In May 2011, IRIS partnered with Drake University, CONADEIP and Global Football for an international endeavor to provide YES students with the opportunity to play host to United States and Mexican visitors in Tanzania.

The Tanzanian football game was an exciting switch of roles for YES alumni not only because it was the first collegiate American football game to take place on African soil, but because they were able to take part in volunteerism back in their home country.

An integral part of the YES Program is to teach the importance of volunteer service and to encourage alumni to take the spirit of volunteerism back to their home communities. Following the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl in Arusha, the teams traveled to Moshi to volunteer with the YES alumni at schools and orphanages in the area. From three countries around the world, these young people came together at the foothills of Mt. Kilomanjaro and tackled 11 projects in three days which included:

• Painting projects at Mawenzi Secondary School
• Building a classroom at Bridge Nursery
• Painting and repair projects at Shauri Moyo School for students with learning disabilities
• Planting trees at Moshi Primary and Rau Primary
• Constructing netball and soccer facilities at Soweto Primary School
• Repairing a soccer field and building a volleyball court at Kaloleni District school
• Building a dormitory and planting trees at Kitaa Hope Orphanage     
• Constructing a classroom at Tema Secondary School

IRIS coordinated these activities in conjunction with projects currently being done by our YES alumni in the area. Nearly 30 alumni and selected YES students traveled from around the country to participate in this volunteer project component of the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl.

“Of all of the incredible components of the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl, the volunteer projects will leave the most lasting impact,” said Del Christensen, executive director of IRIS. “We leave behind physical reminders of our time in Tanzania, but the time spent here also will affect the teams and the Tanzanian people for years to come.”

Through an international football game, youth sports clinics, volunteer projects and climbing Mt. Kilomanjaro, the combination of YES Students and a team of American and Mexican athletes and coaches continue to leave a lasting impact of the people of Tanzania

IRIS is a nonprofit, non-religious organization founded in 1993 and located in Ames, Iowa, USA. Its mission is to promote international understanding, development and peace by connecting Iowans to communities worldwide. For more information, visit www.iris-center.org.