GUEST SPEAKER - Yashar Taheri-Keramati
Posted by Lal Baniya
on Mar 27, 2012
Yashar was Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar (2010-2011) who went to continue his studies in Cape Town.South Africa.
Yashar escaped being killed by gangsters several times in South Africa, but was so moved by his experiences that he established an organization to give hope to youth at risk.
In his talk to our club he spoke to the following points.
1. The need to provide hope to a generation of children who either don't know anything about family - parents lost to Alcohol, drugs, gangs, poverty and AIDS.
2. The need to give these children a sense of hope when surrounded by the worst of the worst, e.g. a 9 year old who could not remember the number of people he had already killed. Killing is actually a status symbol.
3. The need to understand what is needed in the community (vs. designing something and expecting the children / community to accept it). One such project involved converting a shipping container into a music studio. Several children are now writing their own songs, and performing them on radio stations
4. How several Rotary clubs in Disticts 5040 and 5050 have taken on the challenge of working in partnership with www.peaceandloveinternational.com to bring education and hope to children - not just in Cape Town, but in several other countries, including Haiti.
In summation he showed why our Ambassadorial Scholar program is valuable in Expanding Understanding of World Issues.
Here Lal Baniya thanks Yashar for his thought provoking speech.
Yashar escaped being killed by gangsters several times in South Africa, but was so moved by his experiences that he established an organization to give hope to youth at risk.
In his talk to our club he spoke to the following points.
1. The need to provide hope to a generation of children who either don't know anything about family - parents lost to Alcohol, drugs, gangs, poverty and AIDS.
2. The need to give these children a sense of hope when surrounded by the worst of the worst, e.g. a 9 year old who could not remember the number of people he had already killed. Killing is actually a status symbol.
3. The need to understand what is needed in the community (vs. designing something and expecting the children / community to accept it). One such project involved converting a shipping container into a music studio. Several children are now writing their own songs, and performing them on radio stations
4. How several Rotary clubs in Disticts 5040 and 5050 have taken on the challenge of working in partnership with www.peaceandloveinternational.com to bring education and hope to children - not just in Cape Town, but in several other countries, including Haiti.
In summation he showed why our Ambassadorial Scholar program is valuable in Expanding Understanding of World Issues.
Here Lal Baniya thanks Yashar for his thought provoking speech.