Ajet Hosea, 19, is an alumni student of the Youth Exchange & Study (YES) Program from Kaduna State, Nigeria. During the 2009-2010 school year, Ajet lived and studied in Indianola, Iowa. He has since returned home to finish his education. This is a poem by Ajet.
When considering study abroad, most people assume the greatest challenge will be adjusting to the new culture and environment of the place they will be visiting. However, in some cases, it’s the return home that brings the biggest challenge.
Earlier this month, YES alumni students in Kaduna State, Nigeria, spread a little holiday cheer by visiting a local orphanage to give the children the gift of clothing.
IRIS is saddened to report the passing of one of the alumni of our Nigerian Women in Leadership group. Rachael Adanchin of Bokkos in Plateau State, Nigeria, passed away last week in her home.
Victor Yusuf studied in Iowa with YES7 in 2009-2010. Since returning home, he has wasted no time putting the plans for his alumni project into action. Here, he shares about his project.
The YES Program doesn’t end when the students leave the United States. The second component involves students participating in alumni projects once they return to their home countries, and IRIS strives to support our students not only while they’re in the Midwest, but also once they’ve returned home.
An alumni group in Kaduna State, Nigeria, recently visited a local prison to present on pertinent issues and plant trees. Dr. Saidu Yakubu, IRIS’s West Africa coordinator, explains the project in this post.
IRIS’s founder and president, Bob Anderson, shares an update on YES3 student Abubakar Audu, who studied in Iowa in 2005-2006.
Paulina Maingo was one of IRIS’s YES students from Tanzania during the 2008-2009 school year. She lived in Story City and attended Roland-Story High School.
The YES program includes a component where students participate in alumni projects once they return to their home countries. Paulina designed a community improvement project in which she distributed exercise books and bars of laundry soap to students at a school in Kisarawe, which is in the Pwani Region of Tanzania.
This is her journal assessment of the project.
IRIS’s executive director, Del Christensen, shares updates on the group of Ukrainians who visited Iowa in 1994 for an Independent Media Development program.
Between January 1 – 8, IRIS’s executive director Del Christensen traveled to Tanzania for meetings and to check in on YES alumni activities.
While he was there, he delivered five donated computers from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa to the YES alumni. These computers will be used by alumni for tutoring and training programs for other youth in the country.
Christensen also met with parents of the YES students who are currently in the United States. The purpose of the meetings was to update them on their child’s progress in the program and answer any questions or concerns they might have.
Finally, he was able to observe and take part in two community service projects organized by and involving numerous YES alumni students and teachers. While the students are volunteering throughout the entire country, these two volunteer projects took place in Moshi and Zanzibar.
Iowa Resource for International Service
2521 University Ave. Suite 123, Ames, Iowa 50010
Phone: 515-292-7103
Fax: 515-292-7105
