Cameroon RPCV Hans Sowder received a $300 grant to purchase the 28 flags to recognize the diversity at Ypsilanti High School and at the same time greet immigrant students



Sowder said he "fell in love with the outside world and the richness of cultures'' while in the Peace Corps working in Cameroon, in West Africa, from 1989 to 1992. He also taught in Africa for three years. After returning to the States, he worked at Kettering High School in Detroit and in an Indian village in Alaska before coming to Ypsilanti. Sowder said hanging the flags is a way to recognize the diversity at the high school and at the same time greet immigrant students. "I want to welcome them to Ypsilanti High School's global village,'' he said.

Cameroon RPCV Hans Sowder received a $300 grant to purchase the 28 flags to recognize the diversity at Ypsilanti High School and at the same time greet immigrant students

Ypsilanti school's diversity on display
28 flags at high school show native countries of student body
Thursday, August 24, 2006
BY LIZ COBBS
News Staff Reporter

Ahmed Mohamed climbed a ladder in the center of Ypsilanti High School's cafeteria Wednesday and hung the flag of Somalia, light blue with a five-pointed white star in the center, from a steel ceiling beam.

The flag was special to the 18-year-old senior because Somalia is his native country.

When his science teacher, Hans Sowder, asked him to help hang flags of the various countries Ypsilanti High School students have come from, Mohamed said he was more than willing.

"I was 100 percent interested in helping him,'' said Mohamed, who came to the United States with his family in May 2004. "There's more students here from other countries than I thought. I think that's cool.''

Sowder thinks so, too.

"When you see students walking down the hall, there's just every color of the spectrum; from students who were born here to those who come from overseas,'' said Sowder, who's taught for nearly seven years at the high school.

Specific figures on how many Ypsilanti High School students are from different countries wasn't readily available. But Sowder said he surveyed counselors, foreign language teachers, and teachers of English as a second language during the last school year, asking them where their students were from. He wanted to somehow recognize the high school's diversity.

So, Sowder said he applied for, and received, a $300 grant from the Ypsilanti Education Foundation to purchase the 28 flags, including the Stars and Stripes to represent the United States.

The multi-ethnic nature of the high school reflects the corresponding growing diversity of the Washtenaw County area. U.S. Census Bureau estimates, released earlier this month, show that Washtenaw County has become more racially and ethnically diverse. According to 2005 Census estimates, the local Asian, multiracial and Hispanic populations have increased significantly since 2000.

The Census Bureau provides updated statistics between its official census counts for areas with a population of 65,000 or more. Because of that, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township are not included in the most recent data.

Sowder said he "fell in love with the outside world and the richness of cultures'' while in the Peace Corps working in Cameroon, in West Africa, from 1989 to 1992. He also taught in Africa for three years. After returning to the States, he worked at Kettering High School in Detroit and in an Indian village in Alaska before coming to Ypsilanti.

Sowder said hanging the flags is a way to recognize the diversity at the high school and at the same time greet immigrant students.

"I want to welcome them to Ypsilanti High School's global village,'' he said.

Liz Cobbs can be reached at lcobbs@annarbornews.com or

734-994-6810.

When this story was posted in August 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

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Gates charity races to spend billions Warren E. Buffett’s gift of $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation means that for tax reasons, starting in 2009, the foundation must distribute $3 billion annually, or a little more than twice what it distributed last year. PCOL Comment: The Foundation says that "preventing the spread of HIV is the most durable long-term solution to the AIDS epidemic, and a top priority for the foundation." Peace Corps Volunteers and Returned Volunteers have been doing just that in AIDS Education for the past 15 years. Why not consider a $100M annual contribution to the Peace Corps to put 2,500 additional volunteers in the field to expand AIDS education worldwide?

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