Global Playground News

Join Us for Bahay: Home

noreply@blogger.com (Kendall Lorenzen) — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 20:57:00 +0000

In partnership with Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK), on November 11 Global Playground will co-host an art exhibit and cocktail benefit called “Bahay: Home” that will raise funds for the completion of our project in the Philippines.

Global Playground and ARK are working to complete three classrooms at Mangoso Elementary School in the barangay of Mangoso, Sigma, Capiz, Philippines. These classrooms were destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 and it has been the dream of community members to rebuild these classrooms for years. The new classrooms will support a water catchment system that will provide safe water for students and teachers and will serve as an event space the community of Mangoso can rent out to save money for further education for Mangoso’s students.

At “Bahay: Home”, donors will have an opportunity to support this important project and learn how they can support future projects, meet the leadership of Global Playground and ARK, and enjoy the work of Filipino-American and Filipino-Canadian artists. This art reflects on Filipino-American and Filipino-Canadian experiences such as ties to family and the motherland and the desire to give back. Please join us for “Bahay: Home” on November 11 from 6:30-9:30PM at ROGUE Space on the 9th floor of 508 West 26th Street.

Check out our Events Page to learn more about this event and to purchase your tickets. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us for An Evening Under the Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Gemmell-Davis) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 15:30:00 +0000

Global Playground invites you to join us for a round of drinks and appetizers to celebrate our schools across the world from Central America to Southeast Asia. We are especially thrilled to celebrate our new project site in Kenya! Ten years ago, Global Playground began in Uganda, and we are excited to return to East Africa to honor our tenth anniversary. Join us for An Evening Under the Stars to remember ten years of creating cross cultural dialogue around the world.

An Evening Under the Stars will take place September 1, 2016 from 5-8 p.m. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The event is co-sponsored by the William & Mary Washington Center. Come and learn more about our work across the globe, find out how you can get involved, and enjoy an evening of food and drinks from around the world!

Check out our Events Page to learn more about this event and to purchase your tickets. We look forward to seeing you there!

Also, this will be the final news update sent via email. Coinciding with the launch of our new website, Global Playground will begin a monthly newsletter in August. All subscribers to our current news updates email list will be automatically transferred to this new list. In addition to the monthly newsletter, you can stay updated on everything Global Playground is doing here!

Global Playground Launches New Website

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Gemmell-Davis) — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 11:09:00 +0000

Global Playground is excited to announce the launch of its brand new website! Be sure to explore all of our projects, events, and new features. We hope that this new website allows our followers, donors, and future partners to stay connected and updated on everything Global Playground does.

Check it out here!

Also, stay tuned for the launch of our "Virtual Playground" this August. This feature will give teachers and their classrooms around the world the opportunity to interact using a cross-cultural curriculum and a variety of multicultural activities, initiatives, and lessons.

A special thanks to Colour Outside for helping bring the new site to fruition.

Global Playground Announces 2016-17 Teaching Fellows

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Gemmell-Davis) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:19:00 +0000

Global Playground is excited to announce the selection of our 2016-17 Teaching Fellows, Willa Sweeney and Yohance Whitaker. Next year Willa and Yohance will teach English at Global Playground’s project sites in Thailand and Vietnam, respectively.

Willa, a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, is thrilled to bring her talents to the Mae La Noi Daroonsik School in the Mae Hong Son province of Thailand. After studying abroad and conducting research on Hmong women, gender-based violence, and poverty in Sah Pa, Vietnam, Willa developed the belief that there is a distinct difference between being a tourist and being someone who is fully enveloped and invested in a culture. “In Vietnam, I could speak some of the language, I knew where the best places were to grab food, and I made local Vietnamese friends,” said Willa. “I’m excited to return to Thailand as a teacher and volunteer rather than as a tourist.”

Yohance, a recent graduate of the College of William & Mary, will be teaching at Khe Sanh Primary School in Quang Tri province, Vietnam. Yohance sees his fellowship as an opportunity to further Global Playground’s mission of cross-cultural education. He believes “we get closer to a community of love the earlier a child learns to recognize the humanity and perspective of another human being.” He plans to help his students develop the skills to build that community through cross-cultural curriculum.

Willa and Yohance will move to Southeast Asia on August 1st and meet the current Global Playground Teaching Fellows, Amanda Cordray, Scott Gemmell-Davis, and Kendall Lorenzen, for training.

Global Playground Celebrates Tenth Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Kendall Lorenzen) — Thu, 12 May 2016 20:33:00 +0000

On May 12, 2006, Global Playground was born, with the dream of providing educational opportunities and encouraging cross-cultural understanding among children across the globe. Global Playground sought to be an organization that would give children in developing countries access to education and a forum to share their perspectives and learn from other children similar to themselves, an ocean or border away. Global Playground sought to develop the tools for children to pave better futures for themselves and their communities, learn about themselves, and learn about the world around them.

Ten years later, Global Playground now has projects in seven different countries and an eighth in development, spanning Southeast Asia, Central America, and East Africa. Global Playground has coordinated art exchanges, pen pal programs, environmental campaigns, and other activities that encourage students to engage with the rest of the world. Currently, an estimated 2,500 students from Honduras to Myanmar are actively participating in Global Playground programs, and thousands of other children have benefited from Global Playground’s work to date. There is a lot to celebrate, and there are a lot of people with whom to celebrate.

