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<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=368405522-26052004>Contact: </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Tahoma><A
href="mailto:roiapta@mindspring.com"><FONT
size=2>roiapta@mindspring.com</FONT></A><BR><SPAN class=368405522-26052004><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2> Below is a letter forwarded to the etree
from Roia Ferrazares, president of the Berkeley PTA
Council </FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>My name is Dennis McMahon. I am the East Bay Coordinator for a new US
State Department program (The YES Initiative) that is sponsoring
students from Islamic countries to study in the US. The three students
that will be sponsored this year will come from Indonesia, Turkey and the
Philippines. You can learn about the program at:
www.yesprograms.org.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>All the students are early High School aged, and are very outgoing.
This is a merit-based program, so all the students are really good kids with
strong recommendations from their teachers. They also have very good
English skills (a requirment for this program). I am currently trying to
identify some host families that would be willing to host one of these kids for
8 weeks in September and October while they attend Berkeley High School.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We are seeking homes for only an 8 week period because some families
may feel uncomfortable about committing to an entire year with a kid they don't
know. Since the students will be here for the full academic year, the
intent is to give them an opportunity to make friends and integrate with their
classes. Through this natural dynamic we will have no problem with
identifying longer-term hosts for the students. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In any case, I thought it would be a good idea to run this by you and to
see if I might get this message out to other PTA members. This is a really
wonderful program that is enriching both for the students and the families that
host them, and I'm looking forward to coordinating a positive experience here
for them. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would be glad to meet with any interested hosts to show them some
of the bios on our candidates and to talk more about the program. Please
contact me at your earliest convenience. You can reach me at this e-mail
address <<A
href="mailto:brahima91@yahoo.com>">brahima91@yahoo.com></A> or by phone
at 510-685-2573. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Also, if you have any ideas about others that might take an
interest in this project, I welcome your suggestions. </DIV>
<P>Thank you,<SPAN class=368405522-26052004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=368405522-26052004> </SPAN>Dennis McMahon<SPAN
class=368405522-26052004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></P><SPAN class=368405522-26052004>
<P><FONT size=2>______________________________<BR>Janet Huseby and Kathryn Capps
are the facilitators of the etree; please direct any questions or concerns to
them at <bhs-owner@idiom.com><BR><BR>To subscribe to the etree, write
bhs-request@idiom.com with one word only in the subject line: subscribe.<BR>To
unsubscribe, write bhs-request@idiom.com with one word only in the subject line:
unsubscribe.<BR> </FONT> </P>
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