GILD Newsletter April 2011

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Alumni Connection

As a sophomore at Rock Bridge HighSchool, I was just looking to get involved in

a new school. My World Studies teacher,Matt Cone, spoke very highly of a relativelynew club: Global Issues. I had a few friendswho were involved so I decided to check itout. What began as just curiosity soonblossomed into a desire to more fullyunderstand what was going on in the worldaround me.

Getting involved in Global Issuessparked my interest to be involvedelsewhere. There were book clubs,independent study classes, and other extra-curricular activities aimed at promotingawareness on inequalities. I found it

fascinating (and still do) to examine the tiesbetween inequalities in the United Statessay, in the public schools or the prisonsystemto injustices elsewhere. I noticedlinks among situations, and I started thinkingmore broadly about social justice.

Soon enough, it was time to look atcolleges. I felt torn; I didnt know what Iwanted to study, but knew I wanted to keeplearning about the kinds of topics we studiedin Global Issues. From Global Issues, I hadgained a healthy dose of discernment, ameans for analytical thinking, and a method

for taking action. I wanted to find thatagain in college. I decided on Truman State

University, primarily for its liberal artsmission and its high quality of education.Looking around at organizations my firstsemester, GlobeMed stood out to me. Therewas the initial skepticism I generally feeltoward organizations that send moneyabroad, but I soon realized that like GlobalIssues, GlobeMed was committed to thelarger goal of social justice. GlobeMed is astudent organization with chapters at manyuniversities. Each chapter partners with adifferent grass-roots non-governmentalorganization centered on promotingcommunity health. At Truman State, our

partner organization is Maison deNaissance, a birthing clinic in Haiti. Duringour weekly meetings we plan fundraisers,organize awareness events, and holdeducational seminars on global health andsocial justice. GlobeMed has exposed meto a wider community and network ofpeople who hold the same values as I do.Together, we are building a movement forglobal health equity.

Last summer, I served as an intern at theInstitute for Health and Social Justice atPartners In Health. Partners In Health (PIH)

is an organization committed to

providing community health carein some of the poorest places inthe world. What began as a smallclinic in Haiti over 25 years agohas grown to an organization thatserves communities in multiplecountries (including a sisterorganization in Boston, MA). PIHstrives to break the cycle ofdisease and poverty by hiringcommuni ty heal th workers ,working within the public sector(with the Ministry of Health), andby defining health in the

broadest of terms. From building schools tofish farming to partnering with more

specialized NGOs, PIH is more than charity it is a model based on solidarity. At PIH, worked with the Development team to helpprepare documents that updated donors onthe project sites.

Looking back over the past six years, can honestly say I would have nevepictured where I am today. I began as anave high school sophomore hoping to gemore involved. Now, I feel I have apurpose and mission, and it is because othe wonderful organizations I have beenprivilege to be involved with and theinspiring people who have mentored me.

by: Allison Coffel

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. -Dalai Lama

April 2011Volume 1, Issue 1

Table of Contents:Rockbridge Report 2Hickman Highlights 3Meet the Board Members 3Upcoming Events 3Thank yous 4

GILD Swap Meet Fundraiser

Allison (second from left) and some of the otherPIH summer interns


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Rock Bridge High School's GlobalIssues Club was lead by four students:Kelsey Kupferer, Tasmeen Hussain, SarahBrennan and Kelsey Saragnese. Our clubsponsor was Kathrine Fishman-Weaver.

For the fall semester, students learnedabout human trafficking, particularly inthe Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).We learned about the topic by inviting

community members to speak at our clubmeetings. We hosted a Congoleserefugee to learn about the DRC, and wealso hosted Stop Traffic (an MU studentorganization) to learn about humantrafficking.

In November, students planned aweek of activities, concluding with aBenefit Concert to benefit HEAL Africa.HEAL Africa is a hospital with 28

womens houses in Maniema and NorthKivu that provides a safe place for manyvictims of the war. During the week, thestudents were able to rise $1200 forHEAL Africa.

