The Global Issues Network Conference — Doha, Qatar

“It’s About Time That We Did Something!”

Not only did Tala Abujbara bring her own words to life through her community ser-vice efforts, but she has also inspired the A.S.D. commu-nity to partake in this vision as well. Having seen the escalation of interest to the Habitat for Humanity or-ganization in Qatar, it is only fair to say that Ms. Abujbara has truly, “done something.”

Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-profit or-ganization that invites volun-teers to build, “simple, de-cent, and affordable” hous-ing to various needy families across the globe. Habitat for Humanity within Doha has decided upon aiding in Chaing Mai, Thailand this year with the efforts of high school students. A.S.D. stu-dents have the privilege of traveling to Thailand this year during spring break to participate in various com-

munity service activities including building houses, taking care of children, and visiting an elephant orphan-age. The main efforts of the organization this year were to raise money for a widow and her two children in order to provide her with living accommodations.

As mentioned briefly, the achievements of this associa-tion would not have been plausible without the ardu-ous work of Ms. Abujbara. When asked what motivated the high school junior to introduce Habitat for Hu-manity to A.S.D., she replied by mentioning the success of the program in her previous school and the personal de-velopment that she was be-stowed with upon participa-tion in the organization. Af-ter approval from the school board, she was on her way to fundraising success! Thus, a

plethora of students applied and a select few remained members depending on their responses in the surveying and application process. With a hand full of devoted students, faculty advisers (Mr. Klar, Mr. Pavel, and Ms. Rumford) and a com-mitted backing from the A.S.D. community, it is no wonder that the organization is thriving. Tala Abujbara truly is an example to how dedication, commitment and hard work results in fund-raising success!

— Ashlee Goedken

March 12th, 2009

Volume 1, Issue 1

Slam Dunk for Charity

2

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

3

International Opportunities

4

Illustrations & Art

5

Visit the Attrac-tions

6

Small Steps to Form Big Strides

7

Be the Change: From Bolivia to

Tanzania

8

Inside this issue:

GINesis THE ORIGIN OF CHANGE

Dear participants,

First of all, we hope you ob-tain valuable understanding of the international society that we are all a part of by attend-ing this conference. This paper represents our comprehension of what we learned, what we know, and what we will take with us for the rest of our lives. There are many steps that we can take to create a better future, and this is the first step.

Enjoy your time at this confer-ence, and don’t forget — “Be the Change!”

Natasha Turk & Antonia Webb

A 2008 report published by the World Health Organization’s UNAIDs program estimated that 1.5 million Africans died from AIDS, leaving behind some 11.6 million orphaned children.

To many people these children are just an-other statistic; however these numbers be-came flesh and blood for 9 year old Austin Gutwein In 2004

Gutwein was eager to join the hoop team at his school in his home state of Arizona. Un-fortunately, he didn’t make it, however he was able to “bounce back.” His correspon-dence with a little African boy inspired him to learn more about Africa and the AIDs pandemic. After doing some research, Gut-wein discovered that the HIV/AIDs endemic had orphaned an estimated 15 million chil-dren.

This staggering number got Gutwein think-ing how he would feel if he lost both his parents. This terrifying thought encouraged him to raise money by getting sponsored for shooting foul shots.

After shooting 2,057 hoops, the number of kids that are orphaned in one day, Gutwein was surprised to discover that he had raised an astounding $3000.

Even though this was an impressive sum, Gutwein knew that this wouldn’t go far to help the orphaned African children. Subse-quently, he joined forces with a charity called World Vision and 1000 other children in what he called “Hoops for Hope” and raised an astonishing $38,000.

Since its conception in 2004, Hoops for Hope has raised thousands of dollars for various projects in Africa; including building the Johnathan Sim Legacy School in Twachi-

yanda, Zambia, building a medical testing lab and voluntary counseling center in Sinazongwe, Zambia and so on.

In the 2008-2009 year, the Hoops for Hope organization is hoping to raise enough funds to build a second medical testing and voluntary counseling center in Chilala, Zimbabwe.

The existing medical center in Sinazongwe aims to promote three main themes: pre-vention, care and advocacy.

The center’s number one priority is to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus from mothers to their children through maternal child health services.

Pregnant mothers who are tested positive for the virus will be helped by the forma-tion of various support groups; in addition to being supplied with the necessary drugs to inhibit the transfer of the virus to their children.

The new medical center also aspires to provide marriage counseling, in addition to

creating an open dialogue about the taboo topic of sexuality, and its role in precipitating this devastat-ing virus.

Gutwein’s simple endeavor has had nationwide appeal in the US and now an international one, which is clearly signified by his presence in Doha.

ASD is honored to have such an inspiring role model in its midst and hopes that everyone will at-tend his presentation, where he will share his life altering experi-ences with you.

Austin Gutwein learned an impor-tant lesson early: the ability to empower oneself shouldn’t come from other people; it should come from within. That being said, go and “Be the Change” participants!

