Jan 26 2009 /
Welcome 2009 Malaysian YES Scholars!
On January 14-17, a team of YES staff and volunteers welcomed our 40 Malaysian students, including 3 deaf students, for the semester-length YES program.
AFS Malaysia collaborates with the Malaysia Federation for the Deaf in order to recruit students for the YES Program. Staff in Malaysia worked closely with the Malaysia Federation for the Deaf (MFD) in order to develop and plan the second annual American Sign Language Camp. Past deaf alumni were able to collaborate with them to provide additional input and ideas for this camp and then join them to help facilitate. As the YES Program strives to engage, recruit and support students with disabilities, this is a big step forward and we know the ASL Camp will grow, improve and provide additional preparation in order to better support our deaf participants.
Upon arrival to the US, the group dove into an eventful and lively 3 day orientation in the Washington, DC area. Highlights included a visit with Alina L. Romanowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Office of Professional and Cultural Exchanges, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, as well as a session led by Imam Arafat and Kimberly King of the Civilizations Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (CECF) on the topic of Culture and Religion in America.
Of these 40 YES Malaysian students, 10 are hosted by PAX, 10 are hosted by AYA, 3 are hosted by ACES and the remaining 17 are currently being hosted by AFS-USA all over the United States.
Our 3 deaf students went on to attend a preparatory Workshop in Eugene, OR with Mobility International USA (MIUSA) for all students with disabilities. The 3 were joined by 2 Filipino students who arrived in August with the larger YES group.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank two AFS volunteers, Diana Ziffer and Stacy Miller, of the Northern Illinois and Capitol Area Team respectively, who filled our two “Lead Facilitator” volunteer roles during our January event. Diana and Stacy joined our team and took on key responsibilities throughout the various planning stages, organizing a volunteer training and info sessions, and will be helping to evaluate and edit the orientation materials for future orientations.
Please join us in warmly welcoming the YES Malaysians to the US!
