The Changemaker 2015-2016 Fall Issue

T he C H A N G EM AKER A Student Publication of The American School of Dubai Academic | Leadership | Service

Inside the

FA LL I SSU E: Universal Children's D ay

T he Ter ry Fox Run

R efugee Education Sponsorship Program

Editors Editor in Chief: Clara Harter ' 16

Letter FromTheEditor

Content Editor: Chris Yum ' 16

Hello Everyone,

Design Editor: Iman Iqbal ' 16

Welcome to the fall issue of The Changemaker. It' s incredible how much the high school community has already accomplished this school year. Whether it be shopping at the SEENAH jumble sale, jogging at the Terry Fox Run, sharing your ideas w ith the SGA, or sponsoring the education of a Syrian refugee, there are a million w ays you can be a changemaker in the ASD community. Read on to be shocked, amazed, and inspired. Then w hen you' re done, pick your favorite article and see how you can get involved by consulting any of the student organisation leaders. We w ant The Changemaker to not only be an embodiment of the great things happening at ASD, but also a catalyst for students' individual action. So w hat are you w aiting for? Read on and become a part of the change.

Copy Editor: Carolyn Whitlock ' 16 Copy Editor: Sow on Yoon ' 17 Layout Editor: Chris Gyra ' 17 Layout Editor: Cheyenne Belt ' 17 Layout Editor: Chloe Agnello ' 17

Student Organizations

Good luck!

Clara Harter

Leadership: - Student Government Association - Student Tech Crew - International Student Association - Library Advisory Council - Body and M ind - Club G.E.M - Student Leadership Development Program - Play It Up - Students Against Destructive Decisions Academic: - Cinematography in M otion - National Honor Society (NHS) - M u Alpha Theta - Business Club - Science Club - World Languages Club Service: -

Global Issues Netw ork Children' s Emergency Fund SEENAH Save the Children Room to Read Little Wings PAWS Kids for Wish Kids Educating Girls Globally End 7 GAIA Seeds of Change

TheChangemaker Mission Here at ASD, w e have almost thirty fantastic student organizations representing the diverse passions of our international student body. Alone, each of these organizations has the ability to accomplish great things but through connecting as a community, they have the collective strength to create meaningful change. This magazine w as founded by the Global Issues Netw ork, a firm believer in the pow er of collaboration, as a means to educate and unite the ASD community around the fantastic issues and initiatives our student organizations support. We hope that The Changemaker provides an avenue for organizations to elevate their activities through community aw areness and connection, so that together w e can create pow erful change.

Founded By

T he Senior Class

Terry Fox Run Terry Fox w as an inspirational and dedicated athlete. He dreamt of becoming a physical education teacher and studied at Simon Fraser University.

Unfortunately, at the age of 19, he w as diagnosed w ith osteosarcoma and eventually had to have his right leg amputated. Despite his disability, he continued to run w ith his artificial leg.

Terry Fox had an attitude that stood out for all of his coaches to see. Before and after his diagnosis he continued to impress everyone around him w ith his outstanding dedication and efforts to succeed. The night before his amputation, he decided to embark on a challenge that seemed almost impossible - running across Canada w ith his one leg.

His goal w as to raise money and bring aw areness to cancer research. He hoped to raise one dollar for each of the 24 million Canadians.

Terry Fox began the M arathon of Hope in 1980 and ran a total of just under 3,500 miles. He w as forced to quit the marathon for the sake of his ow n health after 143 days of running. He later found out that the cancer had spread to his lungs, and he w as therefore unable to complete the entire 5,000 miles.

Nevertheless, he w as continuously w elcomed by huge crow ds w ho w ere fascinated and touched by his dedication to finish the marathon in hopes of raising cancer aw areness. Follow ing the months after the M arathon, despite all the chemotherapy, the cancer continued to spread inside Fox?s body. Sadly, he died on June 1981 at the age of 23. Flags across Canada w ere low ered to half mast in his honor, as the country had lost one of its most courageous and influential spirits. Shortly after his death, on September 13, 1981, the Fox family held the first annual Terry Fox Run. Today, the run has grow n to involve millions of people around the w orld and has raised over $650 million in his name. It is now considered one of the w orld?s largest fundraisers for cancer research.