— Soukaina Rachidi

A “Slam Dunk” for Charity

Page 2 GINesis

Image: Gutwein hugging the head nurse at the medical center

[www.hoopsforhope.org]

The world is trapped in a current – not necessarily a bad one, just an unfamiliar one for many. Change has developed into a huge theme of the past few years, with political, economic and social changes becoming more and more ap-parent as the years press son.

Personified by Obama’s famous “Yes We Can” (and later “Yes We Did”) cam-paign, along with his “Change You Can Believe In” message, President Barack Obama has become a leader in our age of new, and somewhat of a superhero in his own right. His different and new fangled campaign ads and beliefs have had him posted as the ‘different’ candi-date since the beginning of his campaign in late 2004. Now, 44th president of the United States and the first African America in office, it is clear that

Obama’s victory was as much because of his magnetic person-ality as it was for the nations yearn for change.

However, politics is not the only area that change has been brought to. In the world of sci-ence, getting and understanding more about “going green” is on everyone’s mind – from reduc-ing, reusing and recycling, to eventually (and hopefully) reduc-ing the world’s carbon emissions and cooling down our earth, all over the world recycling cam-paigns have developed – exam-ples of which can be found right here at ASD.

Even the simple “Keep the doors closed to keep to cool air in” signs are examples and constant reminders that our generation has becoming conscious of some-thing else – something much bigger than ourselves.

Change can even be seen in more social aspects of our time. Our

music, our clothes and out constant utilization (or reliance, more like) on technology are things that our parents and the generations before them would have thought impossible to conceive, much like many of us can’t imagine churning our own butter, sewing our own clothes, not going on Facebook everyday of our lives, or not having our cell phones what seems like permanently attached to our hands or ears.

Economically, too, changes are oc-curring. America’s (as well as several other nations’) recent economic crisis has been a shockingly hard blow to American Society. With property value declining, mortgages going unpaid and several difficult decisions looming ahead, America’s recession has many obvious negatives, but also some under-the-rug positives.

While this economic crisis has been devastating for many, it had also taught America a new way to live – the cheap way. Millions of people have been learning how to save money – how to get by on small or non-existent budgets. Thrifty is the new rich – finally.

The facets of change surround our generation. From the music we listen to, to the fact that many of us can’t imagine milking a cow, the age of alteration is entirely among us, and we get the stunning opportunity to be immersed in it, having already taken the head-first dive in.

— Chelsie Güner

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Page 3 GINesis

Image: Obama’s Campaign Ad [http://turbott.net/blog/wp-content/

uploads/2008/06/obama-yes-we-can.jpg]

When we arrived to our in-ternational destinations, some of us with no choice, some of us for jobs, we did not expect to leave with such greater understanding of the world. The majority of stu-dents that live in interna-tional environments take what they have for granted – the money, the opportunity, and most importantly, the experience. We all leave home due to our parents’ jobs or due to the fact that we need these jobs and the lumps of money that come with them. We do not look beyond these factors to the more important issues that we are faced with. It is truly unfortunate when one cannot glance beyond the materialis-tic and routine aspects of everyday life and see the world with a fresh and opti-mistic look; through the eyes of a stranger.

Being an international stu-dent means opportunities to open doors that family and

friends back home can never obtain. Merely attending school every day with cul-tured, intellectual, and

worldly people means that we share the knowledge of different societies that others lack. This understanding furthers our communication skills and empowers us to lead with confidence, clarity, and creativity. Every day an international student is ex-posed to an array of cultures which come with their unique sense of morals, dress codes, cuisines, and more.

In addition, living in such a cosmopolitan atmosphere means that one has an advan-tage in being increasingly accepting and a much better

understanding of different international community needs. An international stu-dent can adapt and intermin-gle with a variety of people without feeling out of place or ignorant due to them being the knowledgeable and cul-tured inhabitants of the world.

Education is the key in this issue as international stu-dents receive something more than books could ever provide – understanding. Traveling around the globe on expeditions and vacations, or even conferences such as Global Issues or MUN, al-lows students to be even more culturally aware than they already are. This further enhances their comprehen-sion of different human rights, dress codes laws, and even histories of nations and societies.

We sit back and complain about being far away from home but the truth is that we take it all for granted. Some of us are sick of moving from country to country while some of us just miss home. But the truth is crystal clear; being an international person is being an opened, global citizen. We have a plethora of opportunity that can never be provided for secluded people living igno-

International Opportunities

Page 4 GINesis

GIN Press

Top to Bottom: Antonia Webb, Lina

Raslan, Hannah Johnson, Soukaina

Rachidi Image: International Flags from Around the World

[http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/OIS/Activity/Programs/StateOfWorld%20images/International%20Flags.jpg]

“Being an international

student means opportunities to

open doors. . .”

Illustrations and art Page 5 GINesis

These Political Cartoons

have been carefully

illustrated by the

artistically talented

Hannah Johnson —

Look in our future issues

for more of her art!