For the spring semester, studentslearned about child labor in India andraised money for Save the Children. Tolearn more about the labor issues in

India, we invited Mustard Seed, a fairtrade store in our community. They taughtus about fair trade products and theirimpact across the globe. The studentsthen planned a week of activities endingwith India Night. At India Night, HinduTemple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri made a challenge donation of$500 for the dinner. Students raised atotal of $1200 for Save the Children.

Lessons from the Year:

Shameful that consumerism in

America is considered more important

than lives in less privileged countries.

Honestly before I learned more

about the means of cheap labor, it

didnt bother me. Now that Im more

educated my feelings as a consumer

were sadness, regret and sorrow fortheir unfair treatment of those

workers. The products though cheap

carry much higher morally unsound

price.

The lessons were extremely valuable.

All the problems in the world need to

be solved from the root of education.

The more people know the less

ignorant people end up being and the

more knowledgeable decisions will be

made. Meetings are efficient and I

felt really inspired to do thissemesters project. I would probably

make philanthropy a part of my

career

The club has inspired me to be more

aware of the global events that

require attention and it has shown me

how we can help others through

fundraising and othermethods.

Rock Bridge students dancing during India Night

Benefit Concert for HEAL AFrica Fundraiser

Rock Bridge Report


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Meet our Board2009-2010:

President:Amy WilliamsAmy Williams is law student at theUniversity of Missouri. She has a

Bachelors of Science in Biological

Sciences and a graduate

certificate in Non-Profit Management. Amy haspreviously worked in the fields of suicide preventioand sexual violence prevention education. Her

involvement with the original Global Issues Club at

Rock Bridge High School fostered an interest in

GILDs mission. After obtaining her Juris Doctorate

Amy intends to continue advocating for socialjustice in the nonprofit sector.

President-Elect:Tessy RuseraTessy Rusera is a young Rwandesewoman devoted to making a

change in the world. She

graduated from Brenau University

with a B.A in Conflict Resolution and Legal Studies,

and a minor in International Studies. She iscurrently pursuing her MBA degree with a

concentration Project Management while working

as a Graduate Adviser at her Alma mater. Her

experience in prestigious organizations such as

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and Sigma AlphaPi Leadership Honor Society and her professional

experience working for the UNIFEM CARO have

instilled in her strong leadership skills and

challenged her to be proactive towards positive

change. She has been involved in variouscommunity building efforts such as feeding the

hungry, building houses for the displaced and

promoted issues such as AIDS, genocide and

education.

Secretary:

Aline MukashyakaAline Mukashyaka is a graduate o

the the Ohio State University with

a degree in Family ResourceManagement and currently

working on her MBA. She supports organizations

such as the One Dollar Campaign for the orphans

of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. She believes the

youth have the power and the will to influence thefuture now more than ever, the use of technology

has allowed the empowerment of our youth in an

unprecedented way, and I am excited that GILD is

taking part in shaping the future.

Treasurer:

Azeema AkramAzeema Akram is a law student at

DePaul University in Chicago, IL.She graduated from the University

of Missouri with a Bachelor of Art

in International Studies and a Multicultural

Certificate. While in college, she worked with the

Office of Disability Services, which spurred herinterest in health law. Recently, she was an active

supporter of several members of the Missouri

Democratic Party-Asian American Caucus officers

who ran for local and state legislature. She has

done work in Kansas City providing food, clothingand toys for refugee families, and raised funds for

breast cancer research in Columbia, Missouri

through Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority,

Inc.

Rockbridge Hickman

During the week of April18-24, 20011 Global IssuesClub (GIC) is raising moneyfor the Belize Water Project.

Belize is situated on theCaribbean Sea, south ofMexico. Citizens of the

country lack access to cleanwater.

Thus, GIC is raising money todonate water filtration systemsby Sawyer Point One Filters to

schools and homes.

To help, you can donatemoney or match funds raisedby GIC. Our partner RotaryDistrict 6110, will send thetotal sum to Rotary Global

Grant Partner to be matched50% by the Rotary

Foundation.

For more information visitwww.rotarybelizewater.com.

Join us for the 4th AnnualGoodwill Conference: CrossingBorders, Connecting People.

This year the conference willcover the Middle East region.

We will have workshops, food,and film.