The Terry Fox Run, organized by the Senior class, has now been held for tw o years in a row at ASD. It is a w onderful community-building event w here students of all ages, faculty, and parents come together to support this very important cause.

Everyone participates in the run together, as w ell as in all the fun activities held afterw ards. All the money raised by the high school clubs and other donations go to cancer research centers right here in the U.A.E! So don?t miss out on this very important day of the year, November 12th, and please donate to this great cause. ASD?s goal this year is to raise 100,000AED so please donate and help us get one step closer to finding a cure!

T he Global Issues N etwork

The Advisor y Ref ugee Educat ion Sponsor ship Pr ogr am The Global Issues Netw ork (GIN) has partnered w ith the NGO Sonbola, w hich is dedicated to the lifelong rehabilitation of Syrian refugees. Sonbola is a phenomenal organization that provides transport to Lebanese public schools for refugees, offers remedial learning to catch up out of school students, provides psychosocial support, employs Syrian teachers, and gives children the opportunity to emotionally express themselves through art and song. They w ork specifically in the Bekaa Valley, w hich has the the low est school enrollment rate in all of Lebanon. Through Sonbola GIN has enrolled an additional fifty refugees in school this year.

There are currently 2.6 million Syrian refugees out of school. Without access to education they are exposed to a myriad of dangers including child labor, extremist recruitment, and early marriage.

M ost importantly, w ithout education these children can have no hope of a future. Education breaks refugees?bonds to their camps by enabling them w ith the tools that w ill allow them to be financially independent and one day participate in the rebuilding of their nation. Education is a fundamental human right, and as students lucky enough to attend American School of Dubai this is an enormously relevant issue.

We are opening up the opportunity to advisories to sponsor the education of one of these children. It only takes 550AED to send a refugee to school for a year, w hich is less money than w e w ould spend buying one scientific calculator! We urge all advisories to decide as a team to participate in the program. Once advisories agree to participate they w ill be in charge of collecting or raising the money, w hich equates to around 50AED per advisory member. They w ill then receive a list of information about the refugee they decided to sponsor including their name, hometow n, siblings, passions, and aspirations. In addition they w ill get to see monthly reports on their sponsored refugee?s progress in school. We believe this is an incredible opportunity for students to reach beyond the ASD community to connect w ith crisis-affected students and give the most pow erful gift possible - access to quality, sustainable, and supported formal education.

Uneducated children are often forced into child labor. In 2014 UNICEF & Save the Children found that in Za?atari camp 34.5% of children reported w orking, 75% of these child laborers reported health problems, and 20% of them reported physical abuse by their employer

In 2015 Save the Children calculated that the long-term financial impact of Syria' s education crisis if children aren?t rapidly enrolled, w ill be 5.4% of Syria?s GDP, w hich equates to around $2.18 billion.

In 2012 The International Labor Organization found that in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley only 15% of children are enrolled in school, resulting in a huge child labor force, of w hich 35.8% cannot read or w rite

In 2015 UNICEF estimated that a person?s income potential increases by 10% w ith every year of additional schooling

All images are of refugees currently benefiting from Sonbola' s incredible programs. The Global Issues Netw ork is enormously grateful to partner w ith such an extraordinary organization

In 2015 Chief Executive of the charity War Child, Rob Williams, remarked that in the Za?atari camp in Jordan, ?people are getting 100% of their food and w ater needs, but only half the children are enrolled in primary school.?

The Education For All Global M onitoring Report found that in 2014 only 2.9% of total humanitarian aid requests contributed to the funding of education

T he Global Issues N etwork

The r eal it y of educat ion f or Syr ian r ef ugees

T he Student Government Association

The Student Government Association (SGA) at ASD is a student-led organization in the high-school community that seeks to promote a community of support, collaboration, and spirit by empow ering the student body. Consisting of five executive members and eight class representatives led by Sandra Rafail, the SGA strives to communicate students?concerns to the administration w hile increasing student involvement in the community through events such as M r. ASD, Homecoming, UCC, Cupids, and Spirit Week.

