A Digital Story from the Experiment in Mongolia

Michael Roberts, an Experiment in International Living group leader to Mongolia in 2008 and 2009, recently created a digital story about his experiences in Mongolia. This video is part of the Experiment in International Living digital storytelling project, a project where Experiment alumni are invited to create and share stories about their experiences. Email alumni@worldlearning.org to learn more.

2009 SIT Graduate Institute Students Arrive on Campus

Last week 172 graduate students from 33 different countries arrived at the World Learning campus in Brattleboro, Vermont. Students in the SIT Graduate Institute’s incoming class traveled from as far away as Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe, with 26% of all students coming from outside the United States. Twenty seven of the students will enter the MAT program (Master of Arts in Teaching) while the remaining 145 will enter the PIM program (Program in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management). This year’s incoming class brings with it a wealth of national and international experience, including 26 US students who have participated in the Peace Corps or Americorps-VISTA programs.

On Tuesday, the incoming class attended an opening ceremony with Marge Bruchac, an Abenaki storyteller and anthropologist. Bruchac invited the students to be thoughtfully aware of their place in history, urging them to “be careful about what it is we are taking from the past, and what it is we are passing on to the future.” After her introductory remarks, students and faculty joined hands and danced to Abenaki songs, before breaking into small discussion groups.

To see more photos of the incoming class, click here.

World Learning Commemorates World Day Against Child Labor 2009

Photo by Azra Kacapor

This year’s theme, “Give Girls a Chance: End Child Labor”

Today World Learning issued the following statement in commemoration of World Day Against Child Labor and the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the International Labour Organization Convention No. 182, which addresses the urgent need to work toward the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor:

By commemorating the tenth anniversary of this historic international agreement in defense of children’s rights, World Learning celebrates the substantial progress made toward the convention’s critical goals while recognizing the tremendous challenges that remain. This year’s theme, “Give Girls a Chance: End Child Labor,” resonates deeply with our development priorities and approach. World Learning is committed to the removal of all children from hazardous work environments and recognizes the unique systemic threats that exist for girls who are exploited for their labor.

Photo by Azra Kacapor

Across the world, an estimated 62 million girls are out of school and 100 million girls are involved in child labor. Poverty and lack of education too often force girls into some of the worst forms of child labor, often in hidden, unhealthy, and dangerous work situations. In many countries, girls’ labor is deeply entrenched in cultural practices and gender norms and takes place behind closed doors, removed from public scrutiny and concern.

World Learning’s approach to the elimination of child labor focuses on increasing access to quality and equitable education. Our work is broadly designed to address the worst forms of child labor, with a key focus on reaching those children involved in invisible forms of labor and ensuring they have access to quality schools. Through projects in Angola, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Peru and Guatemala, World Learning works with parent-teacher associations, Ministries of Education, and Girls’ Education Advisory Committees (GEACs) to ensure girls’ access, retention, and performance in schools. To address social barriers to girls’ education, World Learning’s programs help establish the school as the locus of community resources and influence. Through schools, community partners can unite and mobilize to tackle gender bias and protect girls from exploitation within their communities.
For examples of World Learning’s work combating child labor through education, see a video from our Wiñari project in Ecuador, entitled “Erika’s Story.” Also see a video from our USAID-funded CASCAID project in Ethiopia about a girl orphaned by HIV/AIDS who’s been given a chance to stay in school.

World Learning believes that educating girls is the single best investment that can be made to combat child labor and tackle the root causes of poverty. Our community partners daily witness the transformative power of girls’ education on the wellbeing of their communities when young women who have received education go on to reinvest in their children and their communities. More resources need to be mobilized to improve the quality of education for disadvantaged girls and boys. This investment will pay global dividends for generations to come.

Read more about World Learning International Development Projects.

Jordan homestay: Why we host students

While Alejandra was visiting SIT Study Abroad in Jordan last month, she spent time visiting and chatting with homestay families about their involvement in our programs.  In this video, a Jordan homestay family explains why they enjoy hosting students as part of a homestay.

