Israel (Arab Communities)

The '05 alumni haven't wasted any time putting their leadership skills to work in their schools and communities. Fatimah Halabi joined a local club that works for women's issues, called "Advancing the Status of Women—Nahif village". Fatimah is already at work as a member of the club's administration. "In this club we have arranged many activities to advance the status of women in Nahif," Fatimah said. "We have given many lectures about different topics such as sexual abuse, sexual education, personal health, and the importance of secondary education. We also arranged a party to celebrate Mother's Day and a lot of women attended. Right now, we are working on building an Internet Cafe for women, and we hope to teach women how to use computers. Other upcoming
projects include a women's summer camp and giving more lectures and training programs in the community."

Hadeel Bayoumi has started a small service project at her school. "When I got back to my home country I was full of energy to share my experience with my classmates and family," she said. "I felt the need to encourage volunteer work in my school and so I started by volunteering to teach students who were struggling in their English classes in order to help them improve. I believe that this small initiative will grow in the coming years, especially when the number of the YES alumni grow. I hope that by working together this can become a bigger volunteer project."

Rawan Suboh has continued to serve through Habitat for Humanity while she attends Northwestern Community College in Traverse City, Michigan. "Habitat for Humanity is a great organization," Rawan explained. "It's a nonprofit organization and is open to all people from all faiths and cultural backgrounds to join and help. I'm involved with this group through the college; we meet each Thursday to organize fundraising and activities that we can do to help the community. I also went to South Carolina with the group, and it was one of the most fascinating trips ever; it was an eye-opening experience for me. I met a lot of new people, I made some new friends and I saw the American South and its culture, which was so different from any place in the U.S. I've visited—it shows how huge the United States is!" Rawan has also continued to contribute to cross-cultural understanding as a member of the International Club. "The International Club is hosting this international dinner with ethnic foods and music that's open to the public," she said of an upcoming event. "It is also a fund raising event for international students; we are trying to raise scholarship money in order to help other students have the opportunity to study in the United States."