Nevertheless, the Student Government?s role does not solely focus on its ow n events. The SGA holds frequent assemblies and PA announcements in order to help promote the messages of other school clubs and organizations. Sticking w ith the mission to empow er the student body through increasing involvement, the SGA currently has a request system in place. Through this system, clubs and organizations may contact Christopher Gyra (cgyra.17@asdubai.org), Assembly Chair, at least tw o w eeks prior to an assembly to include an entertaining message or skit in an SGA-run assembly. Additionally, they may contact Noor Elmasry (nelmasry.17@asdubai.org), Communications Chair, one w eek before a PA announcement to promote events on the PA system on Sundays. For example, in the October Assembly, w e received requests from M u Alpha Theta, NHS, Science Club, and World Languages Club and successfully incorporated their announcements into our assembly agenda.

Name

Position

Area of Expertise

Email

Sandra Rafail

President

SGA Chair

srafail.16@asdubai.org

Souheil M oufarrej

Vice President

Spirit Chair

smoufarrej16@asdubai.org

Christopher Gyra

Publicist

Assembly Chair

cgyra.17@asdubai.org

Rohan Valrani

Treasurer

Finance Chair

rvalrani.16@asdubai.org

Noor Elmasry

Secretary

Communications Chair

nelmasry.17@asdubai.org

If you have any questions pertaining to spirit points, finances, or the student government in general, please contact Souheil M oufarrej, Rohan Valrani, or Sandra Rafail.

TheHist ory In 1954, the United Nations passed a decree authorizing the celebration of Universal Children' s Day on November 20. The day w as created to celebrate ' w orldw ide fraternity and understanding betw een children' and later became the day that the UN first adopted the ' Declaration of the Rights of the Child' (1959) and the ' Convention on the Rights of a Child' (1989).

Chil dr en's day agenda (Nov 19) In the spirit of this connection betw een all children and in celebration of all the clubs at ASD w hich are w orking together to help children in need all over the w orld, this year ASD w ill be hosting its first annual Universal Children' s Day celebration. The day w ill be on the 19 of November, and w ill be a chance to take a closer look at all the great things happening all over the school by different clubs w ho devote themselves to making sure every child has access to their basic human rights. In the morning, club members w ill be stationed all over the school encouraging members of the ASD community to sign the #UpForSchool petition.

The #UpForSchool campaign w as created in order to send a message that no government can ignore, demanding that every one of the 59 million children out of school all over the w orld are given an education. The ASD community w ill be participating in the campaign, making an effort to get as many signatures as possible from in and around the community.

On Universal Children?s Day, all members of the community w ho sign the petition w ill be given a blue ribbon so they can display their support for the cause and encourage others to do the same. There w ill then be a high school assembly in w hich all organizations at ASD w ho focus on helping children w ill be giving short presentations on the w ork they are doing this year. ASD' s annual teacher auction, w here all funds go to UNICEF, w ill then be announced, and all the participating teachers w ill explain w hy they w anted to be involved this year, and w hy they support the cause. During lunch, directly follow ing the assembly, the auction w ill be held at the Falcon?s Nest w here food and milkshakes w ill also be sold.

Get Invol ved Universal Children?s Day is a great opportunity for the ASD community to not only celebrate the w ork w e?ve done in the past for kids around the w orld, but also to w ork together to see w hat w e can do in the future. It?s a reminder that every child deserves to have their voice heard, regardless of their ethnicity, age, religion, or status in society. We hope you?ll join us in making this event a success and making a difference in the lives of children all over the w orld.

T he Children's Emergency Fund

Un iv er s a l Chil dr en 's Day

T he Global Issues N etwork

WORLDPEACE DAY September 21 signifies a time of reflection and an aw akening to ongoing violence present w ithin our nations, regions, society, homes and relationships.

It can be as hidden as domestic violence, or as inescapable as the bombs in Syria.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as "a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, and invites all nations and people to honour and commemorate the day through education and public aw areness on issues related to peace." World Peace Day is about acknow ledging our actions and the actions of others that may be of harm.

