August 12th International Youth Day. It was first designated by the UN General Assembly in 1999 with the goal of serving as an annual celebration of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth. Continue
Over the past few years, I have learned that it is impossible to achieve your goals, realize your dreams or understand where you are going in your journey without help. In my pursuit of poverty alleviation, I started volunteering at the age of 18 and ever since I have been volunteering with organizations around the world in various capacities. I am now playing a role in the further development of my home country Pakistan, none of which would be possible without the people, governments, and organizations that invested in my professional development and skills acquisition. One of the most...
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As the U.S. Department of State focuses increasing attention on promoting the rights of people with disabilities, the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is seeing increasing numbers of participants studying this topic. The implementation and design of exchange projects on disabilities policy, some with participants with disabilities, have unique logistical and administrative needs and require a high degree of skill, creativity and sensitivity. This article provides IVLP programmers and associated colleagues with a framework for providing disabled participants the same productive (and fun) experience as others. Continue
This blog post documents the second part of my Community Engagement through the Mural Arts exchange with Meridian and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
After Easter I returned to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to direct the next mural in the Colonia Estados Unidos. I was reunited with my team of assistants who I trained on mural painting techniques and community engagement strategies. This mural put what they learned into practice. Continue
Huntington, West Virginia is not a city I imagined myself visiting. But I embraced the opportunity when I traveled with the University of Maryland’s Alternative Breaks program during my spring break. The trip focused on childhood nutrition and wellness and I saw firsthand the economic disparities in West Virginia. Nutrition isn’t simply in the food choices you make. Environment and economic status contribute greatly to the issue too. It’s time to recognize the causes and start taking action. I can honestly say that I gained more from a week in West Virginia than I imagined. Immersed in the community...
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