IREX is pleased to present a series highlighting the innovative work of four partnerships forged between Global UGRAD [8] alumni and their American peers. The American Cultural Ambassador Fellowship (ACAF), initiated in 2012, awarded four partnerships between American students and Global UGRAD participants to design and implement a community development initiative. These grants allowed American students to travel to the home country of their UGRAD counterpart and co-lead a local project. This first of four stories highlights the work of a student from Tennessee and her friend and peer in Kyrgyzstan.
Stacey Padilla, a student at Maryville College [9] in Tennessee, and 2011 Global UGRAD alumna Aidai Kozhalieva from Kyrgyzstan partnered to enrich the lives of Kyrgyz children in the rural village of Ananievo. After two weeks of learning English and participating in theater workshops in the Ananievo Children’s Theatre (ACT) summer camp, children traveled to the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek. There they performed Pushing up the Sky [10], a Native American play about working together despite cultural differences to overcome a shared problem. ACT gave children hope and confidence to pursue opportunities outside their rural village. The project aimed to address the isolation and unequal distribution of opportunities in rural Kyrgyz villages that often hinder youth from quality education and employment advancement. “Upon completion of the project, we could see the shining eyes of those kids full of hope and eagerness to learn and grow,” said Padilla and Kozhalieva.
The summer camp instilled teamwork, personal development, and leadership skills through diverse global lenses. The 28 children came from six ethnic groups and worked with youth volunteers from seven countries, who exposed the children to many different perspectives. The children learned about different nations around the world and developed, “curiosity and respect for other cultures.”
Padilla and Kozhalieva are continuing ACT activities, bridging the two cultures and allowing participants to form “unique relationships with other children around the world.” Students from the Lyashenko School in Kyrgyzstan and Rockford Elementary School in Tennessee are now pen pals. Padilla and Kozhalieva encourage creativity and diversity in the letters, which include drawings, pictures, and personal stories, to “allow the children from both worlds to express themselves in unique ways.” In addition to facilitating the pen pal exchange at Rockford, Padilla is collecting donations of books and school supplies from her community for Lyashenko School.
The Kyrgyz children can now see beyond the boundaries of their home village, while American students are enhancing their global views in their interactions with a new culture. When Padilla shared the letters from the ACT participants with their American pen pals, she describes their reaction: “Everybody was so eager to read what their pen pal wrote, and child after child had a look of awe when they put their own hands up to the traced-hands of their friends from across the world.” Both Padilla and Kozhalieva are optimistic for the future of these cross-cultural relationships: “The impact this communication has on the participating children is something we hope will expand beyond letters, into a shift in perspective.”
The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Eurasia and Central Asia [8] is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs [11], of the U.S. Department of State and implemented by IREX.