One of the many things I learned as a YES Abroad student is that wherever you are, there will always be a member of the YES exchange community there to support you. My name is Ben Blum, an American YES Abroad alumni to Bosnia and Herzegovina (2016-2017).
After completing my exchange year in Bosnia, I moved to Japan to attend an international boarding high school, the United World College in Japan. Each semester, my school sponsors student-initiated projects to be implemented across Asia to make change and give back to the community. I am a member of Project Karuiku, a project aimed to empower students to reach their full leadership potential. In the past, team members from our project have implemented projects in Malaysia – we have a deep connection with the country. However, this year, we wanted to expand upon the community we have already built. While brainstorming ideas for how we could do so, I had an epiphany: I realized there was a YES office in Malaysia. I sent them a message to see if they would be interested in hosting a joint workshop in Kuala Lumpur, and heard back from them within minutes.
Soon, a plan was set: YES Alumni Malaysia in collaboration with students from the United World College in Japan would host a leadership and sport event for more than forty students from Darul Eslah Academy, a school in Selangor that provides education for Rohingya refugee children.
On April 28th and 29th, we gathered to implement the project. Bringing together members of the YES Alumni Association in Malaysia, volunteers, and students from Project Karuiku, we hosted two days of activities for the students of Darul Eslah Academy. Organizing the workshops was a valuable opportunity to interact with the students of the refugee academy, giving them an opportunity they might not have had on a normal school day. The first day of workshop was focused on leadership and team-building skills. We played different games and activities aimed at getting the participants to see the benefits and practice the skills of working together, taking initiative and leading others.
On the second day, we provided the kids an opportunity to practice what they had learned by hosting a day of sports at the YMCA in Kuala Lumpur. Seeing the participants enjoy the activities with smiles on their faces was a gratifying experience for us. Interacting with the children, I was struck by how positive, respectful and energetic they were, a true role model for how we should act. Even though I came to Malaysia with the intention of teaching the students of Darul Eslah Academy, I ended up learning a lot from them as well.
Being able to collaborate with the YES Alumni Association in Malaysia, working together to plan and implement an impactful project makes me proud to be a member of the YES community. In the future, I hope more opportunities for the YES community to come together for positive change will occur, for through this project, I realized that we are more powerful united than apart.
YES Alumni Malaysia 