Video for the Holidays
Dear Friends and Asmi Supporters,
It’s amazing to think that last year Asmi spent the holidays in Liberia, working with our partner organization to establish a teacher training program. The year has flown by, and Asmi has accomplished a lot! Ildi Sebestyen joined our board in April as our event planner, and helped us put on a successful bowling fund raiser in July, that will go toward our 2012/2013 partnerships.
Amidst uprisings around the world and economic uncertainty, the work Asmi does to empower survivors is more important than ever, and we appreciate any donations you can make to support our cause.
As a special thanks to all of you, we are excited to share a short video about our teacher training work in Liberia. Happy holidays and thank you for all your support!
Asmi Board of Directors
Click here to watch the Asmi Liberia Project Video 2011!
Asmi Album: Strike While the Summer’s Hot!
Check out the super fun pictures from “Strike While the Summer’s Hot!”, Asmi’s summer fundraising event at The Gutter. Bowling, pizza, and pitchers in blissful air-conditioning on a lazy summer Sunday…what more could you want?
Letter from the Asmi Board
Dear friends and Asmi supporters,
Our team is back from Liberia and we are excited to share the success of our first major international project, a training program for drama teachers in Paynesville, Monrovia. More than 50 out-of-school Liberian youth participated in the five-week workshop facilitated by Asmi co-founders Danielle and Prentice. Our team empowered six repatriated young people to lead local youth drama programs. As teacher trainee Alex Kulah put it, “This [work] is mine now. Even if I never see you again, no one can stop me from using these [skills] to change and impact my community.”
Asmi’s time in Liberia may have come to an end, but OUR work is far from over. While continuing to provide support and services necessary to help projects oversees grow, we look forward to working with new volunteers and forming additional partnerships here at home. We invite you to join us for an Asmi Open House on Monday, March 28 at 6:30 to learn more about future opportunities in New York City.
As always, thank you for supporting Asmi!
Love,
Asmi Board of Directors
To read more about the project in our March 2011 Newsletter and see photos, click here.
Reflections on our Teacher Training
March 14, 2011
Asmi traveled to Liberia intending to facilitate youth drama workshops and conduct teacher training. Like most collaborative efforts, we were uncertain what shape our curriculum would ultimately take. Instead of entering our partnership with LYDIA with a rigid game plan, our team approached the work of empowering survivors with fluidity, allowing ideas to flow freely from both parties. At times, it felt like we were setting out to do the impossible; we had just five weeks and host of challenges to work through. But LYDIA’s desire to learn the skills needed to create and facilitate their own youth drama programs motivated us to find innovative solutions.
- Listen
- Empower
- Celebrate
- Empowering Survivors through Creative Self-Expression
