Author: maggiefarrand@gmail.com
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Americans by Choice: Sharing the Joy of Teaching
Semra Seifu learned the basics of teaching at an unusually young age: She was only seven years old when she set up her first classroom in her Addis Ababa, Ethiopia home.She would line up school notebooks on her bed, arranging them in neat rows, just like the desks at her actual school. Once the classroom…
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Americans by Choice: Giving Thanks for Family Near and Far
Coming to the United States from Afghanistan is not an easy move. But for Haseena Niazi, it only took until November 23 – and her first bite of turkey – for her to realize it wouldn’t be so bad.To Haseena, her family is everything. She remembers as a child – she’s the youngest of 12…
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Stepping Out Into Algiers
It wasn’t exactly how I had planned to arrive in Algiers. I had envisioned a much more elegant, carefree entrance, where I would gather my luggage and manage the airport crowds feeling relaxed and ready for three days of vacation.Revisiting my breakfast on my two-hour flight from Rabat, being told by the flight attendants that…
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A Name Withheld, A Passion Shared
I met a young woman in Kabul whose story I want to share. We were in the lobby of the prestigious private high school where she taught. It was a hot afternoon in September, yet she wore a floor-length black dress and light blue headscarf wrapped closely around her face, not even a strand of…
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A Normal Day in Kabul
When I think about my time in Kabul, Mursal and her friends come to mind. The images that stick in my head are not ones of violence, poverty or devastation. They are of routine activities and everyday dreams.
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Bak’tun Route Celebrates Mayan History
Some people are preparing for the world to end Dec. 21, but communities in Guatemala are preparing in other ways: developing and marketing tourism routes that celebrate Mayan history.Dec. 21 marks the end of the 13th Bak’tun Cycle of the Mayan calendar. The end of one cycle, according to Mayan tradition, means the beginning of…
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Taking Coffee, Talking HIV in Ethiopia
Sheikh Hammad Hadji Muhammad is treating the spread of HIV and AIDS in his Ethiopian village with coffee. And the treatment is working.As an elder and an imam, Sheikh Hammad holds a place of honor in his village and at the coffee ceremonies that are central to its social life.He is using that level of…
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Local Pop Culture Encourages Youth Vote in Chad
“Chadians let’s stand upChadians we stand upAnd build our countryLet’s go and build our countryLet’s go and vote the right person to lead”In the United States, it’s “Rock the Vote” – a national effort to engage and build political power for young people through celebrity endorsements and mainstream media. Or it’s the many visits politicians take…