first floor of this renovated century- old building.
Ujima residents and Ujima Village Apartments are housed in
staff of SERV Behavioral the former Fraternal
Order of Odd Fellows building,
Health System Inc., the a four-story brick Greek Revival structure built
in
managing partner of
Ujima 1910 on
Pennington Avenue
at the crossroads of
Village, enjoyed a late Ewing and
Trenton
. Five years ago,
Ujima
Village
afternoon of camaraderie opened after major renovations were completed in
over a dinner of grilled 2004.
hamburgers and hotdogs and
other homemade picnic foods and desserts. The event was sponsored by and
coordinated by resident volunteers and SERV staff.
The apartments are housed in the former Fraternal Order of Odd
Fellows building, a four-story brick Greek Revival structure built in 1910 at
the crossroads between Ewing and
Trenton. This once- majestic building had fallen into
disrepair after being left vacant for nearly 10 years. A renovation project was funded with state
and federal grants, private grants and a construction loan, and the Village
opened in 2004. Today,
Ujima
Village
has an
Outreach
Community Center
which includes an
internet café and book-sharing library, a chapel, a child daycare center, a
clinic operated by St. Francis Medical Center, and a work program.
Ujima (pronounced Oo- JEE-mah) Village was conceived by the Rev. Dr.
John R. Norwood, founding pastor of Ujima Ministries. Ujima is named after one of the seven guiding
principles of Kwanzaa and represents collective work and responsibility.
Phillis J. Chester, 83, one of
Ujima
Village
’s
first residents and the head of the Ujima Tenants Association, knows all Ujima Village Apartments residents Phillis J.
about
collective work and Chester, left,and Rose Glover help serve guests at
responsibility. She and a the fifth-anniversary indoor picnic
Thursday.
handful of volunteers had been
working with SERV to plan the anniversary picnic. On any given day, the retired
nurse is the “go-to” person for any problems that might arise among the
tenants, and she oversees the planning of activities for the residents.
“I like the convenience of living here,” she said. “I still drive, but there is the bus off Pennington
Road, and it is close to the market, my doctor,
the hospital, and my church (Shiloh Baptist).”
Rose Glover, a senior resident for more than a year, enjoys the
camaraderie among the tenants. “I know
some of the ladies that live here and we get along well. I’m going to stay here (for good).” 
SERV consumers Lawrence Phillips and Robert Walsh, who each share
their apartments with other SERV consumers, are happy to be in more independent
living arrangements than their previous group homes. Both now have the advantage of living in
close proximity of their day programs in
Trenton. Walsh, who also is a part-time maintenance
worker at Ujima, is a two-time SERV Foundation scholarship recipient who is
working toward a degree in information technology at MCCC-Kerney campus.
SERV consumer and
Ujima resident Lawrence
Phillips outside at Ujima.
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