Read up "What Youth Can Do"!

My name is Marianny Martinez and I am making a difference in Boston! I am a junior at the school Health Careers Academy recently changed, in honor of Edward M Kennedy, to Edward M Kennedy Academy for Health Careers high school.

I became a youth member of GP in January 2010 and since then I have made significant changes in my life and the lives of others in my local and global community. As a GP Youth Leader and Participant, I carried out this summer a six-week long service trip to a rural village in the Dominican Republic and to the capital of Haiti Port-Au-Prince to do community service work and live and share cultures with my host family and community.

After my return to Boston in September this fall, I felt personally changed and passionate about the people that I had lived with over the summer. With that love and passion, I teamed up with three other GP youth participants and leaders to create a social venture. This social venture evolved from a task, to a passion for my teammates and me to help the people of the communities we visited over the summer in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua. Our social venture is called “Les Manos United” (LMU) because we got the name by mixing our three languages (Spanish, Haitian Creole, and English).

LMU’s mission is to give back to the families and communities that welcomed us and made us feel at home during the summer. It is also meant to increase global awareness in our local community of Boston on important issues happening internationally and what we can all do about it. We are currently in our second phase of our venture. Our first phase was called “Toys for Haiti”. We set that up around BPS schools from October to December, involving Boston communities through events and fundraisers to raise 220 toys and funds to ship them for Christmas time in Haiti and put a smile on our Caribbean neighbors who suffered so much due to last year’s earthquake. On December 19, 2010, we sent off three duffel bags full of toys to the children living in the camps of Delmas 33, near Port-Au-Prince in Haiti. (Pictures of our first phase can be seen on our facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_162256943805464).

We are now preparing our second phase of LMU until April, called “Shoes for the Batey”, where we will collect shoes around Boston to send to the rural village in which we stayed in the Dominican Republic this past summer, a huge need there. The third phase “Books for Nicaragua” we will collect books and magazines around Boston to send to the rural village in Nicaragua where some of us also stayed during the summer. The next two phases will also incorporate fundraisers in Boston and in the BPS schools, collecting from our homes, friends and families, and by applying to grants.

I speak on behalf of my team since I know they feel the same way we are proud, happy and feel a huge warmth in our heart with what we are doing locally in Boston and internationally to positively change the lives of many marginalized community members. The 6-week long trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti changed our lives. We experienced things that are only seen in movies and that was all thanks to our host families and the community members of the villages in which we stayed. To give thanks and to try to help with their situation is the reason of why we created our social venture.

We also wanted to make sure to increase awareness about global issues in our local community of Boston which sometimes is sheltered about what the rest of the world is going through (and vice versa). Giving these people toys, shoes and books doesn’t come close to the memories and inspiration that they instilled in us, but it is a start. With that said we hope not only to win this contest but to educate and spread the word to people of what GP and LMU are but also the help that thousands of people need around the world. The change starts here locally, in Boston, in our Boston Public Schools, among the youth, to connect us locally and globally.

You can email me at marianny@global-potential.org and find out more information about LMU group on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_162256943805464.

Description in Spanish of Lesly's Mural made on International Volunteer Day, Boston, December 5, 2010

Un Mundo Constructor, por Lesly Manzanarez

1) Este mural fue inspirado por la mano de Dios , una mente brillante y un sentimiento llamado Amor.

2) Un Mundo constructor es el lugar donde el hombre ha vivido por siglos. Este mural demuestra el duro trabajo que el hombre a hecho para llegar a punto cerca de la perfeccion. Usando sus manos maravillosas, ha logrado crear instrumentos para romper sus obstaculos y ser un hombre sobresaliente.

3) Las lineas azules representan el circulo infinito en que los humanos vivimos, pasando de una vida a otra para crear nuevas ideas que revolucionan el mundo. Las tuercas al rededor del mundo significan los materiales que el hombre a usado para revolucionar sus ideas y crear maquinas que han trabajado mano a mano con el hombre para realizar a hacer realidad los suenos del hombre.

4) Las montanas y los edeficios representan la tranformacion del hombre desde su existencia hasta el presente, y cuanto su meta ha cambiado y crecido siglo con siglo. Las notas musicales representan la tecnica que el hombre ha usado para contar sus historias usando voces angelicales encarnadas en personas , el hombre ha usado la musica para cautivar mentes y corazones y poder darle ritmo y sabor a muchas culturas.

5) Como el creador de un mundo constructor, la parte mas interesante del mural son los corazones alrededor del mundo. Los corazones significan la pureza de las almas sonadoros del mundo. Un sueno llamado amor es la ilusion de muchos y la peor pesadilla para otros. Por amor el hombre ha sido capaz de llegar a conquistar los lugares mas lejanos del planeta tierra y el universo. El amor ha sido la magia que a hecho que cosas increibles como cuando el sol y la luna se conectan y que demos cautivados con ese pacto de amor. El amor siempre sera lo unico que el hombre nunca podra modificar o clonar porque el amor es lo unico con que no se ve pero se siente!!! El amor ha echo sonar a mucho poetas, cantantes y muchos mas para demostrar la magia del amor. O sea, la magia facil de entender fue la que Khomeini a mi Chimborazo a creer en el amor para crear un mundo constructor.

