Regional English Language Officer Rebecca Smoak (center) recently welcomed to the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam Mr. Del Christensen, Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS) coordinator, Ms. Grace Foya, Kennedy-Lugar YES program coordinator in Tanzania, and scholarship recipients.
Nineteen Tanzanian Secondary School students from Zanzibar and Mainland have been selected to live and study in the United States of America for one academic year from August 2011 and return to Tanzania in June 2012. The program is funded by the American people through the U.S. Department of State's Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program.
Under the Kennedy-Lugar YES program, foreign secondary school students live with American host families, attend secondary school and engage in activities to learn about American society, acquire leadership skills and at the same time help Americans learn more about their country and culture.
While in the U.S., the students will perform two hours of community service every month of their stay to get exposed to the benefits of volunteerism and civic engagement and enhance their ability to contribute to their communities upon return to Tanzania.
Among the 19 students, six are from Zanzibar and 13 from Mainland Tanzania from Kiranyi, Kaloleni, Longido and Edmund Rice Sinon Secondary school in Arusha region. From Tanga region they came from Kongei and Usagara secondary schools, and Kilakala and Educare secondary schools from Morogoro region.
Students from Zanzibar were selected from Trifonia Academy, Benbella Secondary School, Al-riyami Academy and Hailes Sellassie Secondary School.
A total of 800 Tanzanian students were invited to apply for the YES program, out of which 19 were selected for the academic year 2011-2012. The students with highest academic achievements in the Form II National Examinations were selected to compete in tests to determine final selections for study in the U.S. Each randomly selected school is allowed to send two to four Form II Academic Performers.
The Kennedy-Lugar YES program was created in 2003 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to enhance mutual understanding and build bridges between citizens of the U.S. and countries around the world.
The program also provides vocational training. It is conducted through the Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS) in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam. IRIS is an American nonprofit organization selected by the U.S. Department of State to coordinate the YES Program.
Since its introduction in Tanzania in 2006, a total of 71 Tanzanian secondary school students from various regions of Tanzania have participated in the program.
The program provides scholarships for secondary school students (ages 15-17) from countries with significant Muslim populations to spend up to one academic year in the United States. Scholarships are also available to U.S. citizens attending high school (age 15-18) to spend a semester or one academic year in select countries.
During the 2009-2010 academic year, 49 American students traveled overseas under the program. For additional information, please see: http://www.yesprograms.org/.
For additional information on other youth exchange programs sponsored by the American people though the U.S. Department of State, please go to http://exchanges.state.gov/youth/index.html
Hii prgm naona ipo bomba sana na ni wakati muafaka, ila naomba hawa wanafunzi wapewe kipaumbele hata baada ya kumaliza masomo yao, nadhani labda watakuja kutusaidia katika ubunifu na ufanisi wa kuijenga nchi. Kuna wanafunzi wengi walikuwa na vipaji vikubwa lakini serikali haikuwapa kipaumbele walipomaliza masomo, hivyo kujikuta wakifanya kazi za kawaida tu au kuishia kufundisha mashuleni(vyuoni) bila kushirikishwa kwenye project au research zenye kuleta maendeleo ya taifa.
ReplyDeleteTunawapoteza wataalamu wengi kwa kuwakumbatia wanasisa.