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Seven Ways Alumni Shared that School is Cool!
October 23, 2017
September is a time when many students all over the world start their school year. But what if their families can’t afford to buy textbooks or the schools are not equipped to welcome the students? That’s when our YES superheroes come to the rescue! Learn how alumni created educational opportunities in seven different countries during September.
In celebration of International Literacy Day on September 8th, the Cameroon YES Alumni Association (CYAA) organized a fundraiser to purchase English textbooks for students at two bilingual schools in Dschang. (Photo above) The alumni raised enough money to supply English textbooks to 60 students. They held a ceremony at the school to distribute the donations. Look at all the happy faces!
2. Sharing English Knowledge in Indonesia
In Makassar, the alumni community conducted a day-long educational outreach project called “Berbagi Bersama YES” at a local school with nearly 200 students with disabilities. The goal of the project was to improve participants’ English knowledge and inspire them to continue learning English. The event received positive feedback from the school and the students. Good job alumni, spreading the YES experience and English knowledge!
3. YES Language School in Macedonia
On September 16th, Teodora Boshkova (YES ’17) began the YES Language School, an ongoing program to provide children who are not able to afford to attend a private language school with the opportunity to learn English and explore U.S. culture (photo below). Teodora conducts English classes each Saturday for ten students utilizing a non-formal approach in her teaching, which she developed during her exchange year as a participant in the Workshop for Youth Leaders in English Teaching (WYLET). Books and space for the classes are provided by a local private language school, coincidentally also called YES. Keep up the great work, Teodora!
4. Day Trip for Children in Need in Mali
The YES Alumni Association of Mali, in collaboration with the Make A Change Club (MAC), created by YES alumnus, Boubacar Dabo (YES ’12), and the Next Einstein Forum, an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, organized a field trip for orphaned children from the SOS Children’s Village (photo below). The organizers took 20 children to the National Museum of Mali for a day of educational fun on September 9. The children went on a guided tour of the museum and learned about the statues and displays. The day concluded with games, dancing, food, and a distribution of school supplies.
YES alumni, Rogiero Djokarijo (YES ’17) and Shenaya Hardjopawiro (YES ’17) visited children at O.S. Laarwijk Elementary School in the district of Commewijne (photo below). They organized a fun day of travel-themed activities with the students. The students learned the importance of travel by making their own passports and playing travel trivia games. The alumni also led sing-alongs and a discussion about the importance of volunteering. Now these students know that the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town!
6. Nursery School Renovation in Tanzania
YES alumni in Tanzania renovated the Mtopepo Nursery School on September 17th. The school currently has 112 enrolled pupils between the ages of 3 and 5 and was built in 1998 by community members who pooled funds in an effort to provide local children with a school close to their homes. Unfortunately, the funds only covered the cost of building two classrooms, leaving the nursery school unpainted with no learning materials. YES alumni applied for and received YES funding to finish the job community members started years ago. They painted the inner and outer walls of both classrooms and made seven educational posters for each classroom.
7. Fundraiser Bake Sale for Primary School in Tunisia
Walid Zarrad (YES ‘17) and six friends from the American Corner in Sousse co-founded a volunteer club called Stand Up For Sousse (photo below). Their first project aimed to clean, repaint, and repair a primary school in Ennaguer, Kalaa Seghira, an extremely underdeveloped area in Sousse. Before carrying out the project to fix the school, they raised funds for supplies by organizing a bake sale on September 29. Every member of the club brought food to sell, and they raised 60 USD in two hours. Stand Up for Sousse was able to buy the materials necessary for the project, which then took place on October 1st. What a tasty way to repair a primary school in the community!
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