With school in full swing, Yuda Bands is ramping up for a record year of sponsorship! New and repeat schools are jumping on the bandwagon to make a real difference for a student in need. What a blessing it is for me to see how this successful service project is growing and helping so many people. Other than Yuda Bands, I don’t know of ANY internationally organized service project that connects those performing service, with the individual(s) receiving service, on such a personal level.
With Yuda Bands, you not only choose a specific student to help, you get to virtually meet that student through a skype call which we arrange for you. Other than visiting Guatemala as part of our service/leadership trip, skyping your student is the best way for you, and your peers, to become passionate about the cause.
And it’s that passion for the cause that is the key to motivating youth to go the extra mile and create a successful service project.
Students at Madisonville High School in Madisonville, Texas, were the first group to skype a Yuda Bands student this fall. Here’s their description of skyping with Edwin Orlando Bajxac Jocobo from Guatemala.
Our experience skyping with Edwin was an adventure. It was exciting and beneficial to all the students in the classroom. It was humbling and unforgettable. It was comforting to know that people on both sides of the call were nervous about meeting the other. We asked him silly and serious questions and received awesome answers. Eventually we both realized there was nothing to be nervous about and we were able to start laughing and joking with him.
We learned so much and had a great conversation with him. We feel more deeply connected with the heart of the Yuda Bands project and now we are even more fired up for meeting our goal because we don’t want to let him down. We have made signs, announcements, and even branched out into our community which has backed us with full support. We cannot wait to talk to Edwin again and hope to be able to tell him that we have met his goal so he can finish his education.
We are supporting him in his academic endeavors and hope he will take the knowledge from being sponsored by the Yuda Bands program to assist him in his collegiate future and for the rest of his life. We are so proud that he wants to continue his education beyond high school. We were given the privilege to learn about life in Guatemala and the hardships his family has faced and how this has shaped his personality. We pray for him every day for the strength to work towards his dreams.
What a great experience! And to make this story even better… the club’s advisor emailed this morning letting me know that they officially sold enough bands to complete Edwin’s scholarship through his senior year of high school. Talk about a successful service project! The students at Madisonville High School have changed Edwin’s life and their lives for the better.
Because I truly love cultures, people, and travel I want to put a plug in for everyone to join us in Guatemala. It’s the trip of a life time! But if it isn’t possible for you, get a real taste of what life is like beyond your world by skyping your international student. See a list of current students in need of sponsorship here. Or you can learn more about how to start your own project here.
