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Showing posts from September, 2020

Private Grants the Route for Sustaining Chapter Projects

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  Private Grants the Route for Sustaining Chapter Projects   As Covid-19 took hold on the global economy, much of the regular revenue that sustains the chapter projects program at People to People International, as well as the revenue for many of the endowments and corporate giving programs that support PTPI has been significantly reduced or has been redirected to Covid-19 relief, affecting our ability to continue funding many of the very important projects around the globe.   Fortunately, some of the chapter projects quickly pivoted into Covid-19 relief work and qualified for private funding.   One of those projects is the ‘I Wash My Hands Project’ the Imo State, Nigeria, chapter has been engaged in for several years.   The project was initially established as a solution for reducing childhood mortality by improving hygiene practices.   “When handwashing facilities are both free of charge and made mandatory by community leaders, health outcomes are improved. Because safe w

PTPI Nepal Peace Chapter gives food aid to 61 Kathmandu families

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Nepal Peace Chapter gives food aid to 61 Kathmandu families   COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it but it has not changed the spirit of kindness or our People to People members. Amidst the global pandemic, the People to People Nepal Chapter delivered food to those in need. The chapter members created food bags and delivered them to families in Kathmandu, Nepal.   There were 61 food bags and each contained: 10 kg of rice, 1 kg of lentil, 1 kg of sugar, 1 kg of salt, 1 liter of edible oil, 1 packet of tea and 1 piece of hand soap.   Chapter members distributed 61 food bags to 61 families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 305 people impacted by their food relief.   This incredible work is what People to People chapters are doing all over the world amidst the pandemic, taking risks themselves to help those in great need.

PTPI Togo Chapter creates partnership with Association for Visually Handicapped People

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  PTPI Togo Chapter creates partnership with Association for Visually Handicapped People   Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, People to People chapters around the world have been hard at work serving their communities and creating lasting relationships even amid such hardship.   The People to People Togo Chapter in Lome, Togo created partnership with the Association for Visually Handicapped People in Amadahome, Lome, Togo. This partnership began very recently when the PTPI Chapter President, Newlove Bobson Atiso and several other members visited the home.     They brought with them friendship and supplies to help during this difficult time in their country and around the world. They also got to know and introduced the chapter members and the organization of People to People International. It was a wonderful experience where a lasting partnership was created.   This chapter work is reflective of the highest values that People to People represents and is greatly appreciated and recognized

Chapter Grants Help PTPI Chapters do Humanitarian Work

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  Chapter Grants Help PTPI Chapters do Humanitarian Work   Originally founded as a “personal diplomacy program”, People to People International functions today much as it looked like when it was founded in 1956, with the members themselves at the heart of our mission to create peace through understanding.  Nothing demonstrates this more clearly than our annual Chapter Project Grant program.    Each year, chapters around the world submit applications for funding to complete local service projects.  Funded by donations and revenue from the travel program, chapter project grants support cultural, educational and humanitarian projects that focus on cultural competency, education and humanitarian need.   Chapter grants are part of the core of our non-profit mission and truly speak to the heart of why we exist.   This year, four chapters submitted grant applications that exemplified the mission of the organization and the intent of the program: Tanzania-Nyargusu refugee camp; Lome, Togo; Imo

2019 Global Youth Forum: More Relevant Than Ever

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  2019 Global Youth Forum: More Relevant Than Ever As a servicemember, I’ve worked in and around public diplomacy and what we call mil-to-mil operations in a number of countries, and invariably, there are elements of the civilian population involved in the planning and execution of these events.  Typically, those civilian participants are seasoned diplomats or representatives of large non-governmental organizations.  But on more tactical levels, I’ve been part of some of the most amazing experiences empowering young people at the grassroots level.  At an elementary school in Haiti, while we brought toothbrushes and water to the school, what happened afterwards made the biggest impact on us all.  An impromptu dance that literally swept us all up in the joy and simplicity of being a child with hope, regardless of the fact that their lives exist in the slums of Port-au-Prince and ours exist inside the borders of stable, developed countries.  At that moment, we were all  just  people.  Tha

