By Mohammed Abu Zaanona, Mohammed Zaqout and Summer Al Jamal

Mohammed Abu Zaanona (Gaza, YES 2007-2008) received a YES Alumni Grant to conduct an initiative to encourage alumni from both YES and ACCESS, a U.S. Department of State English language initiative, to design and implement their own community service projects. His project, Alumni Community Involvement was designed to respond to the needs of the community in Palestine in Gaza. Here, he and other project team leaders, Mohammed Zaqout and Summer Al Jamal, share their story.

 
Being part of the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) community has literally changed our lives. We have discovered many hidden strengths within us and realized how much potential we have. We have improved our leadership skills with each project we have organized. We have also met new people while working with them to create and implement volunteer projects that have benefitted our entire society.

One of the most serious issues that we have noticed is the lack of coordination between YES alumni and the English Access Microscholarship Program (ACCESS) alumni when when creating projects. We decided to unify their efforts in order to increase the number of volunteers and get the best results.

The Alumni Community Involvement project resulted in two projects. The first project was a psychological support program for kids. The project targeted twenty-five disabled children, some of whom were wounded during the last military operations in Gaza. The project, which was implemented in four days, aimed to reduce post-traumatic psychological effects in these children. This support was offered through psychological and therapeutic sessions, as well as through activities like listening to music, drawing a mural, painting, and reciting poetry. The children enjoyed the activities and paticipated enthusiastically. At the end of the project, there were smiles on the children’s faces and we were able to see the profound effect it made on their morale.

The second project involved helping university graduates build capacity for online jobs. Sessions educated participants about how to freelance, and a closing event showcased the the participants' progress in creating their own jobs online.

The participants of both projects benefited from the programs and some of them shared their feedback:   

“This experience was the best one I have ever had. It took me to a whole new world.” Zahra Shikha

“It is a great project and the sessions were so helpful. I’ve learnt how I can be an active member in a team and also how I can deal with people when I meet them for the first time successfully.” Aisha Atta

We would like to thank the YES program for providing us with the support and the funds to nourish, develop and help our local community. We would also like to thank AMIDEAST-Gaza for the astonishing amount of support for our projects, especially this one. They provided their facilities and the encouragement to pursue and accomplish our goals.

(Mohammed Abu Zaanona, Gaza, 2007-2008, was hosted in Muncie, Indiana. His placement organization was Aspect Foundation; Mohammed Zaqout, Gaza, 2010-2011, was hosted in Laveen, Arizona. His placement organization was AYUSA; Summer Al Jamal became an ACCESS alumna in 2008)