AMERICAN STUDENTS TRAVEL TO AFRICA AS HERO YOUTH AMBASSADORS

SOUTH AFRICA, July 13, 2007:  Twenty-five American high school and university students have arrived in South Africa and Namibia to begin a month of humanitarian service as HERO Youth Ambassadors.  HERO stands for “Help Educate at-Risk Orphans and vulnerable children”. 

The students, selected by the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) and its partners that include USAID will spend four weeks volunteering in schools targeting orphans and vulnerable children living in AIDS-affected communities. The HERO Youth Ambassadors will participate in building classrooms, constructing fences, installing kitchens (for in-school feeding programs), painting existing school structures and engaging in classroom and recreational activities to help improve the lives of school-aged children coping with the HIV  epidemic’s impact.

In South Africa, 13 teenage boys and girls will live and work in rural KwaZulu-Natal communities. Partners that provide year-round support for the venture include USAID, The Valley Trust, and the Turntable Trust.

“Teachers and South African school learners wrestle with immense education problems,” said USAID South Africa Director, Dr. Carleene Dei.  “Our Agency helps the country to improve the quality and accessibility of education.  We are glad to help bring the American youth here to build school projects and increase awareness in the U.S. about the ravages of AIDS on children and their education in sub-Saharan Africa.  We hope many more sponsors will come aboard to convert goodwill into action for Africa’s children.”

 “The HERO Youth Ambassador experience is an extraordinary opportunity for American teens to make a positive difference in the world and better understand their role and responsibility as global citizens,” said Gabrielle Armand, Executive Director, Communications & Marketing for the UNA-USA.  

The young Americans left summertime in the northern hemisphere to work in the southern hemisphere’s July wintertime that included snowfalls last week.  Students prepared in advance by immersing themselves in South African and Namibian cultures, history and current affairs to understand the people and region they are visiting.  Those in South Africa studied introductory Zulu language lessons.

As the Youth Ambassadors work from their temporary African homes, stories of their day-to-day activities are being filmed and will be shown later this year as a series on the American website, http://www.beinggirl.com/hero.  The “webisodes” will highlight the Youth Ambassadors’ service work in Africa, while empowering American teens to become champions of change through global service.

“These 25 Youth Ambassadors will serve as examples of how teens can be an instrument of change both globally and in their own communities,” said Michelle Vaeth, Communications Director for another partner in the effort, Proctor and Gamble.