The homestay experience…a family away from family.

I was amazed at the welcome we received. In Jordan, we visited four different homestay families and each one welcomed us as they do our students, with open arms, full meals and laughter.

A critical component of our SIT Study Abroad programs is the homestay. The homestay provides our students with the opportunity to live with a local family for several weeks, days or even months. The homestay not only helps improve language skills but it provides a direct, personal connection to the local culture.

Although the idea of the homestay is often the most frightening aspect of the program, almost all of our students end up saying that it is one of the most rewarding and powerful experiences of their semesters. Departure from a homestay often ends is hugs, tears and years of friendship.

SIT Study Abroad Jordan: Homestays and Language Practice

Duncan Pickard, SIT Study Abroad Jordan Summer 2008, talks about speaking Arabic during his rural homestay experience in Jordan.

Practicing Arabic Speaking in Jordan

SIT Study Abroad student Margaret Ormsbee, Jordan Summer 2008, talks about her homestay family. “They say eat, eat, eat. All the time eat.”

Students on SIT Study Abroad programs often spend a great deal of their time practicing the local language. Our summer Jordan program provides non-stop opportunity to bring the Arabic language out of the classroom and into daily life. Yesterday Alejandra Pallais, Director of Constituent Relations, had a chance to spend some time with several of our Jordan study abroad participants, and was able to capture a bit of a discussion in a local Jordanian park.

A window into Jordan with SIT Study Abroad

The group enjoys a meal in Jordan.

We arrived in Jordan yesterday. After days of debating what to pack, wondering whether I too would need to follow Muslim dress codes, I get to answer these questions first-hand, directly from the Jordanians. This is my first time in the Middle East, first time in a Muslim country. Like our students, I had all the pre-departure questions and worries only to realize that there is nothing to worry about; the Jordanians would answer these and many other questions with a smile and enthusiasm. (By the way, I didn’t really need so many long sleeve shirts. Foreigners can dress as they normally would.)

The aim of our trip is to experience and understand the power of our programs on the ground. For one week, we are living as SIT Study Abroad students. We’re participating in Arabic lessons, attending excursions, visiting with homestay families and eating ful, humus, and khubz arabi (Arabic bread).

Practicing Arabic in class

After being here for one day, one thing has become evident: it is our local staff who make our programs what they are. SIT Study Abroad Jordan staff are professional, enthusiastic, and passionate. They are loyal, not only to their students and Jordanian culture but also to the SIT Study Abroad methodology. They believe wholeheartedly in the power of one-on-one cultural exchange. They believe in providing students with the highest quality, most authentic Jordanian experience possible. Whether it’s standard Arabic grammar, local Arabic dialect, cultural norms or daily Jordanian life, the staff are commitment to providing the students a true connection to Jordan, its people, its language and its culture.

What are we doing here?

“What are we doing here?” a film co-created by SIT Study Abroad Alum, Daniel Klein, recently premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival. This controversial look at the international aid industry in Africa was also featured on CNN’s Inside Africa. Watch SIT alum, Daniel, interviewed on CNN .

Experiment Group Leaders Descend on Campus

Summer is officially here and nearly 100 Experiment in International Living group leaders began their summer adventures on our campus in Brattleboro, VT. They were here for training before departing on one of the 2008 Experiment programs. They will lead over 1000 Experimenters to France, Botswana, Turkey, Thailand, China, Ecuador and 20 other countries for several weeks of bridging cultures, making new friends and experiencing the world. Workshop participants were educated about the ins and outs of leading 15-20 high school students to another country including how to create orientation programs and ice breakers for students, some of whom have never traveled abroad. Please watch the video clips to hear from leaders on how the Experiment has impacted their life and the life of the participants they travel with.

Alewa Cooper is a grade school teacher from New York. This is her 5th year leading an Experiment group to Brazil.

Deborah Friedman is an alum of the SIT Graduate Institute and works in international education in New York. She has led Experiment groups to New Zealand in the past and is leading a group to Belize this summer.