YES alumni stayed busy this February finding new ways to address issues in their home communities through education and training. Providing education, information, and resources is one of many ways YES alumni impact their local communities every day. Check out these seven workshops that alumni organized to make our world a better place!   

1. Special Education Project in Pakistan: Hassan Saeed (YES ’09) and YES ’12: Sjida Momin and Kamal Uddin organized a day-long project with 40 students from the Al-Farabi Special Education School. They showed participants videos on mental health and engaged them in discussion on how to raise awareness about mental health issues. To make the event more interactive, the alumni sang songs, drew cartoons, and played indoor games with the participants. 

2. YES Volunteers Training in Albania: In February, Alumni Coordinator Katerina Hatija (YES ’14), Dafina Meco (YES ’15), and YES ’17: Dea Shehu and Sabina Pipiko organized a training for 20 new YES Volunteers at the American Corner in Tirana. The YES Volunteers program began in Albania in 2015 as an opportunity for non-YES alumni between the ages of 15 and 24, who are selected through a competitive application process, to work closely with YES alumni to design and implement community projects and activities. The program has drawn 80 volunteers representing 11 communities across the country.  We can’t wait to hear about upcoming volunteer projects being supported by these friends of the YES Program! 

3. ”Mold the Clay” Workshop in Bangladesh:  On February 26, Gulshan Jubaed Prince (YES ’12), YES ’14: Tahseen Lubaba, Afreen Zaman, and Nazib Ninad, and Tasawar Drupak (YES ’16) developed and implemented a workshop called "Mold the Clay" for 48 students between the ages of 10 and 12 at the Shekhati Shofiar Rahman Model Academy in Jessore. The goal of “Mold the Clay” is to teach essential life skills to youth at an early age. The workshop covered a broad range of issues split into three different sessions: teambuilding and moral education; health, hygiene, and sexual assault/harassment; and creativity and the arts. 

4. Model United Nations in Lebanon: Tahani Hussain (Bahrain YES ’14), a current student on the MEPI Tomorrow’s Leaders program at Lebanese American University, has been helping to organize her university's annual Model United Nations (MUN) conference since the beginning of the fall 2017 semester. She has been instrumental in training students for the middle schoolers’ component of the MUN conference, which took place from February 17-18 at the LAU campus and drew 150 applicants. Good job, Tahani!    

5. “New Glasses” Workshop in Bosnia: Irfan Durmic (YES ’16) used his experiences from his exchange year in the U.S. and at the 2017 IDEAL Workshop for FLEX and YES alumni held in Montenegro to implement a program to help other students from his high school realize their potential for influencing society. In a February workshop, Irfan taught his peers basic project design, organization, and implementation skills, including how to promote their projects and approach potential supporters for funding or in-kind donations. He then helped participants develop their own project ideas, which included school competitions, projects to promote physical and mental health, and workshops similar to Irfan’s. Irfan’s project was supported by the IDEAL Workshop small grants program. What a great way to use your new skills and experience, Irfan!  

6. First TEDx Youth Event in Kuwait: Saleh Al-Furaij (YES ’16) spearheaded the TEDx Youth Event which took place at the American School of Kuwait on February 15. The event was one of only five TEDx Youth conferences in the Gulf Region and the first ever in Kuwait. With a committee of eight fellow students, Saleh and his team worked tirelessly for five months to make this event a reality. They sold tickets, selected the speakers, and got the American School’s owner to sponsor the event. Way to go, Saleh! 

7. “Teach for Healthy Lives” Training in Liberia: YES ’14: Winston Chayee and Joyce Nimely, Musa Kabbah (YES ’16), and Jessey Coleman (YES ’11) held a training called “Teach for Healthy Lives” in Monrovia for 14 community members. The training aimed to help reduce the growing rate of diabetes and create awareness in the community about the risks of the disease. “Teach for Healthy Lives” is also the name of the organization that Lincoln Ninneh (YES ’14) recently launched to address the dangers of diabetes and teach the local community preventative measures, such as changing one’s diet. Good luck with your important mission, YES alumni in Liberia!