This month, at each of Global Playground’s project sites in Uganda, Cambodia, Thailand, Honduras, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Philippines, the students, teachers, and community members who make up our Global Playground family threw birthday parties to celebrate the 10th ‘birthday’ of Global Playground.

Sir Joebel, of Mangoso, Sigma, Capiz, Philippines, remarked during the Mangoso celebration, “Happy Birthday to Global Playground. Thank you for touching the lives of people around the world. We here at Mangoso Elementary School are very thankful... We are very thankful for the three classrooms that we have now.”

Students at Paw Myar School (Paw Myar Village, Myanmar) enjoy cake!

Kendall Lorenzen, Global Playground’s Global Fellow, reflected, “We have all been privileged to work with such incredible children and communities. As the Global Fellow, I am lucky to see the impact that Global Playground and its partners have had every single day. Education is the greatest tool, the greatest foundation one can have. Thousands of students around the world now can dream, learn, play, and grow into the people they want to be. Through our cross-cultural curriculum they develop an appreciation for their homes and places they once didn’t know existed on a map. This is something special.”

Do you want to join in the celebrations? Share your birthday wishes for Global Playground on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #GPBirthday.

Every Day is Earth Day

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Gemmell-Davis) — Wed, 04 May 2016 12:46:00 +0000

April saw an assortment of activities, lesson, and projects, all focused on saving the planet, throughout the Global Playground community. After a month of bombarding students with environmental jargon, challenging photos, and alarming statistics, we have reached a concluding consensus: environmental education cannot be constrained to one month. In honor of this insight, several of Global Playground’s schools are galvanizing their students to take initiative and spearhead a few sustainable projects.

Take Vietnam for example. This summer, students plan to transform the backyard of one of their private learning centers into a public garden, to be reaped and sowed by each student that comes through the center, from ages 7 to 17. These same students hope to partner with the Asia Foundation and Barefoot Books, with the goal of constructing a local English library that, for every book accumulated, would sponsor the planting of a tree somewhere around the world. Finally, students celebrated Earth week in a colorful and crafty manner. First, dipping their hands in blue and green paint and leaving their mark on a cloth banner, they pledged to live environmentally conscious lives. The banner now hangs victoriously before the aforementioned learning center. Second, they healed the earth (pictured below). Each student, on a Band-Aid, listed one sustainable lifestyle choice they could make, before proudly mounting their commitments upon a sickly Earth.

Thailand has an equally impressive resume of initiatives. At Mae La Noi Daroonsik, students feed and take care of frogs, pigs, and fish as part of their daily duties. They also learn to raise chickens. These animals are either sold locally, with proceeds going directly to the boarding school that hosts ethnic minority students, or become an organic option at the canteen. This process teaches students how to ethically and responsibly raise animals, and students are able to see tangible results from their hard work. There’s also a community vegetable garden (pictured below), maintained exclusively by students, that adds to the dining hall menu. Finally, students can purchase water in recycled and reused bottles, and are expected to return all empty bottles to the store before making their next purchase.

One of Global Playground’s students in Vietnam, a 14-year old named My, mistakenly referred to Earth Day as “The World’s Day” during one of her class presentations. We think she might be on to something. Wouldn’t it be cool if kids across the world could use the global crisis that is Climate Change to grow together; to unify around a singular evil. Instead of letting the woes of the environment exacerbate partisan rifts, Global Playground is pushing its students and teachers to use Climate Change as a medium for productive cross-cultural dialogue; not just on Earth Day, but every day.

Global Playground Announces Construction of Library at a Girls' School in Kenya

noreply@blogger.com (Cathy Ji) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 10:30:00 +0000

With its tenth anniversary quickly approaching, Global Playground is proud to announce its eighth project—a library and media center for Siana Girls' Secondary Boarding School in Kenya.

Siana Girls' Secondary Boarding School is currently under construction in the Siana ward of Narok County, Kenya, near the town of Megwarra. An estimated 480 girls are expected to attend Siana Girls' Secondary School each year, 40% of whom are expected to require aid. Most of the girls who will enroll come from Maasai families who are deeply rooted in the pastoral tradition. Until the early 2000s, a majority of Maasai children were not enrolled in primary, let alone secondary educational institutions. In the past ten years the Kenyan government and the Maasai people have made great strides in increasing enrollment figures in the region, but both have faced challenges in finding the resources to make education accessible in rural parts of Kenya, like the Siana ward. Global Playground will help overcome these challenges.

Classroom at Siana Primary Boarding School.

Global Playground will work with MAO Kenya, its partner in the region, to construct the library and media center. Camilla Buchanan, member of the Board of Directors of MAO Kenya, shares, “Having a secondary school for young Maasai women living in the Siana sub-location has long been a dream that MAO Kenya has shared with the parents and teachers of the Siana Boarding Primary School in Megwarra. Now the quality of education available to these young scholars will be measurably advanced by the addition of the planned library/media center.”

After the project was approved during last week's Board of Directors meeting, Board Chair Doug Bunch noted, “Global Playground is thrilled to return to East Africa – the site of its first project – as we celebrate ten years as an organization. We welcome the students of Siana Girls' Secondary School to the Global Playground family.”

Learn more on the Global Playground Kenya project page.

