MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | MARCH 2021
YALS staff member, Ms. Abeer, wearing a mask sewn by YALS Vocational Training course graduates
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AT MLI
This March, MLI celebrated Women's History Month by highlighting the stories of women and girls who embody MLI's mission to alleviate suffering, restore hope, and promote growth and stability. Read below to find out how their leadership is helping the world become a safer place everyday!
Ms. Dalal Yusser, Yemen
Ms. Dalal Yusser
Last summer, Ms. Dalal and her students at Seiyun Model Secondary School for Girls in Hadramout, Yemen participated in our Peacemakers and Problem Solvers (PMPS) virtual exchange program. With many traditional in-person educational and exchange visits cancelled, programs like PMPS have provided an accessible, effective and sustainable vehicle for global learning.
The PMPS curriculum seeks to cultivate students' skills in public-speaking, conflict resolution, ethical leadership, and overall confidence. During the program, Ms. Dalal noticed how her students "became more outgoing and interested in doing their tasks."
Throughout the six week program, Yemeni students connected with their American peers by video and text exchange to collaborate on leadership and peacebuilding activities.
Khawlah el-Hebshi, a student at Seiyun, shared that PMPS made her "more confident to express (her) thoughts with different people, as well as dealing with conflicts to be a good leader."
MLI believes in the power of youth to serve as agents for positive change, and we are looking forward to see how Ms. Dalal Yusser continues to empower more youth leaders in the future!
Students at Seiyun Model Secondary School
"My participation in the PMPS Program was a door to a new horizon in my life. This program helped me overcome many obstacles and fears that stand in my way. It was a beautiful experience that increased my self-confidence. I learned how to build relationships with people and also how to find a solution to most of the problems." -Nora Ghazi Mula Al-Dawila, Student at Seiyun Model Secondary School's reflection on the PMPS program.
Luz Angela Guzman, Colombia
Luz Angela Guzman
Luz Angela Guzman is MLI's program manager and in-country representative for Colombia. Luz Angela helped establish our PMPS Colombia program in 2017. To Luz Angela, PMPS "represents the ongoing creativity, energy and effort of work that allows youngsters to unleash their potential as leaders, to think critically and solve problems that afflict their surroundings."
Luz Angela’s message to students is that "they live in an increasingly interconnected world, and that with positive and peaceful actions done through collaboration, they can transform it."
Luz Angela has also helped MLI implement the new PMPS Mentorship program this winter helping youth mentor their peers. When asked how she defines leadership, Luz Angela answered "Leadership in not only in those who sit in positions of power, there’s a leader in every person, and we can release the leader that is in inside of us, but we need each other to make a difference. Leadership is not an individual, lonely endeavor - it is a collaborative effort that requires interdependence."
Check out this article for more information on the new PMPS Mentorship program in Colombia!
YALS Sewing Course, Yemen
MLI's Survivor's Assistance programs have provided prostheses, rehabilitative treatment, and vocational training to thousands of landmine victims and their families in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Yemen.
Last summer, women in our vocational training sewing courses at the Yemeni Association for Landmine and UXO Survivors (YALS) used their new sewing skills to sew masks for their communities.
These masks also provided essential PPE to YALS staff to continue their life-changing work while helping to protect against the spread of Covid-19.
Women in YALS Vocational Training Sewing Course
This Women's History Month, and every month, MLI is proud to work with women who inspire future generations of leaders and work to make the world a safer and better place every day!
|
|
Mine Free Sarajevo Project Update
We're excited to announce that demining teams working on the Mine Free Sarajevo Project are proceeding with clearance efforts in the final municipality of Vogošća. Despite delays due to Covid-19 and winter weather, brave demining teams located and destroyed 7 landmines and 1 UXO in the month of February. MLI and our project partners at the Mine Detection Dog Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina (MDDC) and ITF Enhancing Human Security look forward to declaring not only Vogošća, but the entire City of Sarajevo and all adjoining municipalities mine-impact free in the coming months!
MDDC Deminer in Stari Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Landmine found in Vogošća in February, 2021.
(Image: ITF Enhancing Security)
This project would not have been possible without funding from the U.S. Department of State and the dedication of MDDC's demining teams. To read more about land release and landmine clearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, check out the Mine Free Sarajevo article in the Winter 2020 issue of the Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction here.
CHECK YOUR INBOX SUNDAY, APRIL 4TH FOR A SPECIAL
INTERNATIONAL MINE ACTION DAY EDITION
OF THE MLI NEWSLETTER!
|
|
|
Visit: www.marshall-legacy.org Call: (703) 243-9200
2425 Wilson Boulevard #240 | Arlington, Virginia 22201