One of the 2012 Y-Corps Service teams helping WaterStep clean and ready their new headquarters at 625 Myrtle St., Louisville, KY. They will host a GYSD party open to the public beginning at 2:00pm.

According to WaterStep International, 80% of global sickness is attributed to unsanitary water.  Since 875 million people around the world live without access to clean water, unsafe drinking water is one of many issues you have the power to do something about.  Many teenagers in Kentucky already are, and they want you to come to a celebration and find out more.

Over the week of April 27 – May 4, Student YMCA members from all across the state of Kentucky will be running service projects as part of Global Youth Service Day (GYSD).  Started in 1988 as National Youth Service Day as a celebration of youth in service, GYSD  is sponsored nationally by Youth Service America and encourages youth across the globe to step up in their communities and take action on critical social issues.

Student YMCA members smiling while taking a break from some hard work.

In the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association’s first collaboration with GYSD last year, Student YMCAs in middle and high schools organized 36 projects spanning 29 Kentucky zip codes. Projects included roadside and river trash clean up parties, organizing games and activities for children at local parks, sprucing up community butterfly gardens, visiting senior citizens at elderly homes, and getting together groups to walk around town to greet and thank those in uniform.  There was even a project that had teenagers mentoring other young people in how to identify, organize, and execute their own service projects.

Amanda Pile, the Kentucky YMCA Outreach and Partnerships Director, feels that service opportunities like GYSD are integral to the Y’s mission of youth empowerment “It’s important that students take everything they’ve learned from Y conferences – self confidence, public speaking, and the passion they have for making a difference in the world – and put it back into their communities to help others.”

She also says that GYSD is a chance for youth to show their communities that their ideas and voices matter. “It’s easy to think that teenagers don’t know what’s going on or don’t know what they think or feel on an issue. A lot of times they just need to be asked, and when you ask you’ll get what they’re passionate about and what they think about issues going on in the world. When you ask, they will not only answer but will give you a solution for it. We really need to be reaching out to our teenagers more.”

The second year of the Y’s collaboration on GYSD also marks a new exciting partnership with Louisville-based WaterStep. WaterStep is an emerging leader in not-for-profit water filtration system assembly and distribution and trains locals how to repair and maintain well systems in remote areas. Student YMCAs can initiate used shoe collection programs in their communities and donate the shoes to WaterStep, which will resell the better shoes to small independent shoe sellers in third world countries and the unusable shoes to rubber recyclers.  The profit generated is put toward building simple chlorination systems – each capable of purifying up to 38,000 gallons of water a day, enough for up to 10,000 people. As few as 2,000 pairs of old shoes can pay for one chlorinator.

In celebration of youth empowerment and service, the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association and WaterStep are hosting a public GYSD service project and party in Louisville on Saturday, April 27 at WaterStep’s headquarters at 625 Myrtle St., Louisville, KY. The service projects run from 10:00am through 2:00pm. Student YMCAs that have been collecting shoes are encouraged to bring their bounty. The GYSD party begins at 2:00pm. Fellowship, food, drinks, music, and fun are included and all are welcome!  To let us know you are coming, go to http://www.123contactform.com/form-554877/GYSD-WaterStep-Celebration-Of-Service

Check out some of our students playing as hard as they worked.

Five students from Bate Middle School attended the Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA) in Louisville, Kentucky last week. This was the first time that Bate has attended the KUNA program thanks to a first time teacher at Bate Middle School, Laura Back. KUNA is a chance to enhance your knowledge about countries and problems all over the world. According to 6^th grader Emma Merryman “KUNA is a way for middle school and high school students to get involved and let their voice be heard through the United Nations.” Every school that comes to KUNA represents at least one country from around the world. They must find a problem faced by that country and write a proposal with solutions to that problem. This year the Bate delegation was Ethiopia.

