(from left to right) ’05 Alumni Sami Al Asmi, Salim Al Khaldi, and Ali Al Radhi at Starbucks

Maya Al Kateb '03 is an official volunteer with the Red Crescent in Syria and though she has been taking part in a number of activities with the organization, including visiting residents of retirement homes, her main volunteer activity is working with the School of Habilitation for the Blind, in Damascus. "The other volunteers and I give the students music and singing lessons," Maya said. "The students are learning a number of songs and we are expecting to present them at a festival at the end of the school year." Working with these students has been a rewarding experience for Maya, who has organized and participated in many community service activities both while on the YES program and as a YES alumna. "Volunteering here differs from anything I've done before. It is not to gain an award, to practice leadership, or to prove that we can make change if we want to—this time the project is just to help other people. This is the first time in my life in which I feel uncomfortable if I haven't done anything that is pure service for others. I know that whatever volunteering you do, if done right, is service, and that service benefits our society. However, in working with these students I've found that it's different when the service involves working for other people who haven't been blessed like you have."

Maya Al Khateb (center) performs a song with fellow Red Crescent volunteers for residents of a retirement home

Though this music project will be on hiatus during the summer, Maya has already signed up with the Red Crescent to be an English teacher in order to help students improve their language skills while they are on the school break.