Normally on this day, there is ceasefire to provide relief for people in w ar torn areas.

Peace One Day is an organization that contributes massively to this day by collaborating w ith the UN and NGO relief systems to take action on the ground. On World Peace Day in 2009, Afghanistan?s Government ordered its forces to stand dow n. The Taliban agreed to support Peace One Day' s polio immunization drive by stating that they w ould not harm or block access to the 14,000 health w orkers and volunteers involved in the Peace Day campaign.

The Global Issues Netw ork strives to create aw areness of critical issues around the w orld and World Peace Day w as a great w ay to accomplish this. We w orked w ith other humanitarian organizations established in the high school such as

Room to Read, Educating Girls Globally, Children' s Emergency Fund, and GAIA to display an art exhibition representing the negative implications of violence on access to education, the environment, and overall w ell being. In the first floor hallw ay, students signed doves w ith w ords of hope or a peace sign in their native language.

We w orked together to create eye-catching interactive and informative display boards. An example w as created to encourage the appreciation of all of our privileges. Certain aspects of an ASD student?s life w ere compared to those of a refugee?s such as food quality, access to w ater, education, clothes, and housing. A brief documentary video played on repeat for passers by, and w e further decorated w ith striking 3D art pieces created by our ow n art students here at ASD. Although w e cannot create w orld peace ourselves, the drive of our attitude and contribution adds emphasis to the need for peace and moving forw ard. The premise behind this idea of universal responsibility is the simple fact that every being w ants happiness and does not w ant suffering. If w e adopt a self-centred approach to life w e may gain temporary benefits, but in the long run w e w ill not succeed in achieving personal happiness, and w orld peace w ill be completely out of the question.

Sowhowil l youmakepeacewith?

SEENAH is a service learning organization that began in 2010 w hen parents and students w ith a common goal came together to help local and international communities. SEENAH stands for Sustainable Economics Education Nutrition and Health. SEENAH has successfully completed multiple projects in underprivileged countries all over the w orld, including Uganda, Nepal, and Pakistan.

SEENAH?s most important annual event is the Jumble Sale w here they collect gently used donations, such as clothes, games, technology, and furniture and sell them at exceptionally low prices.

The Jumble Sale has been around for 6 years and is open to everyone. This year, the SEENAH Jumble Sale w ill be on November 20 from 3-6 at Gate 2.

Everyone is encouraged to donate and join in this special event. M ore than 300 people are expected to attend, and

SEENAH earns roughly 25,000 DHS each year. Entertainment and food are also provided for guests to be content and comfortable. Bring your children and friends - w e are sure you w ill have plenty of fun! This year SEENAH has dedicated all profits to SEENAH Cares and Hopes projects. SEENAH Cares are projects or causes promoted by passionate members w ho find pow erful international organizations to give donations to.

SEENAH Hopes are local causes, such as fundraising for labor camp w orkers in Dubai w ho cannot afford necessities.

SEENAH provides 300 or so bags equipped w ith kitchen and bathroom necessities like lentils, oils, soap, shavers, toothbrushes etc. SEENAH Hopes gives opportunities to students to get hands on experience in contributing to their local community.

SEEN AH

SEENAHJumBLESALE

U pdates

b W o rld Lan g u ag es Clu lu t!

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Kid s f o r W ish Kid s

Th is year, K id s fo r W is h Kid s h as m an y n ew g ain ed in s w o rkin g d il p ired m em b ers w h o are ig m em b ers to en tly alo n g w it h fo rm e p year: Kid s fo lan th eir first even t o r f r th P e ie ! Th is is an fo r h ig h sc o p p o rt u n it h o o l stu d e y n ts th eir teach ers in th e fa (yes, YOU) to p ie ce to w it h stan d th e rep e w it h o u t h avin g rcu ssio n s o w o u ld typ ic f w h at ally b e co n b eh avio u r. sid ered u n Kid ru ly is takin g p la s fo r Pie, an an n u al even t, ce o n No ve m b er 1 2 th NHS Lo ck-I at th e n . M ake su re to sto p b y!

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U pdates

UPDATES BOARD