English Immersion on “U.S. Students Use Vacations To Volunteer in Community Service”

February 24, 2011

A partial view of participants discussing PAO Sita Liane Chakrawarti and IO Grant Phillipp (Photo: Yacouba Soro/US Embassy)

On February 24, 2011, Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy invited about 30 students, members of English Clubs and representatives of local NGOs for a discussion on the topic: “U.S. Students Use Vacations To Volunteer in Community Service,” an article.  The discussion was led by the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) Sita Liane Chakrawarti and the Information Officer (IO) Grant Phillipp and focused on issues such as community work, volunteerism, civic responsibility and how faith-based organizations or local NGOs can get involved in voluntarism programs. This program addressed the MSP goals of youth leadership development and education and civic responsibility.

The program offered the participants the opportunity to share ideas about how they can promote volunteerism in their respective communities and how this can be passed on to other students or peer groups. One student took the floor to thank PAS Abidjan for organizing this program, which “sends a strong message on how students can help develop their communities.” He went on to state that U.S. President Barack Obama was first elected as a senator for his involvement in community service. A student who participated in a State Department sponsored program for youth leaders shared her experience in the U.S., where she and her group helped a community in cleaning and painting a bridge.