Global Playground Checks In On Its Schools Across Southeast Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Cathy Ji) — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 17:42:00 +0000

Global Playground board members Doug Bunch and Jason Maga; teaching fellows Amanda Cordray, Scott Gemmell-Davis, and Kendall Lorenzen; and volunteer Cathy Ji brought in the new year with visits to many of GP’s affiliated schools throughout Southeast Asia. In just two and a half short weeks, the group visited the newly finished school in Paw Myar, Myanmar; Mae La Noi Daroonsik in Thailand; Khe Sanh Primary School and Pa Nho School in Khe Sanh, Vietnam; and Mangoso Elementary School in Sigma, Capiz, Philippines. “The whole trip was a complete whirlwind and definitely tiring, but it was such an incredible experience to see firsthand the impact that Global Playground has made in so many communities” says Teaching Fellow Amanda after reflecting on the trip.

Global Playground members and Paw Myar villagers celebrating its newest school in Myanmar

The visit to Paw Myar, Myanmar left the group feeling motivated after being welcomed by a small, but enthusiastic community who expressed their deep appreciation for assistance in constructing the community’s first school. Every member of the community came out to greet GP’s members and volunteers, who all later took part in a town hall style meeting to identify the school’s needs.

The group spent a full day in the classroom while visiting Mae La Noi Daroonsik in Thailand. The students were eager to show off their English skills in a variety of classroom games and hands-on activities.

In Vietnam, Teaching Fellow Scott and Global Fellow Kendall were given thorough tours of their new schools in the town of Khe Sanh. Students at Khe Sanh Primary School were so excited about their arrival that within minutes of stepping onto the school’s campus, both Scott and Kendall were being asked for their autographs.

The group had the special opportunity to tour the new school building that has just started construction at Mangoso Elementary School in the Philippines after the community was badly affected by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. On this school visit, volunteers and board members also spent one-on-one time with the students “dreaming” about what they wanted to be when they grew up and designing part of the new school building.

Be sure to check out the Flickr and Facebook page for more highlights from each school visit!

Thailand Fellow and Global Fellow Depart US

noreply@blogger.com (Alison Cohen) — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 02:02:00 +0000

Yesterday, Global Playground’s Thailand Fellow, Amanda Cordray, and Global Fellow, Kendall Lorenzen, departed for Thailand! They will both begin their journeys at the Mae La Noi Daroonsik School in the Mae Hong Son Province of Thailand. Amanda will spend the year teaching at this site. Kendall will continue her journey to Global Playground’s other projects in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Honduras and Uganda.

“I am so incredibly pumped! I’ve spent the past few months preparing for this day and now I can’t wait to get on the ground and meet everyone in Mae La Noi,” said Amanda. She continued, “While I can’t help being a little anxious about traveling to a new place, I’m excited to continue Global Playground’s efforts at the Daroonsik School and I can’t wait to find new ways to connect students around the world.”

Vietnam Fellow Scott Gemmell-Davis will begin teaching at Global Playground’s new school in the Huong Hoa district of the Quang Tri province in January. Scott remarked, “I am excited to spend a year serving with everything I have, under the assurance that in facilitating cross cultural dialogues, I truly am making a positive impact, however small that might be. As the first Vietnam fellow, I am also looking forward to learning on the fly, facing unprecedented obstacles, and laying groundwork for future fellows.”

Cordray (left) and Lorenzen on their flight to Thailand

Global Playground Announces a New Teaching Fellow for Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Alison Cohen) — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 22:49:00 +0000

Global Playground is thrilled to announce the selection of a new teaching fellow for Vietnam!

Global Playground's newest teaching fellow: Scott Gemmell-Davis

Scott Gemmell-Davis will serve as a fellow at the Pa Nho school in the Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province of Vietnam in January 2016. Scott is a rising senior at the College of William & Mary, and he is planning to take a gap year in order to take on this fellowship. Scott will serve as Global Playground’s first fellow in Vietnam.

Global Playground worked with the Global Community Service Foundation to build the Pa Nho school. Construction on the school was completed in September 2012.

Read more about the Global Playground’s project in Vietnam here.

Good luck Scott!

Global Playground Announces Opening of School in Myanmar

noreply@blogger.com (Alison Cohen) — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:13:00 +0000

Global Playground is thrilled to announce the opening of our newest school! It is located in the village of Paw Myar in Nyaungshwe Township, Taunggyi District, Shan State, Myanmar. Twenty-six children will attend the school today, and in the future the school will accommodate forty students.

"Global Playground is thrilled for the children of Paw Myar," said Doug Bunch, Global Playground's Chairman. "Today they attended classes in the first permanent school ever to be built in the village. Mere months ago, they were going to school in a bamboo hut. We're proud to have been part of making their dream a reality." Global Playground partnered with the Global Community Service Foundation to build this project.

Public funding for education in Myanmar has decreased since its independence. A 2001 UNESCO study found that Myanmar spent just 1.3% of its GDP on education, ranking 164th out of 168 countries in the study. While Myanmar mandates five years of compulsory primary school for children ages 5-9, the country's enrollment rate at the primary level is around 85%. Only 75% of students who begin grade 1 will complete the last level of primary school, grade 5.

We’d like to think all of our supporters in this incredible endeavor. Stay updated on the progress of the school by signing up for our mailing list, liking us on Facebook, or following us on Twitter.

Global Playground Announces New Teaching Fellows

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Ambrose) — Wed, 06 May 2015 17:38:00 +0000

Global Playground could not be happier to announce the selection of its two newest Teaching Fellows! Both graduate from the College of William & Mary this year, and will be invaluable assets to the Global Playground team.

