For 10 Albanian students, traveling to California would be the trip of their young lifetimes. That's especially true because many people in their Albanian hometown of Gramsh barely visit other parts of their own country, much less fly all the way to the United States That's the picture that emerges when Grand Island Senior High graduate Kayla Street describes her efforts to bring 10 Albanian students to a Model United Nations conference in Berkeley, Calif. Because it would be such a dream for those students, Street and a fellow Peace Corps volunteer are doing their best to raise thousands of dollars to get the plane fare to bring the students to the U.S. As Peace Corps volunteers, Street and another Peace Corps member are not allowed to directly fundraise under the Peace Corps name. They are allowed, however, to act as a linkage for the host agency they are supporting and working with. The host agency is the Gramsh Culture Center. Street and the other Peace Corps volunteer are acting as supporters of their efforts for the project. The project is being run and organized by the 10 high school students and their Albanian coordinator.
Peace Corps Volunteer Kayla Street working to bring Albanian students to U.S.
Street working to bring Albanian students to U.S.
---- Correction/clarification ---
This story in The Independent gave the mistaken impression that Kayla Street was using her position as a Peace Corps volunteer to raise money to bring a team of high school students to Berkeley, Calif., where they can participate in a Model United Nations Conference.
As Peace Corps volunteers, Street and another Peace Corps member are not allowed to directly fundraise under the Peace Corps name. They are allowed, however, to act as a linkage for the host agency they are supporting and working with. The host agency is the Gramsh Culture Center. Street and the other Peace Corps volunteer are acting as supporters of their efforts for the project.
The project is being run and organized by the 10 high school students and their Albanian coordinator.
By Harold Reutter
harold.reutter@theindependent.com
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For 10 Albanian students, traveling to California would be the trip of their young lifetimes.
That's especially true because many people in their Albanian hometown of Gramsh barely visit other parts of their own country, much less fly all the way to the United States
That's the picture that emerges when Grand Island Senior High graduate Kayla Street describes her efforts to bring 10 Albanian students to a Model United Nations conference in Berkeley, Calif.
Because it would be such a dream for those students, Street and a fellow Peace Corps volunteer are doing their best to raise thousands of dollars to get the plane fare to bring the students to the U.S.
Street, who has been working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania since June 2006, said the town of Gramsh has a beautiful setting.
"Gramsh is in a valley," said Street, who noted the town is in rolling hill country with a river that winds through the valley.
The city, which is next to a mountain, lies near the end of the valley, which has one major road leading out of Gramsh. Getting to the next large community of Elbasan is a 90-minute trip by bus.
Street said there are Gramsh residents many of whom do not own cars who have never visited any other part of Albania. Because her own work in the Peace Corps takes her to different parts of the country, many people will ask her what a certain Albanian city or region is like whenever she returns to Gramsh.
Street said the country of Albania has had Model United Nations conferences before, but the competition was largely limited to students living in the capital city of Tirana.
Therefore, it was a major accomplishment when the students from Gramsh ended up winning their the country's championship, held in Tirana, Street said.
The Gramsh students were not at a complete disadvantage, because a number of them had participated in high school debate.
But the Model United Nations requires more of students than being good debaters. Gramsh students had to assume the role of China in the U.N. Security Council on two contentious debates.
One was over the issue of nuclear non-proliferation in North Korea and Iran. The second Security Council debate focused on the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
To prepare for the Model United Nations conference, students spent three or four days a week studying three or four hours at a time, Street said. Students learned not only about the disputes in question, but also about China.
