13 YES Alumni Grant Projects Changing the World

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Do you believe that grassroots community projects can make a difference in the world? Thirteen YES alumni projects across the world did just that.

Do you believe that grassroots community projects can make a difference in the world? Thirteen projects from YES alumni across the world did just that.

Although each project received funding from the YES program, it was the sweat, tears, and hard work of each person that made the difference in improving the lives of the people in their communities.

1. Inusah Al-Hassan knew that in his rural community of Tamale, Ghana not only did students in middle and high school need greater computer literacy, but Information Communications Technology (ICT) teachers needed training as well.

Inusah created YESICT4ALL to train students and teachers in ICT skills. Braving challenges such as a lack of electricity and the high cost of gas in Tamale, Inusah's students have loved learning about new technology.

2. Mahaitou Maiga brought the same project, YESICT4ALL to Bourem, his small village in southeastern Mali. Mahaitou opened a public ICT center for his community, which became so popular that he is now looking for a bigger space.

Although Mahaitou's center is challenged by the lack of electricity and Internet, he and his community continue to solve problems together, recognizing the need for technology education.

3. Hassan Saeed knew firsthand that teachers in Pakistan are thirsty to learn more about teaching methods and make learning fun. Through Project Re-Educate, he trained 25 teachers in Peshawar, Charsadda, and Swab on teaching methods and introduced them to new activities for English-teaching classrooms.

Hassan also taught 40 students the value of community service in rural areas of the SWAT Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) region of Pakistan, a region embroiled in long-term conflicts.

4. Hamza Arsbi has a strong vision for science education. He created the Scientific Culture Society in 2006 to encourage both students and teachers in Jordan to look at different ways to learn and teach science.

Through his Portable Lab project, Hamza developed a problem-based science learning series for teachers and provided portable, hands-on science lab kits for students to experiment with science in a new way.

5. Hasan Iqbal believes in the "right to play," an international movement promoting the right to sport as a human right.

Now Hasan advocates for students with disabilities to also play sports, so he provided equipment and athletic training through Sports: Turning Disability into Ability for a school of more than 300 blind and deaf students in Karachi, Pakistan.

6. Mohamed Tahboub wanted students and staff at his university, Palestine Polytechnic University in the city of Hebron, to get inspired about supporting the environment.

His project, NADDF, the Arabic word for cleanliness, launched an environmental awareness campaign, resulting in the installation of campus-wide recycling and trash bins. Mohamed also worked on an anti-smoking awareness campaign on his campus.

7. Tarek Ibrahim believes in the power of social entrepreneurship and that youth are the future for rebuilding Egypt's economy and society.

Through a special workshop, The Elite, Tarek aimed to empower Egyptian youth with the skills needed for social and business entrepreneurship, such as civic engagement, project management, and marketing.

8. Mohammed Kiawu looked around his community in Liberia and saw too many at-risk youth. He decided to intervene by starting the Campaign Against Destructive Decisions.

This prevention and intervention project engaged 50 at-risk youth in training and workshops to help them develop personal skills, such as leadership, advocacy, and positive behavior change, to start shaping a constructive future.

9. Sumanta Bansi knows that many women without education and job skills in her rural community of Wageningen, Suriname are at-risk and may face difficult life challenges.

Sumanta's project, Teaching Female Dropouts the Basics of the English Language, teaches English to women between the ages of 19 to 45 who have not completed a formal education. With basic English-language training, the women are more likely to have the ability to sell their homemade goods to the English-speaking communities in Suriname.

10. Dory Merhy wants to provide opportunities for Lebanese kids from underprivileged backgrounds.

Kids: Future Leaders provided a day of fun activities for school children, addressing religious and ethnic coexistence and tolerance, leadership, teamwork and cooperation, English skills, and the environment. Dory also organized training on first aid and basic medical knowledge for youth who work with children.

11. Aryanda Ondrio works with underprivileged youth on a series of projects known as YES Bergabi with fellow alumni.

YES Berbagi 3 is a project designed to inspire young people to achieve their dreams through interactive discussions and active learning in emergency schools in Indonesia.

12. Evangeline Bekemeh Safeh found that her community in Cameroon needed greater public safety awareness, especially for motorcycles, which are a common method of transformation.

Saving Students from Motorbike Accidents is a motorbike safety awareness campaign in Doula. Evangeline led three Motorbike Accidents Challenge workshops for students, school administrators, and motorbike riders. Driving school specialists and trade union representatives provided information about driving license procedures, driving speed limits, helmet specifications, and road safety.

13. Joseph Marah from Sierra Leone discovered that his community at Kellogg Community College (KCC) in Battle Creek Michigan, where he is now a student, could use a community garden to provide fresh vegetables to a local community table serving the homeless.

Joseph's YES-KCC Community Garden not only became a local food source, but also provided an outdoor gardening opportunity for the community.

Read the full story here.

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