Amanda Cordray, William & Mary '15 has been selected to serve as Global Playground's 2015-16 Thailand Fellow. Amanda will live and teach at a high school in Mae La Noi, Thailand, in the Northern province of Mae Hong Son, and will also volunteer at a school in nearby Huay Puung Mai, Thailand. Her responsibilities will include teaching English, building Global Playground's relationship with the school community, and connecting students at the school with children at Global Playground's other project sites around the world.

Kendall Lorenzen, William & Mary '15 has been selected to serve as Global Playground's 2015-17 Global Fellow. For two years, Kendall will travel to and live at Global Playground's project sites around the world, in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, the Philippines, Honduras, and Uganda. Kendall will connect children at Global Playground's project sites with each other and facilitate cross-cultural dialogue among them. She will also assist with Global Playground's fundraising, marketing, and recruiting efforts; assist with donor outreach; research potential new projects; further develop Global Playground's relationships with its partner organizations; further develop the Teaching Fellows program; further develop Global Playground's vision and mission; and report regularly to Global Playground's Board about her work.

Global Playground congratulates its new Fellows!

Paw Myar Village Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Ambrose) — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 18:06:00 +0000

Global Playground is excited to share new photos of our school in the village of Paw Myar, Myanmar! As you can see below, the village has made significant progress on the foundations and walls of the building. Check back soon for more updates on this project, and see our website for more information on the village of Paw Myar. We can't wait to get these kids into the classroom and realizing their full potential!

Global Playground Announces New Project in the Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Doug Bunch) — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:12:00 +0000

Global Playground is proud to announce that it will build three new classrooms for students at Mangoso Elementary School in Mangoso, Sigma, Capiz, Philippines.

Mangoso Elementary School currently serves a population of 378 students and 15 teachers. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan damaged all of the classrooms at the school, six of which were completely destroyed. Global Playground will rebuild three of these classrooms for students in third and fourth grades. Additionally, a water catchment will be affixed to the roof of the new classrooms to capture fresh drinking water for the community.

“Global Playground is excited to invest in Mangoso Elementary School and in the future of its students,” said Doug Bunch, Chairman of Global Playground. “These new classrooms respond to an urgent need at the school.”

The village of Mangoso is known for its expansive farming plains and rice crops. There are 2,125 residents, most of whom are rice farmers, earning $2-3 per day for their efforts. On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan occupied Capiz for over five hours, devastating the province, destroying homes, buildings, and schools, and affecting hundreds of thousands of residents of the province, including those in the village of Mangoso.

Global Playground will partner with Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK) to build the new classrooms. ARK works in rural communities in the Philippines to feed kids, get them back to school, and create new income for their families. Among other projects, ARK has piloted a school feeding program to address malnutrition in rural communities.

Visit Global Playground’s website to make a contribution or learn more about its work.

Global Playground Announces New School in Myanmar

noreply@blogger.com (Doug Bunch) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Global Playground today announced that it will fund the construction of a primary school in the village of Paw Myar in Nyaungshwe Township, Taunggyi District, Shan State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). The school will immediately serve 26 children at ages ranging from preschool to fourth grade, but can accommodate up to 40 children. Currently children in Paw Myar attend school in a bamboo hut. The new school, which will cost $21,300 to build, will include a well, two outbuildings, and a solar energy system. It will be built this coming spring and will be ready for the new school year which begins in June 2015. Global Playground will work with Global Community Service Foundation, its partner in Vietnam, to build the school.

“Global Playground is thrilled to bring a new school to the children of Paw Myar,” said Doug Bunch, Chairman of Global Playground. “Burma now joins Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam on Global Playground’s list of project sites. For less than the cost of a new car in the United States, we will increase educational opportunities for kids in Burma and connect them to their peers across the world.”

Global Playground has also just announced its new Global Fellowship, which will supply two years of funding for a recent college graduate to teach and work with the communities at Global Playground’s project sites worldwide, including the new site in Myanmar.

To make a contribution to Global Playground, visit its website.

Global Playground Inaugurates Khe Sanh Primary School

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 15:40:00 +0000

Global Playground inaugurated its fifth project, Pa Nho Primary School near Khe Sanh in Central Vietnam on August 7. Several Global Playground Board members and volunteers were onsite to celebrate the inauguration. Global Playground worked with the Global Community Service Foundation to construct the school.

“It is exhilarating to know that here, in a place still littered with Agent Orange and landmines, we have given some of the poorest children in Vietnam an opportunity to learn, and connected them with their peers across the globe,” said Doug Bunch, Chairman of Global Playground.

Global Playground’s new primary school in Khe Sanh will serve over 125 students in the town and surrounding villages when classes begin in September. The building hosts four classrooms, a toilet, and 72 desks and chairs.

“The students, families and teachers very much appreciate Global Playground’s funding of the new primary school building. The teachers are committed to further the education of these children, and live up to the promise of the new school,” the school principal said.

Although Vietnam as a whole boasts literacy rates above 90%, the ethnic minorities in more isolated mountain areas suffer from widespread illiteracy.

The lack of access to schools and quality education tempt many parents to keep their children at home to help provide income. These circumstances exacerbate the achievement gap and poverty rates, with many families living on just $15 a month.

Despite these challenges, the community’s commitment to education is undeterred. Although Global Playground and its generous supporters provided over $45,000 to build the school, the local community contributed land and materials to the project.

