Mohamed Zarkani, 29, is the program director of the Young Innovators Awards Program in Cairo, Egypt. He’s visiting Iowa as part of a USAID short-term training program. The goal of this program is to enhance the capacities of key local leaders and activists.
To provide a better understanding of the “backbone” of IRIS and our programming, we’re kicking off a special series of Board Spotlights. If you have additional or follow-up questions, please leave them in the comments!
Seeking: Volunteers in the Des Moines area to spend time with a participant from Egypt on weekends in April.
Our thoughts are with the family of IRIS board member Helen Miller after the loss of her husband, Dr. Edward A. Miller, M.D. Miller, 64 of Fort Dodge, Iowa, died Nov. 24 after battling with cancer.
IRIS’s executive director, Del Christensen, recently returned from an eight-day trip to Southern Sudan, where he worked on a peace education project in the war-torn country.
IRIS will partner with Drake University, CONADEIP and Global Football to coordinate Global Kilimanjaro Bowl.
In 2007, IRIS began an initiative with Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and the University of Juba in Juba, Sudan, to develop a curriculum that would focus on peace, gender and pluralistic concepts in order to address the critical need for peace education in the war-torn country of Sudan. IRIS’s public relations specialist, Emilee Richardson, had the opportunity to sit down with the Southern Sudanese participants on August 10. She asked questions about their lives as well as the desperate need for peace education in their country and how this program can help.
Kim Hope Athay is IRIS’s volunteer coordinator. She is in charge of working with volunteers and coordinating short-term host families for various programs. Kim also works with the YES program. This is her thank-you to the people who open their homes to our international guests.
IRIS’s volunteer coordinator Kim Hope Athay takes a moment to thank our volunteers and overview summer volunteer opportunities.
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. This year’s alumni project winners tell about their projects!
Iowa Resource for International Service
2521 University Ave. Suite 123, Ames, Iowa 50010
Phone: 515-292-7103
Fax: 515-292-7105
