GYV 2009 Alumni Receives Prestigious Award

Robert Jackson, 2009 GYV alumni, has been selected as a Gates Millennium Scholar. As a Gates Scholar his entire college tuition will be paid in full by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.  He will receive tuition support from his freshman year of college through doctoral study.

Robert says his participation in the Peace Building Program has truly been a significant experience in his life. We would like to congratulate Robert on such a wonderful achievement!

IWD-Women’s Day- March 8

Women: They are half of the world’s population, make up 42% of global internet users and control $14 trillion in assets. They also do two-thirds of the world’s work yet receive only 10% of the income. They are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. In many parts of the world, they lack basic economic, social, cultural, and political rights.

This Sunday, March 8th is International Womens Day (IWD). It is an international celebration marking the achievements of women and their importance to our future.

The IWD website posts:

“IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that ‘all the battles have been won for women’ while many feminists from the 1970′s know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women’s visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women’s craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.”

Visit the International Womens Day (IWD) website to find an event in your community. Better yet, volunteer with an organization that supports women and girls. Keep up to date on issues affecting women around the globe and inform others. Post links to news stories on your Facebook or MySpace page, etc. Contact your government representatives to voice your opinions and learn more about legislation that affects women and girls. Finally, as authored on the IWD site, “Make every day International Women’s Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.”

Statistics from IWD website: www.internationalwomensday.com.

WIN A SCHOLARSHIP: GYV Essay Contest!

Enter our Global Youth Essay Contest between February 20-April 10, 2010!  Your essay must answer the question “How can I use technology to change the World.” The winners will receive full or partial scholarships to this summer’s program. Click here for offical rules and details.

• You must be ages 15-18 and a US citizen
• Essays should not exceed 500 words
• You must read the official rules
• Essays should be e-mailed to gyv@legacyintl.org
• Essays should be submitted between February 20- April 10th
• Your essay will be judged on
  • (a) overall creativity (20%),
  • (b) content for your proposal on how using technology can change the world (70%)
  • (c) overall grammatical and structural fluency (10%)

Make 2010 a Year of Service

Community service projects are the foundation of bridging social barriers. This year we each have the opportunity to serve our neighboring communities by becoming involved in a community project. It is amazing the difference one person can make! National holidays, such as the Martin Luther King Day of Service, provide the perfect venue to get started. Just a few ways you could help out:

• Collecting items for charity such as clothes, food, or furniture.
• Cleaning roadside verges.
• Helping the elderly in nursing homes.
• Helping the local fire or police service.
• Helping out at a local library.
• Tutoring children with learning disabilities.
• Participating in school activities that benefit the wider community.

Indonesians launch community projects

Our 22 Indonesian students have returned home with plans to improve their communities.  Learn more about their projects. 

PROPOSED PROJECTS: GORONTALO

Barak and Awa: My Library is My Life

• Conduct a seminar at their school and five area schools about literacy/readership.
• Get the heads of each class (16 classes totaling 200 students) at their school to do a needs assessment as a way of evaluating what to purchase for the library; goal is 50-60 books.
• Redecorate the library (involving administration, student groups, local government, etc.)
• Start a school-wide class contest held each month (read-a-thon)

Fahri and Zein:             Culture for Our People

• Establish a community theater troupe focusing on traditional cultural performances; will draw young people from schools in the Bone Bolango municipal area.
• Establish a community magazine (published, not wall) that is entirely devoted to the writings of young people in the same area.
• Profits raised from selling the magazine and minor ticket prices for performances.
• Get other schools involved via promotion via seminars/presentations.

Siti and Yahya:             Healthy Canteen

• Their boarding school doesn’t have a canteen for students to eat in or provide food.  They want to build a canteen place that sells healthy food.  They’ll do a seminar at the school promoting healthy eating habits, a workshop for food sellers that sell at the school (five or six businesses) and build the canteen.
• After it is built as a model, will do workshops at 10-15 nearby schools, focusing on elementary schools so as to develop lifelong habits.  They’ll do presentations and workshops.

PROPOSED PROJECTS: BATAM

Qisty and Jeri:             School Environment Project

• Presentations about environmental issues at their school (there are 21 classes, 26 students per a class, and a total student body of 800 students.)
• Start daily school environmental patrols
• Recycle fair event with each class competing.  Money raised will be put back into environmental projects.

Ferry and Elsa:             English for All

• Start a community English class meeting 2x a week for 1^st and 2^nd grade children from an at-risk neighborhood.  20 students per class. Classes will  last 90 minutes.
• Get a wifi hook up for the classroom along with two computers.  Computers will have educational software for learning English installed and also be available for internet use and computer training.
• Get school supplies for the students.
• Monthly English competitions for the students to keep learning fun.

Debby and Arin:             Cleaning Out Our Environment (COE)

• Involving at least three high schools in their project
• Presentations at schools concerning environment – get facilities cleaned, separate trash, collect trash, etc.  Schools will be involved in the craft project.
• Start a recycled craft project.  After cleaning and sorting trash, they’ll put non-organic trash to use by remaking it as crafts which will then be sold.
• Crafts will be sold and proceeds will go towards buying cleaning supplies for involved schools.

PROPOSED PROJECTS: CILEGON

Nia and Aldi: Recycle for Farmers

• Involves seven area schools.
• Presentation at local schools, separating trash, and starting a program where they will collect the organic trash from the participating schools to compost.
• After three weeks of composting, they will provide the compost to area farmers as free fertilizer for their crops.  They’ll be collecting hay from the farmers to assist in the composting and as a way of involvement.
• Goal is to provide compost to at least ten farmers and provide 50kg of compost a month.

Reza and Sasky: One Hole Change the World

• Fundraising and education program to raise money and volunteers for building biopori.  Done through proposals, seminars, and school area competitions (photography contest with environmental theme as an example).
• Once funds are raised, students will create the tool for building biopori.
• Create 20 biopori in 10 area schools
• Create no littering signs and other pro environmental slogans in the same schools.

Cahya and Tulloh: Separation of Rubbish

• Seminars on garbage issues at 5 area schools (mixed elementary, middle, and high schools)
• Plant at least 10 trees at each of these schools.
• Get separate trash cans and signs for separating organic and non-organic trash at each school.

Syarief and Darwin: Let’s Start to Keep Our School Clean and Healthy

• Fundraise to get supplies for cleaning the schools and organize seminars about cleaning/environment at seven area schools.
• Establish weekly cleaning days at each school.  Organic trash will go into Nia and Aldi’s project.
• Organize a cleaning contest between the 7 area schools with a trophy that moves to the cleanest school each semester.
• Talked about ministry of education involvement.

Gandung and Shopi: Garbage is our Friend – 3 pg translate

• Separate garbage at their school and five area schools (presentations – one day seminars on environmental issues and recycling)
• Recycle fair between classes at the six schools.
• $$ raised via the recycle fair will be used to buy food that will be dispersed to poor families.

The Indonesian Youth Leadership Program is

Supported by the US Department of State – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Helping at a Habitat House

One day during the three week session, we split into teams and worked at different local Service projects. Some of us helped at Habitat for Humanity.  We learned about how people qualify for homes, how they give back -all while doing the  landscaping. Service projects  are a great way to get involved.  Some of my international friends gained ideas from the US non-profit models. Many hands make light work.

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