What motivates you to change?

1.  How did participating in Legacy’s program impact your life?

Nadia Rabbaa gives Award speech

Participating in Legacy’s program changed my life. It opened me to a new world I did not know existed, which – and I realized this long after the program – was meant for me. The program groomed me into who I wanted to be : a successful change maker. It gave me the chance to build a long lasting network and professional relationships as well as the confidence I needed to trust myself. It taught me how to turn my desire to change the world into a concrete impact-full project. But even more that that it helped me discover my calling and this is priceless.

2.  It has been two years since you participated in the Legislative Fellows Program, what can you see now about yourself, the program, or your country that you didn’t see before participating? Read More

A Legacy of Human Rights

“My vision is to empower young girls through education. I believe women should have complete access to basic education as a fundamental human right. Libya desperately needs more educated women to fight against GBV issues [gender-based violence] and for women’s right issues. In short, I believe women must be educated to know what to say and what to fight for, because they are simply the best advocates for their rights.” – Amna Salak

Upon returning to Libya after participating in the Legislative Fellows Program, Amna started  the “iRead Campaign”. Her project brought her passion for young women’s education to the most underserved population in her country:  Refugees living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDB) camps outside of Benghazi (where Amna lives).

Amna's team goes door to door to survey families

Due to her previous work with the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugee agency (UNHCR) agency,  she was aware that many of the children living in these camps, and particularly the young girls, either did not have access to education or were not allowed to attend school.  Her campaign, began with a door-to-door interview of every family in the three IDB camps around Benghazi (a total of 299 interviews).  A team of ten volunteers participated asking each family about their children’s attendance in school and any obstacles they face. Read More

Sensory Garden for Vision Impaired

Tari sets out plants in the Sensory Garden

Inspired by the garden that she visited in the United States , Tari began  the Sensory Garden Project at her school, Bandung School for the Vision-Impaired. It is the first sensory garden built in a school and  has become a trusted model for other special schools throughout Indonesia.  Tari was a participant in the Indonesia-US Youth Leadership program and despite her disability, participated fully in the program activities and the follow on project requirements at her own school.

She said “During the host family phase in the U.S., my host parent took me to the community garden. She was introducing me to many different plants by reading the information label on each plant while letting me to touch and smell it. I never visited a garden with such labels before, and it was not only nice but also made me excited to learn more about plants and the environment. I believe my friends and all school members would feel the same, how can we preserve the environment if we even don’t have an access to get to know it? So, providing a garden with braille labels at our school could be the first step to introduce the environment.” Read More

A Legacy of Helping the Poor

“When Khalid, Maryam and I returned to Baghdad after  Legacy’s Iraqi Youth Leadership Program, (IYLEP) in US, we decided to start a project that helps poor people in Baghdad.  We looked for students in our schools that have the same interests. We were really surprised to get support from a lot of the students.”

Written by  Abdulaziz Alazzawi in collaboration with Khalid Waleed Aboud and Maryam Ali Ghazala

The IYLEP program is supported by the US Embassy Baghdad and administered by Meridian International in partnership with Legacy International.

Young Iraqi leaders bring aid to poor neighborhoods in Baghdad

They continue describing their project: “We collected used clothes and contributions from neighbors, friends and family in a 2-week period.  We chose a neighborhood where poverty is really high.  In order to distribute the goods, we have to get permission of police and be escorted.

Unfortunately distribution points where many people gather to receive charity are often the targets of terrorist groups.   The police were not helpful but one of our cousins recommended we approach the Iraqi army.  The army wants to build up and encourage more civic action. So we made a search for the areas in Baghdad that are under control of the army. We found really poor families living in houses made of mud. Read More

Oyster Reef Balls Impact Community

Sindhu at Sea Turtle Conservation Center, Indonesia

Sindhu Chidambaram is a high school senior in the Global Ecology Magnet Program at Poolesville High School in Poolesville, MD. Last summer she traveled to Indonesia as a participant in Legacy’s Indonesia-US Youth Leadership Exchange program where she visited several environmental projects, like saving sea turtles and tree reforestation projects, and  eroded beach restoration.

As a result of her training in the program and during the Global Youth Village environmental workshops, she was able to develop the Oyster Reef Ball Project which directly impacted 165 people, and reached more than 4,000 indirectly. Read More

Mentors continue to inspire Moroccan TechGirl

Safaa Berkani checks out the latest technology at Microsoft in NYC

How does a young Moroccan girl explore technology and develop her interest in the  STEM field?

Upon the suggestion of her teacher, she applied to attend the TechGirls program administered by Legacy International.

TechGirls, a U.S. Department of State initiative, is an international exchange program designed to empower young girls to pursue careers in the science and technology sectors.

“I applied for the program and was chosen to participate. Trust me—it was the most wonderful decision I ever made.” Read More

Somaia is passionate about Political Education

Somaia started her fellowship with a strong desire to learn about the legislative process, and this has driven her to get the most out of her early experiences. Two days into her placement at the office of Congressman Tom Petri (WI – 6), Somaia El Sayed Metwalli of Egypt is getting deeply involved in the workings of her office. She is one of the new arrived Legislative Fellows Program delegates currently placed with Fellowship Mentors in Washington, D.C.

Somaia is passionate about improving political education in Egypt, and her experiences have already sparked ideas on how to achieve this goal. Read more…

Somaia has been a great addition to the office, and  they’ve been eager to help her learn about how to ensure effective leadership, says Kevin James, Legislative Assistant to Petri.  Kevin and the office are eager to have her on their team because they value her knowledge on Egypt. They have asked her to present a briefing to the office on current issues in Egypt, and feels that this will be a great contribution to the office.

The Legislative Fellows Program (LFP) is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and administered by Legacy International.

Learn and Never stop Learning!

Lara Kasbari, TechGirls 2012 alum offers wise advice for her fellow youth. She writes for the TechGirls 2013 Blog about her experiences from home in the Palestinian Territories. Read More

A Legacy of Hope: Technology Futures for Young Women

“I used to be an ordinary girl that you would see on the street just like millions of other girls. I was just a normal pupil who attends high school and has good grades. I was a teenager with nothing special about me except for my love of science. But what else? Who am I? This question may have had a simple yes or no answer or no answer at all–but that was before the TechGirls program.” – Amina Chida, Tunisia Read More

A Legacy of Leadership: Technology for Girls

TechGirls learn that they can combine technology with leadership skills and bring about sought after change and a new future in their communities.

“My name is Sawsan Khaled Bulbul and I am a 17-years old TechGirl from Jordan.  I felt like I was flying in the air when I heard I was accepted into the program.

At first I thought that it would only be about technology but trust me when I say that this experience changed my life. This lifetime experience started three weeks ago and now is about to end. Each girl from the nine different countries represented in the program will go back with her eyes full of tears and a smile printed on her face. Read More