What: Middle East: LifeBeyond War

Where: Hickman High School

When: Saturday April 30th,2011

Time: 10:30am- 2:00 pm

The conference is FREE

Coming

UpinApril

Hickman High School's Global IssuesClub spent the year learning about theenvironment. Our club sponsor, BrettKirkpatrick and Executive Director,Nadege Uwase, helped organize andprepare weekly meetings. On the first andsecond Thursday of the month, studentshad a lesson about an element of the

environment ie pollution. The third week,we host a speaker and the fourth week, wewatch documentaries.

Students learned from experts in thefield. We used the Story of Stuff by AnnieLeonnard. The Story of Stuff depicts theproduction, consumption and disposal ofgoods. We invited speakers into ourweekly meetings and hosted SustainabilityPeer Resource Outreach (SPROUT) toteach students about sustainability and

growing local food to minimize pollution.We also hosted the MU Hydrogen CarTeam. The team brought their car to HHSand students were able to ask questionsand talk about how the team put the cartogether.

One of the films students watched wasFLOW (For the Love Of Water), an award-

winning documentary by Irena Salina withinterviews from scientists and activists asthey discuss pollution, politics, human rightsand privatization of the world's water.

GILD works hard to expose ourstudents to a various ways of learning. Weare committed to providing comprehensiveand holistic resources to assure thatstudents are learning from those in the fieldand able to experience (touch and see) theissues they are learning about.

Hickman Highlights

MU Hydrogen Car Team
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Kathryn Fishman-Weaver at RBHS and Brett Kirkpatrick at HHS, the amazing students in our Global Issues Clubs atboth high schools and the officers who help run the clubs. We would also like to thank the following individuals andorganizations for contributing to the work of GILD as donors, partners, and volunteers: Dana Ranes, Julie VanMater,Ashley Crimaldi, Amy Bowes, Erin Horakova, Chelsea Laun, Laura Convery, Phillip Klopfenstein, Meigan Lopez, SarahNussbaum, Devoney Looser, Cassie Shields, Andrea Gunn, Angelica Murray, Joseph Beeman , Allie Scott, Susan

Smith, Amy Williams, Karen Smith, Salem S. Fekadu, Terri & David Williams, Saad Rahmat, Michelle Byusa, Gary R.Hunt, Lynn Williams, Nabihah Maqbool, Rachel Mayer, Naomi Lahiri, Kate Hertweck, Ben Datema, Jennifer Williams,Underground Caf Artisan, Kaldi's Coffee House, East Side Tavern, Buffalo Wild Wings, Peace Nook, Slackers,Maude, Lakota Coffee Company & Roasters, Jimmy Johns, Sycamore, MU Interdisciplinary Innovation Fund,FrontlineSMS, Stop Traffic, SPROUT, Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, MustardSeed, Sampath Devram, Valerie Kaussen, Sandra Beldor,Vewenda Mabengo, Punam Sethi, The Shine, Sunifyde,Cascades, Bloodvember, MUDRA, Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri, The Global Village Dancers,C.A.R.E Gallery, MU Life Science Business Incubator, Office of service learning, Peace Corps Fellows Office, WilliamWoods University, and Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition.

THANK YOU!We would like express our gratitude to our 2009-2010 club sponsors:

Global Issues Leadership Development (GILD) is a nonprofit organization created to help promote human rights

through youth after-school programs that generate behavioral change among participants. We partner withbusinesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and communities to provide educational information and hands-onpractice in the form of leadership training and curriculum development.

We recognize that the social, economic and environmental interdependence of nations has produced a globalconnection of communities; thus our purpose is to create a holistic understanding of human rights.

In short, we:

a) Develop and foster leadership skills among youth.b) Holistically educate participants on global human rights concerns.

c) Provide hands on service opportunities for participants.d) Encourage youth towards globally and socially conscious behaviors.

About Us:

GILD

GLOBAL ISSUES LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT1849 TIMBER CREEK DRIVECOLUMBIA, MO 65202

Contact us at: [email protected]

Visit GILD on Facebook

Follow GILD on Twitter

If you would like to help us further our mission,you can donate using the attached form

Thank you!
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GILD

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Columbia, MO 65202

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GILD Newsletter April 2011

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