Kuwait

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Amnah Al Baghle ’06, Barney the dinosaur, and a new friend at the National Bank of Kuwait’s Cancer Control Center.

In what was described by U.S. Ambassador Richard Le Baron as a "great day", YES alumni held a bake sale in the AMIDEAST courtyard in April to raise money for several charity projects. In an attempt to guarantee a successful launch of the event, the YES Alumni members divided up the duties involved. Ahmad Bin Salama `05, Amnah Al-Baghle `06, Ahmad Marafi `06, Bedour Abdulrazzak `05, and Abrar Al-Ostad `05, promoted the bake sale through the distribution and posting of flyers throughout their school communities two weeks prior to the event. They also used the email mass mailing strategy and the text messaging service to pass the word. YES Alumni President Jassim Al-Ghanim `04 was in charge of preparing and distributing invitation cards to VIP guests, including the US Ambassador, the Deputy Chief of Mission, and Public Affairs staff at the US Embassy. One day prior to the event, alumni members Abdullah Marafi `06, Abdullah Al-Mehanna `06, along with the new YES cohort members Ahmad Hachem `08, Ayoub Al-Ayoub `08, Salem Ben Salem `08, Mohammed Ibrahim `08, and Abdulrahman Al-Houqal `08, helped decorate the tent and set up the tables for the bake sale. The alumni whipped together some delicious treats, from chocolate fudge cakes to banana and chocolate chip muffins, from all-American choc-nut brownies to crispy rice chocolate cups. Some tasty traditional Arabic food items were also on sale alongside some store-bought items which included burgers and pizzas from McDonald's and Pizza Hut. Within four hours, all the goodies had been sold, raising $1,360. Ambassador Le Baron and Deputy Chief of Mission Mathew Tueller were among the many guests and they conveyed to the YES group their cordial greetings and best wishes for a successful outcome for the bake sale event. The Ambassador went on to thank the YES Alumni their outstanding contributions to the local community by undertaking charity work and community service projects. The alumni in turn expressed thanks and their appreciation to the Ambassador and DCM for their kind words and for taking some time out of their busy schedules to attend the event and to make donations. Upon conclusion of the bake sale, Jassim Al-Ghanim `04 thanked the alumni members and scholars for all the efforts they put in making this event a success. New YES cohort student Bedour Abdulrazzak noted, "This activity has definitely helped me in enhancing my communication skills as a team player. I am glad to be a part of the YES Family, and hopefully, I can be an effective member of my community, both in my upcoming experience in the U.S. and when I return to Kuwait upon completing the YES exchange program."

Ahmad Al-Fodery `07, Nada Bedir `07 and Nisrine Azatour `07 and friends at the National Bank of Kuwait’s Cancer Control Center.

Another successful fundraising event was held for the annual Open Day at the National Bank of Kuwait's Cancer Hospital for Children. YES alumni sold raffle-style donation coupons for 5KD each (approximately $17) to raise money for hosting the event. The prize was a plasma television, and the group raised $3,992 The Alumni then organized the Open Day on June 25th with the proceeds. Over sixty-five children attended this event along with their parents and siblings, and the day included performances by a magician and an appearance by Barney the Dinosaur. Games were arranged and prizes were won by the children. The attendees all enjoyed a dinner at the end of the party.

U.S. Ambassador Richard Le Baron joins alumni at a fundraising bake sale

The YES Alumni recently befriended a child with a learning disability at the request of her father, who had heard about the work being done by the group on behalf of children in Kuwait. He met with Alumni Coordinator Rasha Zalzala to ask if there was a possibility for his daughter to get to know the YES alumni members, as she has a difficult time making friends due to her disability. The group was excited about helping, and decided to hold a "birthday party" on the 28th of June for the girl to which alumni members and their friends came. They played different games and had cake and other goodies to celebrate the event.