As Ambassador Merryman said, KUNA is a time to let your voice be heard. There are many opportunities at KUNA such as the committees, proposals, global village, and even the media corps. Doing this is likely to bring you out of your comfort zone.

Being that the KUNA program is new to Bate, when another 6^th grader Claire Strysick was asked if she expected any awards her answer was simply “No, because we are a first year team and are very small, but I believe we worked hard enough to receive one.”

“It is an experience you will never forget because it helps you find your voice and show off your talents,” said Merryman of KUNA. Strysick added “What I like about KUNA is that kids from all over Kentucky get to come together and share their artistic and academic abilities. Each group is given a country that they know little to nothing about; they get to learn about the country, find the problems and tell everyone about them.”

Sometimes when a person takes a job it may turn out being more work than they expected. According to Claire Strysick this was not the case “In some ways the work is harder than I expected but other times I felt like I was just hanging out with my friends.”  Yet 8^TH grader Kayla Kenyon seems to think differently, saying “It was a lot more work than I expected but it was still lots of fun!”

There are always different reasons for someone doing something so when two members of the delegation, Emma Merryman and Elisabeth Nesmith, were asked why they decided to join KUNA they explained “It seemed fun and was something I wanted to do as soon as I heard about it. I did not get to join immediately but when I had the chance I jumped at it and now I know that I have made the right decision because of the experience I have had at KUNA,” said Merryman. “My friends at Boyle County had done KUNA before and said it was really great, so I decided to give it a try,” said Nesmith.

There is a lot you can learn from other students your age.  Haley Dicken of Russell County Middle School, who was this year representing Sweden and the Czech Republic, she said “Be confident in what you are doing.” Maddie Webb of Beechwood Middle School which is representing Japan, Brazil, and Australia was asked the same question and she said “Don’t be afraid to stand up and speak.  I didn’t my first year and I regret it.”

After this years KUNA the students of Bate Middle School would love to be back next year. Also after hearing what other students have to say I learned to always speak your mind and share your ideas/thoughts and KUNA is the place to do exactly that.

Many people agree KUNA is the one place when place where their opinion is valued. At KUNA, we all have different roles, which are all very important. They are, because they all represent real roles in today’s world. KUNA is significant because it reaches out to a whole new generation of people who will one day fulfill those roles. Not only that, but it helps keep them aware of real world problems and helps offer possible solutions. My school, Casey County Middle School, represented Germany. As we worked on our native attire, international stage routine, and more, I became more aware of Germany’s culture and their problems.

Eight regular students, including myself, went from wearing blue jeans and t-shirts to wearing lederhosen. Lederhosen are traditional attire that is from the Bavarian region Of Germany, and literally translates to “leather shorts”. Casey County’s outfits consisted of an off-white undershirt, dark green and white suspenders, green shorts with wood-like buttons, black shoes, and white knee socks. The girls had eye liner, mascara, rosy cheeks, and a red ribbon in their hair; most of which was braided and the boys wore a green hat. Alyx Martin, a student that wore the lederhosen, said “When I first saw the lederhosen I got really excited.” I think she spoke for most of the group because we all were excited about our costumes. At the first dress rehearsal all we could do was laugh, we had a great time wearing our costumes.

Ms. Jamie Hamblin, a Casey County advisor, stayed and worked with my peers and I after school for the International Stage routine. She said she based it off of a dance called the “Slap-Slap Plattler,” which is a recreational dance usually performed at Oktoberfest. The song we danced to is called “Rosamunde” which is also performed at Oktoberfest. We all had fun working with each other and performing.

For our Global Village booth we had a cuckoo clock. It was very tall and was brown with blue doors. Students stayed after school and helped work on it through programs my school offers. The cuckoo clock originated in Germany and was invented by a nobleman in 1629.  Advisor Ms. Jamie Hamblin said “It represents German ingenuity, German engineering, their artistry…” Personally, this booth was my favorite Global Village we’ve ever done.

