By Garmai Gayflor (YES 2014-15, Liberia, hosted by AYUSA in Spanway, WA)

My name is Garmai Gayflor, an alumna of the YES program. I have been involved in volunteering and community services since I came back from my exchange year. As a person who has the passion for volunteerism and community services, I find myself in a country where volunteerism is almost like a taboo. A place where people will demand money or other things even though you are impacting them in other ways. Since the YES program open my eyes to volunteering and community services, I have been trying so very hard to help more Liberians get the delicious taste of volunteerism - to open their eyes so they are able to see what volunteerism has to offer, to know the life time connection it brings among people, and so many other amazing things. 

I have been involved in many projects, but I am really passionate about the work I do at the EPIC center. The EPIC center is an international non-governmental, nonprofit organization that exists to empower individuals, communities, schools, and organizations by connecting them to opportunities and resources to improve outcomes. Our services revolve around health, well-being, employment, education advocacy, and capacity building. We engage youths to become agents of change in the community. We provide the vehicle for community members to learn leadership and advocacy skills, and to engage directly with policy makers to improve community outcomes. 

As the coordinator of the EPIC center, I have been involved in community outreach. I have been meeting community leaders to discuss issues affecting the various communities. On Tuesday, October 2, 2018, we conducted a one-day consultative meeting with community members to help them identify opportunities and resources in the community. Presently, we are dealing with community and schools, but the EPIC center also offers scholarships to all students admitted in the African American Institute. In the consultative meeting the community members point out there are main issues affecting the communities, these three major issues are: health, education and security. 

In the near future, the EPIC center is going host a radio talk show called The EPIC radio to give community members the opportunity to express themselves. We are going to do more and more with the collaboration of community members.