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The longer you have been part of the Amizade Family,
the more aware you are that all of our efforts and
energies are ultimately focused on improving lives and
communities. The individual fulfillment, personal
development, and adventure that our volunteers often
report is wonderful, but we would not arrange for it if it
were not in pursuit of a higher goal - a vision of a
kinder
world.
We ask you to join us in making this vision a
reality. To ensure that volunteers are connected to
more sustainable community-driven projects around the
world, to expose lower income volunteers to other
cultures and continents, and ultimately to increase
understanding among people around the world, please
contribute or ask someone to contribute to Amizade in
your name during this holiday season. We can not
complete our mission without you.
| Extending Holiday Generosity - Worldwide |
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By Cate Hodorowicz - With Thanksgiving just a few
days away, your mouth is
probably watering with the thought of home-made
turkey and dressing, squash, cranberry sauce and
pumpkin pie. But perhaps the best part of the
November holiday is that you're able to spend extra
time with friends and family, catching up on the events
of the year. And you know that at some point after
turkey dinner and between football games, Uncle Paul
or Aunt Marsha is going to ask you to pull out the
pictures of "that crazy volunteer thing you keep telling
us about." So why not, as you're going through
photographs and telling anecdotes, talk to your family
and friends about the importance of giving to this
year's Amizade Holiday Giving Campaign as a way to
continue supporting cross-cultural exchange and
volunteerism?
If you're not sure how to broach the subject, consider
using this example: in the mid-1990s, the per capita
income for a family in Bolivia was $990, and 70% of the
population - including a group of orphans in
Cochabamba, Bolivia - had unsatisfied basic needs,
such as access to water, proper nutrition, and
housing. Thanks to the efforts of Amizade volunteers,
those orphans now have a beautiful facility, and recent
remarks made by Sister Leticia, director of the Hogar de
Ninos orphanage, underscore the impact of
volunteerism: "Before Amizade volunteers came, we
didn't even dare to dream to have all we do now. Our
lives changed so much. The building you [made] with
dorms, bathrooms, etc. is so big and great, all thanks
to you all ... The children and I pray for all the ones
who
came to help us with so much, working so hard for us -
and we hope all of the volunteers will come back and
visit us one day. All our lives are better thanks to you."
The reality, however, is that the success of Amizade
depends not just on the hearts and hands of our
dedicated volunteers. Continuing efforts such as
building orphanages, assisting Sherpa farmers in Nepal,
preserving the OTO, and constructing a vocational
center for Brazilian street children all depend on funding
received from people who believe in Amizade's
commitment to creating sustainable community
projects.
An additional appealing feature of the Amizade Holiday
Giving Campaign is its December 31st deadline. Not
only will people feel terrific about knowing they've
helped a community less fortunate than their own, but
because Amizade is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization,
they'll also meet the IRS deadline of January 1, 2003 for
tax-deductible donations. And if your friends and family
are curious to learn more about Amizade, invite them to
the Amizade Open House on December 4, 2002 at the
Pittsburgh Brewing Company! Everyone is welcome to
this Open House event dedicated to spreading the
Amizade themes of intercultural exploration, service,
and understanding.
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| Literature in Northern Ireland or Education in Ecuador? |
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By Ashley Ruszkowski - Service Learning Travelers!
The upcoming programs are
here and ready to begin coursework in January,
traveling abroad by spring! The courses are open to
but not excluded to University of Pittsburgh students.
The course Literature in the Contemporary will begin in
January during Spring Semester 2003
Tuesdays/Thursdays 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM 121 CL on the
University of Pittsburgh campus and cultural immersion
in Northern Ireland will take place during Spring Break,
March 1, 2003 - March 9, 2003. There is an
independent study component during summer session,
May 12 - June 21, 2003 including a multi-day course
retreat and a community service component.
The instructor, Christopher Boettcher PH.D, a visiting
lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh, has already led
an international service-learning program (Brazil, 2000)
and is now leading the upcoming program to Ballycastle
and Belfast, Northern Ireland. This course is 6-credits,
three of which will be earned during the spring semester
and three of which will be earned as an independent
study during the first summer session. While abroad,
students will restore homes that have been damaged
during warfare as part of a program that promotes
peace resolution tactics. Boechtter says, "Any student
can thrive [in this course] if they have an interest."
Cost of program-keep in mind that students will earn
six credits, and travel to Ireland with lodging, food and
excursions included - is between $1,500 and $1,750.
The course Cross-Cultural Issues in Family and Child
Development will begin in January and travel in May to
Quito, Ecuador. The instructor, Sekai Turner, will lead
this course that satisfies degree requirements and
electives in Developmental and Educational Psychology,
Child Development, Child Care and other School of
Education academic programs. The coursework is
graduate level but undergraduates are eligible to apply
as well. Three credits will be earned during spring
semester and three credits will be earned while
traveling to Quito during the summer session. Class
during spring semester will be Wednesdays 5:15 - 7:55
PM WWPH 5P57 on the University of Pittsburgh
campus.
Cultural immersion abroad will take place between May
8 and June 5, 2003. In serving abroad, students will
collaborate with community residents and educators at
local schools and the Universidad de San Francisco to
provide learning opportunities for children and explore
issues of environmental change, cultural resilience and
community health and well-being. Upon return,
participants will have time to reflect and finish
coursework through approximately fifteen hours of
meetings in Pittsburgh. Courses fulfilled: PSYED 3526 (3
credits) and PSYED 3589 (3 credits). Students in
Education, Psychology, Child Development, Social Work,
Africana and Latin American Studies, and related
disciplines are especially encouraged to apply.
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| Join Us December 4 in Pittsburgh! |
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Please join us for a free Pittsburgh celebration of
intercultural exploration, service, and understanding!
Amizade is hosting an Open House on December 4 from
7 - 10 pm at Pittsburgh Brewing Company's Ober Brau
Haus, 3440 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
By joining us you will meet an exciting group of forward-
thinking, internationally-conscious Pittsburghers, find
out more about volunteering overseas, even for
academic credit, and enjoy an evening peppered with
international artistic expression.
Additionally, you will learn about Amizade's new
partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, and have
an opportunity to enjoy Pittsburgh's unique Ober Brau
Haus. The Open House is free and anyone is welcome
to stop by anytime between 7 and 10pm. See you
there!
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| Service-Learning Works for Students and Communities |
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Increasingly popular in higher education and K-12
settings, service-learning is an experiential teaching
methodology that integrates academic concepts and
goals with a service experience that meets a
recognized community need. Across all grades and
subject areas, service-learning has proven highly
effective in improving students' prosocial behaviors and
academic outcomes while contributing to the
community.
Through the University of Pittsburgh and other higher
education partnerships, Amizade offers intercultural
service-learning courses. Through the Amizade Global
Service-
Learning Center at the University of Pittsburgh Student
Volunteer Outreach, for example, students earn credits
in disciplines as diverse as political science, sociology,
English, community health, history, psychology,
anthropology, and film studies.
The service experience cements course concepts while
challenging students to critically examine their role,
assumptions, and relationship with people around the
world. Participants in a a Film Studies Course on the
Navajo Nation, for example, addressed cultural
differences in eye contact and individual interaction as
they tutored Navajo children and completed a
documentary.
In Bolivia, political science students assisted with the
continuing construction and improvement of an
orphanage, where they gained an enhanced
understanding of characteristics of developing
countries, such as lack of redundancy and wages that
are so low that they act as a disincentive to
automation.
More Information on Service-Learning through Amizade
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