America's Unofficial Ambassadors: Become a Peace Builder

Quarterly Newsletter

3rd Edition - December 14, 2011

Featured Articles

Creative Learning has joined the Aspen Institute's Partners for a New Beginning (PNB), a locally-owned and locally-driven network that fosters partnerships which advance local priorities in communities throughout the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.

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Read about how the idea of what Steve Jobs represented for America will be missed across the Muslim World in an op-ed co-written by Ambassador M. Osman Siddique, the first Muslim-American to serve as a US Ambassador, and Ben Orbach, the Director of the AUA initiative. The op-ed was published in the International Business Times.

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Featured Volunteer

Andria Enns, a student in the Degree with Honors Program at Park University in Parkville, MO, will depart December 19 to volunteer for three weeks in Amman, Jordan with United Planet. Andria will be writing grant proposals, creating marketing materials, and doing video journalism for a local public health organization. Read more about the child-hood experience that influenced Andria to embark on this journey and what she envisions the impact of her experiences will mean to her community. Check out the AUA blog for more stories from Andria and other volunteers.

Featured Organization

Cross Cultural Solutions (CCS) addresses critical global issues by providing meaningful and sustainable volunteer service to communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. CCS volunteers in Morocco work side-by-side with locals, contributing directly to community-based projects. In Morocco, the opportunity to exchange cultures and perspectives is one of the most important parts of our volunteers' work. If you are looking for a volunteer program focused on education, community development, improving access to basic healthcare, and breaking down stigmas and stereotypes, read more about CCS today!

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A Message From Creative Learning

Dear Friends,

Thanks to your generous support, 2011 was a remarkable year for America's Unofficial Ambassadors and our volunteers. Through our Mosaic Scholarship program, we were pleased to support seven Americans who volunteered or who are currently volunteering from Senegal to Bangladesh. I wanted to share the following letter with you from one of our returning Ambassadors:

Dear Friends at America's Unofficial Ambassadors,

As a recipient of America's Unofficial Ambassadors Mosaic Scholarship, your support provided an amazing gift to both the people of Nablus (in the West Bank) and to me -- the gift of education. With the support of the AUA Mosaic Scholarship program, I had the privilege of teaching Art and English to young people and adults in a refugee camp and with other local organizations in Nablus for three months through a Project Hope program. My students and I made peace flags, self-portraits and created a film, "Nablus: This is My City," which portrayed the beauty and culture of the city. Together we explored our creativity and discovered new possibilities.

The experience wasn't one-sided, though. I can honestly say that I learned more than I taught. Students enthusiastically took me by the hand and shared their world with me. We talked about our cultures and histories, we had many thoughtful and serious discussions, and we laughed together, too. My students' efforts - in the face of adversity - were inspiring. When I met Saja, one of my younger students, she greeted me by extending her hand and proclaiming that I did not look like an American. I believe Saja and my other students will remember me not only as an American, and as a teacher, but as a partner - a peace-seeking friend who came from Oberlin, Ohio to their home in Nablus to try and make a difference in our future.

My experience in Nablus was life changing and I am grateful to AUA for the support. Having experienced first-hand all the goodwill and the possibilities for volunteers to make a difference, I can assure you that this effort is one that will make a practical difference in our world and in the worlds of people we haven't even met yet. On a personal level, it was such a thrill to be able to give of myself and to exchange life experiences with people of a different culture, and in doing so, begin the process of building peace through service, friendship, and personal connections of respect.

There is still so much work to be done and my time as a volunteer in Nablus has not only inspired me to do more, but has changed my world-view. Thank you again for awarding me with the Mosaic Scholarship.

Lindsay Michael

Unofficial Ambassador

As AUA gears up for an aggressive year of peace building in 2012, we plan to support another 15 Mosaic Scholarship receipts and to launch other new programs that build peace through service. Please consider making a year-end gift towards our effort in the amount of $5,000, $1,000, $500, $250 or $100. Your financial support ensures we can continue to touch lives - both here and abroad - and change the world in which we all live.

Most sincerely,

Benjamin Orbach

Director, America's Unofficial Ambassadors

AUA Opportunities

The Building Peace by Building Homes trip to Jordan has been rescheduled for the end of May! Join America's Unofficial Ambassadors in building homes with Jordanian families in the village of Taybeh this spring, from May 25 to June 3. For details, email GideonC@creativelearning.org

America's Unofficial Ambassadors will launch Year 2 of the AUA Mosaic Scholarship program on January 9. Receive up to $5000 of support to volunteer with an AUA Directory-listed volunteer program in the Muslim World. For details, visit our website.

Join the AUA Network and participate in monthly webinars on topics such as cross-cultural engagement and fundraising. Share lessons learned from your experience, connect with a volunteer mentor, or mentor a new unofficial ambassador. For details, click here.