4 Teens Travel Overseas to Complete Service Projects

STATEN ISLAND, NY -- WEST BRIGHTON -- Four teens and one staff member from the Staten Island YMCA participated in the journey of a lifetime this summer as part of the YMCA of Greater New York's Global Teens program.

Teens Matthew Vazquez of Port Richmond and Abdul Hafiz of Clifton, as well as Cynthia Bayiokos, youth and family coordinator for the South Shore Y, spent two weeks in Port Alegre, Brazil.

Meanwhile Abdulahi Osman of Clifton spent two weeks in Chiangmai, Thailand, and Marisol Ramirez of Eltingville, spent two weeks in Goyang, South Korea.

They were among more than 120 teens from the New York area selected to travel to foreign countries. Thanks to fund-raising efforts and support from the Staten Island YMCA, the cost of the trip for the teens was largely underwritten.

Anita Harvey, executive director of the Staten Island YMCA's Broadway branch in West Brighton, said the program is a worthwhile investment in borough teens. "The Global Teens program empowers our teens with first-hand knowledge of international social issues and helps them build leadership skills and grow as global citizens," she said.

While abroad, the adolescents stayed in YMCA facilities and met and worked alongside teens their own age to complete service projects that focused on particular social issues affecting the host country.

Vazquez, Hafiz and Ms. Bayiokos, who traveled to Brazil, for example, focused on healthy living. They arranged and participated in youth sports festivals with teens from the local YMCA and helped plant vegetable gardens and educate teens about healthy food choices.

"I was extremely excited to go to Brazil," said Vazquez, 15, a sophomore at Port Richmond High School. "The experience allowed me the chance to meet new people and learn about cultures different from my own and I feel I've come away from the experience with a new view of the world."

"This was my third Global Teens trip, and each one was as fun as the one before," explained Hafiz, 17, a senior at Susan Wagner High School. "In Brazil I got to work with the kids and teach my culture while I learned theirs. Global Teens is an invaluable experience that I have and will always cherish and remember," he added.

Osman's trip to Thailand, his second Global Teens trip, focused on human rights. He worked side-by-side local teens and adults to help build a YMCA youth development center, played volleyball and basketball with teens and helped local rice farmers plant.

"I'll never take rice for granted anymore," declared Osman, a 17-year-old senior at Curtis High School.

Miss Ramirez' trip to South Korea focused on freedom of expression. She and other teens helped deliver meals to seniors. She noted that Korean teens spend up to 10 hours a day in school.

"They have a great respect for their teachers, their elders and education. I found that to be an eye-opener," said Miss Ramirez, a 17-year-old senior at St. John Villa Academy, Arrochar.

"The teens that were selected for these trips were a pleasure to work with and I feel privileged to have acted as their cultural ambassador," said Ms. Bayiokos. She said she hopes to increase the number of Staten Island teen applicants and raise awareness about the program for next year's Global Teens program.

Representatives of the International YMCA will be hosting information sessions on the 2010 Global Teens program at the Y's South Shore branch on Oct. 2 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and at the Broadway branch on Nov. 6 from 7 to 10 p.m. Applications will be available; teens need not be a YMCA member to attend.

More information is available at the website www.internationalymca.org.