By Bojan Aleksovski (YES 2013-2014, Macedonia, hosted by AFS in Chelmsford, Massachusetts)

As the YES program grows successfully with time, YES alumni become more active in their communities each year. Filip Stefanovski (YES '15, hosted by American Councils PO in Bethesda, MD) from Skopje recently conducted a long term project with children and youth with developmental disabilities at the Institute "Zavod za Rehabilitacija na Deca i Mladinci - Skopje".

The project involved series of workshops during the months of March and June and a game day in July.

The workshops were different than the usual workshops our alumni have done with the Institute. This time instead of being led by the alumni, the workshops were led by the youth with intellectual disabilities. The youth were the mentors and the alumni were the participants. Through the workshops beautiful art and crafts were made, all by only using aluminum wires, water colors, different types of colored beads and the leadership of the youth with disabilities.

On the game day in July, the youth with disabilities had the chance to participate in different types of sports activities. From playing traditional street games to playing with hula hoops and tennis rackets, the youth not only had fun, but also had the chance to experience first-hand the major importance that sports play in healthy life style.

The youth with intellectual disabilities through the project demonstrated that leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas and that individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work.

With the help of arts and sports, Filip managed to include the youth in everyday activities and also to raise awareness among his community on social inclusion of people with disabilities. This is Filip's story, what is yours?