“The local community’s commitment to the school underscores the value they place on education and the hope they have for the future of their children,” said Edward Branagan, Global Playground’s Executive Director.

Khe Sanh is still recovering from the devastation and destruction that occurred there during the Vietnam War. The town was the site of an American base and a major, well-known battle. Unexploded landmines continue to put many villagers and children at risk. Annual floods in the town have also contributed to the destruction of homes and the closure of a prior school building. Global Playground recognized and responded to these challenges by building the primary school on higher ground that had been cleared of landmines.

Global Playground hopes that the new primary school will provide educational opportunities that will reverse the local cycle of poverty, provide safe places to learn and play, and add to Global Playground’s worldwide network of schools where onsite Teaching Fellows will continue to facilitate global cross-cultural dialogue.

This article was written by Pat Austria, Director of Communications.

Global Playground Appoints New Board of Directors

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:27:00 +0000

The newly elected Global Playground Board of Directors met on July 13. Joseph Jay, Ryann Tanap, Jason Maga, and Emmy Levens, join returning Chairman Doug Bunch and Vice Chairman and Executive Director Edward Branagan to serve on the Board for the upcoming year.

This Board, elected in June, brings together a variety of backgrounds inside and outside of Global Playground. Joseph Jay attended the College of William and Mary as an undergraduate and a law student. He currently works as a lawyer for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in Washington D.C.

“I knew about GP from the time it was founded and have followed it through its first seven years,” Jay said. “I want to continue supporting the founders’ vision for education in remote areas around the world.”

Jason Maga works for Amtrak handling contract negotiations and operational improvement issues with the companies who own the tracks. Maga has supported GP for a number of years, and met his wife at a GP fundraiser in Washington D.C. Maga hopes his past nonprofit board experience will assist him in this role.

“I was previously on the board of another organization that has since grown to over $10 million in annual revenue and provides life-changing services to over half a million impoverished people in Africa,” Maga said. “My contribution was only a tiny part of the growth, but I hope to bring to GP a bit of what I learned there and use that to help GP develop and implement its own growth plan.”

Maga resonates with Global Playground’s ability to tie two distinctive goals into one organization.

“Global Playground offers a unique opportunity to, at the same time, support basic education and a broader cultural awareness by focusing on the synergy between these two objectives,” Maga said.

Current Thailand Teaching Fellow Ryann Tanap will return to the United States at the end of July and serve on the Board for the upcoming year. She brings a hands-on volunteer perspective to the group after finishing her year of teaching.

“I have more of an understanding of what fellows may face on a daily basis,” Tanap said. “I want to provide support for incoming teaching fellows, as they are the only full-time volunteers of Global Playground.”

Tanap believes her new role on the Board connects with her every day goal to teach her students English through a cross-cultural lens.

“At the end of the day, it’s really all about the kids,” Tanap said. “I believe that GP’s work, especially with the fellows, allows for a unique learning experience. GP has been able to promote cross-cultural dialogue, and I really want to help facilitate these interactions.”

Smith Selected as Thailand Teaching Fellow

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:46:00 +0000

Maddy Smith, a 2013 graduate of the College of William & Mary, will serve as Global Playground’s Thailand Teaching Fellow beginning in August.

“I feel like now is the time in my life to give back as much as I can. I saw it as a great opportunity to give back to the organization that I have followed for so many years in a tangible way,” Smith said.

Smith first learned about the organization as a freshman in her Leadership and Community Engagement class.

“Doug [Bunch, Chairman of Global Playground] came to lecture in my class when I was a freshman. It was one of the first exposures that I had to meet the founder of an organization like that, and I was just captivated by him and the organization,” Smith said. “I have stayed in touch with him over the past few years and attended fundraisers.”

Smith, an International Relations major, believes her experience tutoring kids during her time as an undergrad and her past summer working as a program director for a summer camp will assist her in this new position.

“I spent the past summer working with Christ church summer camps. Halfway through the summer I was promoted to be program director for the counselor in training program, designing and implementing curriculum,” Smith said. “In order to gain respect from the students you have to give them respect.”

Through this experience, Smith developed a philosophy to her teaching style that she hopes to use in her Thai classroom.

“I saw myself not so much as an authoritative figure, as much as a learning tandem relationship,” Smith said. “When I was able to convey that to them it worked so much better.”

For Smith, Global Playground’s small, supportive network stood out to her during her job search.

“Through the whole process, it just became really clear to me that this was the place I wanted to be,” Smith said. “I just realized that this is a group of people that I want to be associated with.”

Smith believes the cross-cultural exchange element of the organization sets Global Playground apart from other teaching abroad opportunities.

“For me, the big difference between the average teaching English abroad and Global Playground is the fact that this is a cross-cultural exchange. I think that is something that is incredibly valuable,” Smith said.

Smith will go to Bangkok in early August to take a three-week intensive Thai immersion course. After that, she will go to Mae La Noi to join current Thailand Teaching Fellow Ryann Tanap in the village where she will be teaching and living for the upcoming year.

“The way the program is set up, we overlap by two or three weeks, so I will be able to observe her in the classroom so that by the time I step into the classroom I will have a solid grasp on what I’m doing,” Smith said.

She will also participate in a training weekend here in the U.S. before leaving for Thailand with the new Honduras Teaching Fellow Alex Clark-Youngblood. Smith is looking forward to the upcoming opportunity.