Quotes

“Bright young people need to be given the opportunity to bring a variety of strengths into the academic arena. To act affirmatively means you recognize that test scores are only one of the many ways of measuring excellence and the ability to succeed”- Yolanda T. Moses, anthropologist, University of California, Riverside

“Our studies of genetic diversity give us an even greater understanding of how similar we all are in our marvelous variation. The variation that makes each of us genetically unique represents a fracion of 1% of what makes all of us the same.” – Kenneth Kidd, geneticist, Yale University

1952 UNESCO Statement on Race: “The Unity of mankind from both the biological and social viewpoints is the main thing. To recognize this and to act accordingly is the first requirement of modern man.” – UNESCO, “What is Race?” (1952)

Community Evaluations (Spanish)

Spanish Interview

English Survey

December 24, 2010: Les Manos United (LMU) Youth Group send toys to Haiti for Christmas!

More images showing LMU’s mission accomplished! Click below to see all images

GP Youth Leaders Set up "Real Talk"

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS REAL TALK ONLINE

What is “Real Talk!” Boston?
Real Talk! is a youth group founded by three amazing Boston GP youth leaders who are interested in writing about a variety of topics such as: Arts & Entertainment, Education, Health, Politics and Sports; then participate in the publication of a newsletter.
Why does “Real Talk” Boston exist?
We exist because we want to establish a presence of young people in our communities; moreover empower youth to: Learn! Express! and Show! how significant their minds are, and how they can express their voice throughout Boston.

$3000 AWARD WON BY THREE GP BOSTON YOUTH SOCIAL VENTURE GROUPS - FROM ASHOKA YOUTH VENTURE

December 11, 2010: This morning, after a motivational speech given by Councilor At-Large of Boston, Felix Arroyo, three GP youth student groups presented their social ventures in front of a panel of judges, competing with many other youth organizations around Boston. Our three GP Boston youth social venture groups won a total of $3000, $1000 per group to develop their projects for this year!!! Congratulations! Please CLICK here to download and read all about GIRLS 2 WOMEN SOCIAL VENTURE GROUP (Shanice, Taylese). CLICK here to download and read about REAL TALK social venture group (Ayan, Daniel A., Tate) and CLICK here to download and read about LOS MANOS UNITED (LMU) Social Venture Group (Daniel M, Christelle, Marianny and Natalia).

Finally, even if it’s low quality images, you can follow along on YouTube what our social venturer GP leaders directly talked about and hear Felix Arroyo’s motivational speech!

Congratulations all!!

Les Manos United Group Presentation
1) PART ONE
2) PART TWO
3) PART THREE
4) QUESTION AND ANSWER PART ONE
5) QUESTION AND ANSWER PART TWO
6) QUESTION AND ANSWER PART THREE
7) QUESTION AND ANSWER PART FOUR

Girls 2 Women Presentation
1) PART ONE
2) PART TWO
3) PART ONE QUESTION AND ANSWER
4) PART TWO QUESTION AND ANSWER

Felix Arroyo
1) PART ONE
2) PART TWO
3) PART THREE

United Way Director Speech
1) CLICK HERE

GP Youth Leaders Working on their Documentaries, some trailers!

CLICK HERE FOR NATALIA’S TRAILER

Natalia Medina Hincapie’s trailer “The Women” was filmed with Aisha with GP this summer in El Hatillo, Nicaragua. Documentary about sexism in Nicaragua.

CLICK HERE FOR DANIEL’S TRAILER

Daniel Martinez’s trailer was made in close collaboration with film maker GP Youth Leader Samy Beneco Enecia Perez in Batey 8, Dominican Republic. Samy was in Nicaragua this summer with GP filming with Daniel these important issues of education in Nicaragua that they wish to analyze more in depth in their documentary.

CLICK HERE FOR CHRISTELLE’S TRAILER

Christelle Abraham’s documentary is about the situation of Haitian discrimination and hypocrisy in the Bateys of the Dominican Republic. Christelle filmed this while she was with GP in the Bateys this summer in the Dominican Republic. Unique perspective as a Haitian immigrant youth who came to the U.S. 9 years ago.

Planeta Jeune Kai Lu (PJKL), Youth Venture Project of GP Youth 2008

The students who went to the Dominican Republic in the Summer of 2008 formed a venture called Planeta Jeune Kai Lu (PJKL), which means Planet Happy Youth in Spanish Creole and Chinese. This group was created to help keep get fellow students involved in after school activities, particularly something that can involve them in cultural exchange and increase cultural awareness.

On May 14th 2009 some of the students of Planeta Jeune Kai Lu staged their first after school program. It was planned by Fanelia and Stephany who promoted a Poetry Slam among students at the International High School at Prospect Heights. On the day of the event, the two students coordinated every aspect of the experience including picking the music, setting up microphones, getting students to the classroom where the event was to be held, order and picking up refreshments and getting participants involved.

There were many students who came to the event. It went from 4PM-5:30 PM. It started with some Spanish-language music performed by 3 of the participants. Two students, one member of PJKL and one participant, read poems to a silent group. Poems were read in both English and Spanish. All poems were well received by the crowd and were then followed by more Spanish-language music from the participants. At the end there were refreshments and music where participants began to sing and dance.

The event was a great success- participants enjoyed themselves and arrangements were made for events to be held every week on Thursdays. The next session will be on May 21st 2009. Let’s hope that this is just as great of a success!