Australia: A Down Under Experience

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    Australia: A Down Under Experience   When I was a junior in high school, I found my love for travel. I attended a People to People International (PTPI) student travel program to England & France. That trip sparked a passion in international relations that carries on to this day. Ten years later, I am fortunate enough to now oversee the adult travel division at PTPI. Thanks to my dream job, I was fortunate enough to travel to Australia this past May for a familiarization trip (FAM) so that I could better understand the terrain of “Down Under” and share our program with future delegates to travel with us this October!   Australia was always on my list of places to visit just not at the top of my list, but I fell head-over-heels in love with this phenomenal country! I adored the food, the culture, the weather, the terrain, and especially the people! If the stars ever aligned, I would move there in a heartbeat. I’ve been to many, many countries in my lifetime, but the Land Down Und

Uganda Student Chapter visits New Hope Children’s Hostel

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    Uganda Student Chapter visits New Hope Children’s Hostel   The People to People International Kampala Student Chapter recently gave back by supporting and visiting the New Hope Hostel, which supports children with cancer in Uganda.   The New Hope Hostel was started by the Kawempe Health Center in 2016 to support the Uganda Cancer Institute in helping the children affected with this disease. The Hostel provides accommodations, meals and social services. It is under the leadership of Dr. Baguma, who was instrumental in allowing the PTPI Kampala Chapter to visit and support the hostel.   The children go to the Uganda Cancer Institute for medication and treatment, but New Hope Hostel is a home away from home for them. It accommodates those that live a distance from Kampala. It allows the children to be easily monitored and to get their medications and treatment on time.  Since 2016, more than 315 children have been hosted at the hostel. Sadly, not all get to go home, but others have be

Bewitched by Africa

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Bewitched by Africa     I’m sure you’ve heard the song “ Africa ”, written by David Paich and Jeff Porcar of the music group Toto.  A snippet of the lyrics includes:   “The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company I know that I must do what’s right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become   It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)”   If you’ve heard the song, you only need to hear the drum beats which begin the song to instantly recognize it.  If you’ve never been to Africa, hearing the words to the song will conjure, in your mind, the dusty plains of the Serengeti and you can see images of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Well, having recently returned from visiting Africa, I can tell you the song accu

PTPI Chapter in Africa trains youth in entrepreneurship

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                                   PTPI Chapter in Africa trains youth in entrepreneurship! Tanzania has one of the largest refugee populations in the East African Community. Of the more than 253,190 refugees in the three camps of Tanzania, an estimated 138,000 are registered exclusively in the Nyarugusu camp. Many of these are women and children.   The high-rate of sexual and gender-based violence, especially in young women, needs immediate attention. This can be addressed through a special focus on secondary school girls. Girls who experience rape in the camp are found infected with HIV/AIDs and other Sexually Transmitted Illnesses leading to serious health issues, poverty and school-dropouts.     Having recognized all of those problems first-hand, People to People International’s Kigoma-Tanzania, Nyarugusu Camp Chapter met with the young girls in the camp in an attempt to discuss a solution. The solution was a small tailoring school to give the participants a sustainable and desirab

Making A Difference. Now.

Making a Difference. Now.  We are standing at the cusp of historic changes in the global economy, international relations and how we see our individual roles in development, humanitarian relief and intercultural exchanges.   We didn’t ask to be here, but it’s been handed to us, and we have two choices: wait and see, or take action.   When we think about making our world a better place, most of us believe we have to hitch our wagons to large international relief organizations or mission-focused non-profits operating overseas.   What if you can take action through short and simple experiences that creates a deeper level of wisdom?   At People to People International, our mission is simple: Peace through understanding.   The hierarchy of understanding is a model that depicts the levels of understanding our brains move through to reach the pinnacle of understanding.   Where we stop along the way is a result of our own choices and actions.   Imagine a pyramid.   At the bas