“This is the time in my life when I want to be putting myself out of my comfort zone so I can learn more about my life and my abilities, but also give back to different cultures at the same time,” Smith said.

From New Jersey to Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:24:00 +0000

When Global Playground Board Member Becca Rollo read “The Lion and the Son-in-Law” – crafted by Teaching Fellow Ryann Tanap’s students in Mae La Noi, Thailand, to her fifth grade class in Freehold Township, New Jersey, her students noticed how similar it was to the American fable “The Lion and the Mouse.”

Rollo shared the fables crafted by Tanap’s students as a lesson in cross-cultural dialogue lesson, discussing the Thai fables in comparison to American fables.

Students in Rollo's fifth grade class read both fables.

“We discussed the oral tradition of storytelling and how that is key to how both folktales and fables exist in the world today. I also told them that, fascinatingly enough, there are similar fables and folktales that occur throughout the world,” Rollo said. “I explained that today I would be sharing with them a Thai student’s rendition of a fable with similar characters. There was a definite twist in the Thai version.”

Rollo was able to access Tanap’s fables virtually and share them with her class.

“The kids were floored by the artwork. They also quickly wanted to jump in and correct the grammatical mistakes. This opened the door for a very meaningful conversation about what it is like to do something like this in another language,” Rollo said.

Rollo’s students are currently learning Spanish, but they are not at the level where they can read or write in Spanish independently.

“Students see things from their own points of view, and it takes coaxing for them to see something from a different point of view. If they were the ones assigned this task, they would have been overwhelmed by the difficulty and here they were instantly quick to criticize,” Rollo said. “The broadening of their understanding and the development of that humility when entering into cross-cultural dialogue like this takes time to foster and is well worth the time it takes to develop.”

Tanap taught the fable lesson to her twelfth grade English 204: English for Speaking and Listening course at Mae La Noi Daroonsik School. She taught her students the different parts of a fable, explained vocabulary in the fables before reading them aloud, read them aloud to the class and then asked comprehension questions afterwards.

After her students understood the structure of a fable and listened to the American version, they were able to select their own fables from Thai, hill tribe or religious origins to turn them into storybooks.

“Because Global Playground is dedicated to cross-cultural dialogue, I knew that a fable assignment that incorporated the student’s knowledge of storytelling would really be something worth exploring,” Tanap said. “I loved having the students practice reading the fables aloud as well as coming up with the content for their fables.”

Rollo hopes to continue to communicate with Tanap’s students in Thailand. Thai students are on summer break from mid-March to mid-May, but Rollo plans to send a response to Tanap’s students in May when they are back in session.

“We will be working to record something to send to her in the meantime to further this literacy connection,” Rollo said. “We will spend the coming months using stockpiled videos on [Global Playground’s] YouTube channel to foster other cross-cultural dialogue projects that wouldn’t occur in real-time, but would allow us to prepare responses to send by the time students are back in school in Thailand in mid-May.”

Taylor Nelson receives Monroe Prize for Civic Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:13:00 +0000

Global Playground’s former Intern Taylor Nelson received the College of William & Mary’s 2013 James Monroe Prize for Civic Leadership. Nelson was honored during the College’s Charter Day ceremonies on Feb. 8.

The award is granted to a student “who has demonstrated sustained leadership of an unusual quality, leadership combined with initiative, character, and an unfailing commitment to leverage the assets of the College community to address the needs of our society.”

Nelson will graduate from the College in May with a major in Sociology and a minor in Community Studies. She interned with Global Playground the summer after her sophomore year.

“It was wonderful to work with Global Playground and to have the opportunity to see such a different light on so many different things, such as cross-cultural communication,” Nelson said. “It was great to work with a staff that is so passionate about what they do and that is really driving change around the world.”

Nelson worked with members of the organization during her internship to begin the Moment of the Week initiative on the Global Playground website. Moment of the Week highlights a picture, video or moment from the lives of the teaching fellows at one of the five Global Playground schools. (correct me if this descrip is wrong)

“Working with Global Playground showed me the capacity I had to produce the things that they needed,” Nelson said. “It was incredible to see how my work paid off and was benefiting the organization itself.”

Nelson has had an extensive career in service during her four years at the College. She currently serves on the Branch Out campus executive board, working to plan alternative break trips and train trip leaders. She entered as a Sharpe community scholar, studying social justice issues in her freshman seminar. She worked for the Lackey Free Clinic in Yorktown, Virginia, and she created her own community-based research project on the effects of cooking-based nutritional education on reducing childhood obesity.

After spending a summer working with Global Playground, Nelson traveled to Ireland to continue her international social engagement experience working with Ashoka. There, she worked to coordinate the Change Nation summit during the summer after her junior year. These experiences have contributed to Nelson’s continued service to her community in Williamsburg and abroad.

“Winning the award was such a humbling experience,” Nelson said. “I don’t think I could have gotten to that point without organizations like Global Playground supporting me and giving me the opportunity to do the things that I have done.”

Read more about Taylor’s award here on William & Mary News.

Global Playground Announces Teaching Fellowships

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 19:09:00 +0000

Applications to work as a Teaching Fellow at Global Playground projects in Thailand, Cambodia and Uganda are now available. Global Playground currently sponsors four annual Teaching Fellowships, in Honduras, Thailand, Cambodia and Uganda.

