"I feel this program helps students not only to understand their own culture in a better way and learn a new culture, but also to maintain a balance between these two. Therefore, it teaches one to share one's ideas as well as to respect and listen to others."
-Rujuta Patil (India)
Hoping to foster a greater understanding of their culture, Indian students Zeba Amir and Siddhant Shah tell visitors about their homeland during an all day exposition. “In one day, at one event, the students were able to meet all the goals and objectives of the YES scholarship program,” says Kara Lozier, a YES Cluster Leader in Pownal, Vermont.
In Washington DC, these students from Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and India bagged sandwiches and care packages to give to the homeless.
One of the featured speakers at the “No Place for Hate” conference in Massachusetts was Ghanaian Eric Amoah Sakyi who implored the audience not to fear each other because of the color of their skin, their beliefs or disabilities.
To read more about current students, see What's New
The YES Program
Youth Exchange and Study, known as the YES program, brings teenagers from
predominantly Muslim countries to live with host families and attend high
school for a year. Fully funded by the federal government, YES is a positive
response to the tragic events of September 11, a way all Americans can
address our misunderstanding of the Muslim world and their mistrust of
Americans.
PAX
and YES
PAX was one of the few exchange visitor programs to be selected by the
US
Department of State to serve as a placing organization for the first
YES students in 2003. For the 2008-2009 school year, PAX will place 100 students from Brunei, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey.
Students are placed in clusters of three or four, representing eleven different nationalities. PAX has YES clusters in the following communities:
Anchorage, AK
Tucson, AZ
Ft. Collins, CO
Colorado Springs, CO
Washington DC
Cedar Rapids, IA
Columbus, IN
Orange, MA
Silver Spring, MD
Takoma Park, MD
Cheboygan, MI
North Branch, MN
Blue Springs, MO
Kennewick, MT
Goffstown, NH
Albuquerque, NM
Athens, OH
Washington Township, OH
Tulsa, OK
Tigard, OR
Brockway, PA
Catawissa, PA
Linden, PA
Mercersburg, PA
Petersburg, VA
Bennington, VT
Pownal, VT
Brattleboro, VT
Each cluster is guided and supported by a PAX Cluster Leader who has cross-cultural experience and an interest in the culture and traditions of the Muslim world.
Building Leadership
Skills
The boys and girls chosen for the YES program have been identified as
outstanding young "ambassadors" and as students who have leadership
potential. The YES program then seeks to further develop these skills.
During their US homestay, YES students attend town meetings, visit local newspapers, see small businesses in action and participate in community service projects. They meet community leaders and see America at work. Students also make small presentations about their countries and introduce Americans to leaders, past and present, in their homelands.
"This is has been an opportunity to know someone from Turkey, someone from Egypt and someone from Indonesia and to see that they’re good people, just like us. We need to consider how people in other countries see us. Having foreign students in our classrooms, who can tell us from first-hand experience, is important. This is an opportunity to develop sincere relationships and understanding that can’t be achieved any other way. The world will be a better place because of it."
-Jessie
Scott,
Counselor
and Teacher
Arts and Communications
Magnet Academy
Portland, Oregon
Host a YES Student
To learn more about hosting a YES student, call the PAX Sponsored Programs Director at 800-555-6211 or e-mail sponsoredprograms@pax.org
KCRG News interviewed PAX YES students about the role exchange plays in breaking stereotypes during their meeting with Cedar Rapids, Iowa Mayor Kay Halloran.
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