YES is an innovative high school exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This public diplomacy initiative builds bridges of international understanding, especially between Americans and people in countries with significant Muslim populations.
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Since 2003, over 2000 young people from countries such as Ghana, Lebanon, Indonesia and Bangladesh have come to the US to live as a “son” or “daughter” in an American family and attend high school for an academic year or semester. YES students share their host families’ lives,
engage in school activities and volunteer in their communities.
They learn about American society and values while helping
to educate others about the customs and culture of their homelands.
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July 07, 2010 – Solomon Nkinai, 18, told his schoolmates about his life in Kajiado in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. He described his village, his school and spoke about hunting lion. He talked about his love for soccer and how kids in Kenya play with homemade soccer balls of garbage bags, tarps, rope or string.
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June 29, 2010 – Twenty-five students returning from their year abroad spent several days in Washington DC for their re-entry orientation, where they visited their Congressional Representatives and were welcomed by Sen. Richard Lugar. Read more
“Sometimes a bunch of kids can accomplish more in a small amount of time than a country can achieve in decades. We YES students started to remove the misconceptions and initiated a movement against prejudice. We have taken a step for world peace.”
Emrah from Turkey, hosted in Washington
“I believe it is amazing and in fact unbelievable how the YES scholarship
in such a short time has already changed people. Natural parents here in Egypt, after being extremely worried about their children, are feeling very much at ease now. The warmth that their children are finding within their host families in the States is being projected and magnified here”
Sherifa Fayez, Director of AFS Egypt
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