Teaching Fellows serve as ambassadors to the host country and to the local partnering organization at the project site in the country. Fellows spend one year at the project sites, teaching English and working in Global Playground’s schools, library and technology center. Teaching Fellows create and implement a curriculum promoting cross-cultural understanding. They also work to connect their project site with other Global Playground sites and schools in the United States to foster cross-cultural dialogue.

The Thailand Teaching Fellow works in Mae La Noi, Mae Hong Son Province teaching secondary school grades 6 through 12. The Cambodia Teaching Fellow will work in Koh Kel, Kandal Province teaching secondary school grades 7 through 9. The Uganda Teaching Fellow will work in Buwasa teaching primary school grades 1 through 7.

Alex Youngblood, a teacher in Arizona, will begin his Teaching Fellowship in Honduras in May. Ryann Tanap is currently working in Thailand and will complete her fellowship in July. She is the third Teaching Fellow to be placed in Thailand. Candidates selected for Cambodia and Uganda will be the first Teaching Fellows in those positions.

“Global Playground’s Thailand Teaching Fellowship has allowed me to put what I’ve learned academically and in past service experience into action. I love working with the Mae La Noi Daroonsik community. They invited me into their community by sharing their cultures and traditions,” Tanap said. “Although I cannot change the circumstances that my students face, I can inspire them to also be agents of change in their lives by teaching, and also learning, with them.”

To apply to work as a Teaching Fellow, click here.

Global Playground Representatives Visit Uganda School

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 21:06:00 +0000

Global Playground Chairman Doug Bunch and Executive Director Edward Branagan traveled to Uganda on January 2 to visit Global Playground’s first project, a primary school in Wakiso District.

Global Playground funded the construction of the school in partnership with Building Tomorrow who oversaw the project. Both Mr. Branagan and Mr. Bunch spent time with the students, teachers, and their families while visiting the school.

“We have worked so hard to get to this point, and it marks an important moment for Global Playground that we can actually see all of our efforts materialize,” Bunch said.

“As hard as it is for us to make time to do everything that we do, the benefit that we giveto these communities is larger than we can ever imagine. These kids would not be inschool if Global

Playground had not acted.” Branagan also added, “With about five years of hindsight, one can see and even feel that the modest funds donated for this schoolbuilding project have changed lives both in tangible and intangible ways that may not be reflected in a single success metric such as student enrollment numbers.”

Before Global Playground’s school was built, many students did not attend school because it was too far for them to travel to do so. The new school serves more than six villages. Classes range from 25 to 30 students each with a total enrollment of about 190 students and nine teachers.

“Global Playground can help build four walls for education, but at the end of the day, the learning that occurs within the walls is the result of the teachers, students, parents and local NGO Building Tomorrow,” Branagan said. “It is really inspiring to see how much education is valued by all stakeholders involved, a true testament to the grassroots community engagement model that is being employed by our partners on the ground.”

The government provides teachers and sets the curriculum, but Global Playground hopes to place a Teaching Fellow at the school in the future.

“There is always room for improvement, but, overall, I think there will be ample opportunity for a new Fellow to work alongside a very able and committed community,” Branagan said.

In addition, Global Playground received a grant from the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association (CFEBA) to install solar panels in the school. Bunch and Branagan saw the grant put into good use at the school during their visit.

“The solar panels are working and in use. The power is a huge benefit to the school,” Bunch said.

The panels not only provide power to the building, but they have also become a small source of income to further support the school itself.

“The solar panels are also being used to charge cell phones of community members. The modest funds generated from this are reinvested in the school,” Branagan said.

With a power source and a working school in place, Bunch and Branagan hope that Internet and computers can one day come to the school as well.

William & Mary Professor Hosts Global Playground Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:51:00 +0000

College of William & Mary Professor George Greenia hosted a fundraiser for Global Playground on Nov. 17. A variety of members of the William & Mary community including professors, administrators, law students and undergraduates were in attendance.

“The event was clearly a success – not just in financial terms. It’s always great to see such a cross-section of the College community come together to support Global Playground,” Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors Doug Bunch said. “William and Mary engenders an obligation to give back to others who are less fortunate. Everyone’s presence there on Thursday confirmed that sense of obligation, and it was inspiring and refreshing to see.”

Global Playground has maintained close ties with the College of William & Mary since its inception. Both founders Bunch and Edward Branagan are alumni of the College, and the community has demonstrated overwhelming support during the organization’s growth. This event only reaffirmed the expanding supportive community of Global Playground in Williamsburg.

“This year’s house party was excellent… reaffirming the solidarity of a widening circle of local supporters. That sort of faithful cultivation of donors and believers is the lifeblood of any organization that hopes to outlast its founders,” Greenia said.

In addition to events like this one, organizations including Greek and service fraternities as well as the on-campus Office of Community Engagement have previously contributed to Global Playground through various fundraisers or activities. According to Greenia, this continued connection between the College and Global Playground has grown into more than just a connection with the alma mater of the founders.

“Our Tribe achieves a global reach through Global Playground and the more we expose the campus community to its successes, the more we can take pride in our shared stewardship. From President Reveley, through the faculty and staff and deep into the student body, this project merges us with the community of all humankind,” Greenia said.

Senior Maddy Smith attended November’s fundraiser as a gesture of her continued support for the organization. She first learned about Global Playground during her freshman seminar course entitled “Paths in Civic Engagement” when Bunch came to speak to her class about Global Playground.

