Stories of IREX

Around the world, dedicated teachers and caregivers make every effort to meet the needs of students with learning difficulties and special needs. In the United States, there is a system in place to protect the interests of these children, to uphold their right to a quality education, and to ensure that they receive the support they need through an individualized education plan (IEP).

“I have a disability, but you don't have to be able-bodied to travel the world,” explained 2010 Muskie fellow Raufhon Salahodjaev in a recent article on the Mobility International USA website.  In the article, Salahodjaev discusses his experiences as an exchange student and as a volunteer at Millennium Center for Youth and Adults with Disabilities in Uzbekistan.

Eurasian undergradatue students studying in the US through the GLOBAL UGRAD program have been active both in and outside the classroom. Below are some examples of their volunteering experiences in their host communities.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Eurasian undergradatue students studying in the US through the GLOBAL UGRAD program have been active both in and outside the classroom. Below are some examples of their volunteering experiences in their host communities.   

The Fall 2010 Global UGRAD in Pakistan fellows were invited to enter a competition to make a short video about their lives here in the US. The creators of seven winning videos will receive small grants to conduct activities to further share their American experiences with members of their communities at home in Pakistan.

When the IREX Jordan Media Strengthening Program (JMSP) launched, in 2006, there was one single, albeit vibrant, community radio station in Jordan. Today there are five, producing and broadcasting a variety of original formats geared toward local audiences.

During  a visit to one of IREX partner’s community youth association projects in the semi-rural Kicukiro District of Kigali, our new IREX Y4C Rwanda Program Coordinator Taima Lydia and I met  with Annet, the principal of King David High School. King David High school has provided land to a peace building student youth club over the past six months. The club grows and sells vegetables and generates income to support needy students and orphanages outside Kigali.

Sixteen-year-old Gaukhar Isabekova from Abai School never volunteered before the Tech Age Teens (TAT) program came to her school. Now she can’t imagine life without her visits to the Ak Bota orphanage, where she helps children with disabilities. It is exactly this type of behavior and attitude that the TAT program hopes to create in Atyrau.