GIN Press

Top to Bottom: Natasha Turk, Reem

Al-Sulaiti, Ashlee Goedken, Chelsie

Güner

Check out the Student News Action Network website for more Global Issues Journalism! [http://www.studentnewsaction.net/]

Doha is the capital city of the State of Qatar, which is lo-cated on the Persian Gulf. With a population of about four hundred thousand peo-ple it is a very small country, and 80% of the population resides in this capital city. That leads one to figure out why Doha’s traffic is so cha-otic and why the malls are so crowded. Despite these few negatives, Doha encom-passes a variety of exciting places to see and enjoy. For example, in 2006 the Asian Games was hosted here and one can still see this evidence by admiring the stunning Khalifa International Sta-dium.

Other than esteeming the remarkable architecture, an attractive relaxing site, Souq Waqif, is a calm and peaceful place that one must visit when coming to Doha. Souq Waqif is a recently built area near the Corniche that aims to portray the old Bedouin markets and their ambiance from decades ago. Whether you like to sit back and enjoy Arabic coffee or get closer to ‘Arabia’ this is the place to be. Some of the things that you will take pleasure in experiencing include, riding a donkey, talking to old pearl fishermen, watching women making traditional tent rugs, buying herbs, or even buying

traditional souvenirs. This “old” souk is defi-nitely an exciting place and a hotspot for tour-ists whom wish to ex-perience the true atmos-phere of Arabia. When a student from the Ameri-can School of Doha was asked about their opin-ion on Souq Waqif he quickly guaranteed, “If a person has not been to Souq Waqif their ‘Qatari’ experience has not been fulfilled!”

For some of the ladies, there are great shopping malls all around town that include City Center, Villagio, Land-mark, Hyatt Plaza, and Royal Plaza. All those malls con-tain familiar retail stores, prominent designer stores as well as native Qatari stores. In addition, if you are just interested in relaxing and watching a movie after a long day at the conference, all these malls have cinema theaters. City Center has the best and largest cinema thea-ter in Doha compromising 14 theaters.

For the adventurous and out-doors people there is the Sealine Resort where one can go jet skiing, quad biking, dune bashing or merely re-laxing on the seemingly never-ending beach. This

time of the year is perfect because the weather is sunny but during the night there is a cool breeze that will be the perfect conclusion to an ex-ploratory day.

Doha is a fast developing city, which as most other cities, is not exactly the cheapest place. However, in the end it is all worth it be-cause it is the experience you get which money cannot buy. Tight on money? No need to shop – merely taking a walk down the Corniche after sun-set is a brilliant way to end your well-spent trip in the lovely city of Doha! Further-more, the citizens of Doha are friendly and multi-cultured so do not hesitate to ask anybody questions to enhance your Doha experi-ence!

— Reem Al-Sulaiti

Visit the Attractions

Page 6 GINesis How much

water does the

average person

consume?

123 gallons (466 liters)

of water daily!

Source: [http://www.enotes.com/

science-fact-finder/energy/how-much-water-does-an-average-person-use-each-

day]

Last year during Spring Break, instead of travelling to a student hotspot to relax and have fun, a group of ASD pupils went on a touching and inspirational trip to Arusha, Tanzania. A majority of this trip was spent working on an intense community ser-vice project. This project in-cluded aiding the building of a classroom and school desks of a public school that occupied less fortunate Arushan school chil-dren. In addition, the students donated school supplies and teaching resources to these in-opportune pupils.

In essence, this service project, initiated by three ASD teachers, Mr. Shang, Mr. Casher, and Ms. West, benefitted this small town in Arusha dramatically. Alike to other developing countries, Tanzania is scarce on many

resources that are needed to pro-vide schooling. Education is often taken for granted, yet this group of ASD students were given a harsh realization that it is not available to all – less than 5% of people can access secondary school in Tanza-nia.

The ASD students’ became aware of harsh poverty, whilst the small Tanzanian children greeted them with immense smiles on their faces despite their hard living condi-tions. Furthermore, an ASD stu-dent whom participated on the trip, Dina Mutassem, recalled the

amazement of the children towards her cell phone and the other’s cam-eras.

Consequently, it took such a trip like this one to open the eyes of a few students who in turn can share their new found knowledge with others. As the Tanzanian service trip was such a success and was such an influence of making change on other students at ASD, there is another service trip during this coming Spring Break. This service trip will be located in Lalit Pur, Nepal. Students will be working on a range of projects in-cluding refurbishing rooms and gar-dens at the Hospital Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children and also at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home.

In addition, the students will not only be contributing greatly to another struggling community but also ex-periencing a diverse culture. Travel-

ling to an altitude of 4,423 ft. above sea level to Kath-mandu, they will visit world heritage sights and experi-ence the combination of be-liefs and traditions that Kath-mandu holds.

Undoubtedly, these trips have been a turning point for ASD. Instead of merely talking about providing help and change in the world, the ASD community – teachers and students alike – is actually going out there and actively making that change happen.

Small Steps to Form Big Strides

Page 7 GINesis

“it took such a trip like this one

to open the eyes of a few

students. . .”

Be the Change: From Bolivia to Tanzania

Page 8 GINesis