“I was immediately captivated by the idea of cross-cultural understanding in schools around the world. His talk struck a chord with me because he was so passionate about his work that I wanted to be a part of the organization and its progress,” Smith said. “I commend the organization for taking on such an ambitious project.”

For Smith, the presence of undergraduates at the fundraiser is a part of the reason she supports Global Playground and its methods so wholeheartedly.

“I think that Global Playground has done a beautiful job of reaching out to undergraduates at William & Mary to encourage their support and brainstorm ways for students to become a part of the organization,” Smith said. “I admire the fact that Global Playground values the opinions of the students and takes into consideration their thoughts, comments and concerns and incorporates those ideas into the way they work.”

College and Williamsburg community members gathered together for a cocktail party hosted by Greenia in honor of Global Playground’s continued efforts to foster cross-cultural learning and understanding through educational infrastructure and resources. In total, the fundraiser nearly $1,000 for the organization.

“It’s not just cocktails and food: it’s a common table and a common cause, a commitment to each other – and more importantly to the children of the world that Global Playground serves,” Greenia said.

New Honduras Teaching Fellow Chosen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:58:00 +0000

When Alex Clark-Youngblood wakes up in the morning to get ready for work, he knows what to expect. He goes through the motions, hops in his car, and drives off to meet his fifth grade class of emotionally disabled students for another full day of teaching in Phoenix, Arizona.

After a phone call a few weeks ago, the stability of his Phoenix lifestyle will only remain a reality for a few more months. Youngblood has been selected as the new Global Playground Honduras Teaching Fellow, and he will be joining the team in Honduras in May.

“I had already committed to come back and teach in Phoenix for a third year, but, to be honest, I was considering packing up my things and going straight down to Honduras,” Youngblood said. “Fortunately we worked out an arrangement where I don’t have to abandon ship here.”

Youngblood will spend the next few months connecting his fifth-grade Phoenix classroom with Thailand Teaching Fellow Ryann Tanap’s classroom to engage both in a cross-cultural dialogue. He will also make a few preliminary visits before moving to Honduras in May to complete the teaching fellowship.

“I think there i so much room for growth in Honduras and in El Progreso specifically – on top of that the opportunity to pick up where Adam left off with Students Helping Honduras and to work with an organization like OYE that I am familiar with and that has already been successful,” Youngblood said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Youngblood worked with the Organization for Youth Empowerment, or OYE, in El Progreso during the summer of 2011. He helped fundraise for their annual summer soccer tournament during the year, and then worked in Honduras during the summer to hold the event.

Global Playground’s prior Teaching Fellow, Adam Levin, while working in Honduras, had begun to work with OYE as well. When Youngblood found out about the program, he applied.

“It just seems like the perfect opportunity, and I couldn’t be happier that we found a way to make it work.”

Youngblood currently works with a group of emotionally disabled students on a day-to-day basis currently. His students come from various backgrounds and they all have different disabilities, but Youngblood finds himself reinvigorated by his work every day.

“It can be hard working with students that have severe education issues to maintain the motivation and patience, but I really do feel like I wake up every morning feeling ready to continue the fight that we are fighting here.”

Youngblood plans to bring this same energy with him to Honduras.

“Every day is a struggle so you just have to take pride and satisfaction in the small victories, because the good days can be few and far between sometimes.”

Vietnam School Construction Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:29:00 +0000

In one short year, construction of the school in the Pa Nho village in Vietnam has been completed. The project, funded by both Global Playground in partnership with the Global Community Service Organization, will serve 150-200 students from ages 5 to 14 years old.

“The school building project in Khe Sanh offers Global Playground a unique opportunity to connect ethnic minority groups living in Vietnam with other children in the world through education,” Global Playground Executive Director Edward Branagan said.

95 percent of the students who will attend the school come from families that are members of ethnic hill tribes. Out of those students, 90 percent are living below the official Vietnam poverty line of $15 dollars a month.

The new school brings the possibility of a stable and uninterrupted school year for the students by providing an infrastructure that won’t close when the heavy rain season comes. The previous facility was built on a flood plain creating an unstable academic year for the community.

“Yearly rains rendered the school unstable for up to 2 months at a time, thus effectively shutting down the facility and forcing students to stay at home,” GCSO Southeast Asia Regional Director Max Talcott said.

The opportunity to attend primary school now will allow students to pursue higher education later. The facility can also serve as a storm shelter when needed for the community.

“All these kids really want is a place to play, a place to interact, a place to go to school,” Global Playground Chairman Doug Bunch said. “The opportunity to give these kids the infrastructure to do that and to put them in touch with the rest of the world is one we take very seriously.”

The Pa Nho village is located just outside of the Khe Sanh town, a former large Marine Corps base that was the location of many fierce battles during the Vietnam War. The area is still not completely free of land mines and bears emotional scars from the war.

“Building a U.S.-financed school in that area is a symbolic measure of how the positive relations between Vietnam and the United States have come since the war,” Talcott said.

The local government has been involved throughout the planning and construction of the project, and they have agreed to take over operational expenses now that construction is complete. The school was built in cooperation with the Quang Tri People’s Committee, the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs, the Huong Ha District’s Department of Education and Training, and the Huong Ha District People’s Committee.

A ceremony to dedicate the school and celebrate the completion of construction will be held in the near future. Students have already begun attending classes.