Casey County’s proposal was an act to require the United States to remove nuclear warheads from European nations. This proposal was written by Austin Harne, Madi Meece, and Haley Middleton.  I asked Austin why he thought the proposal was important, “It helps protect Europeans,” he went on to inform me about what would happen if it didn’t pass, “It’s cause fear, it could cause fear, it could be easier for potential terrorists and unwanted explosions.

KUNA is my favorite Y conference by far. Every time I go, I learn something new, not only about the country my school represents, but other countries as well. It’s different every time, but one thing that never changes is, I always have fun. I’ve met friends here, friends I won’t forget and still will carry on that friendship after KUNA. This conference is great and I would suggest going to anyone in a heartbeat.

This year is my first year here at KUNA. It will definitely not be my last. I honestly don’t know what to say with all of this exciment, problem solving, singing, dancing and the amazing costumes. But if there is one thing I can say, it is you need to be at KUNA 2014 next year!

One good reason you should come next year is that you can share your voice here. This is so cool because you are probably not used to that. We are used to just living normal lives, but here you can tell others your ideas. I am not the only one who thinks this is cool. My fellow Ambassador Jacup said “sharing my voice” when asked his favorite part of KUNA.

Another reason you should come to KUNA is that there are many schools here. That means there are many more students. Do you get where I’m going with this? If not, what I’m trying to say is that there will be many people at KUNA so that you can make new friends.

Lastly KUNA is a great way to learn and it is surprisingly fun. Wait, did I just say learning is fun?  Yes, I did, and if you’re like me its pretty cool too. It is fun because you can learn how people from other countries dress, speak, dance and a whole lot more. Some places you can learn all that here is at the International Stage, which is very cool because you can actually see people put on plays and dances native to their country’s culture.

You’re probably like WOW! How do I sign up for all this cool stuff? Well it’s very easy. If you have a TAG teacher (through school) or any teacher who is interested in global culturesask him or her to visit www.kyymca.org.  If not, listen for any announcements about KUNA and find out how you can sign up for KUNA 2014!  Trust me, if you like any of the things I told you about above you need to come.

March 24th through the 26th over a thousand middle scholars gathered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Louisville for the YMCA’s KUNA (Kentucky United Nations Assembly). At KUNA, many things took place.  Every school had a country to represent, and had to make a proposal for how to solve one of the country’s issues. Many countries had unique problems, yet many had the same problem, the Universal Problem so to say. Every year, a different main problem surfaces as the countries change. This year, the main problem was water pollution. 8 countries out of 73 had water pollution as their main issue, though others included poverty and starvation. Each country had their own unique way of solving the issue too.

First, what was the problem water pollution caused to the countries, and how is it the water became polluted? Water can carry many diseases ranging from HIV to Intestine Worms, and with water being as basic need, well problems surfaced in many countries. These problems lead to major amounts of ill people and death. How it became a problem was different with each country. Take Trinidad for example, the main thing that leads to water pollution for them are raw sewage from cruise ships. In Italy, it is because of acid rain and the dumping of trash into their water systems.

Now, the real heart of KUNA is the solutions the kids come up with for each country. For Belize, it was to increase the usage and quality of portable water. For Cuba, it was using UV rays and a machine called Solvatten to filter and cleanse the water. It was all rather interesting to see how kids came up with such adult and mature ways to solve these world problems.

As I said earlier, water pollution was not the only problem talked about. Many other issues surfaced with the normal ambassadors, and I was also able to sit in on a Security Council meeting, and listen on how kids would deal with the threat of nuclear war. For more information, visit www.KYYMCA.org.

We’ve all heard them before—stereotypes. Whether you’ve heard that all Swedes are tall, all the British are grumpy, or that Americans are all loud and fat, you know that these are ugly lies. On March 24^th-26^th, students from all over the state were able to see the truth at Kentucky United Nations Assembly. In case you weren’t able to go, or just want to relive all the things we won’t let go, this is going to recap most of what happened at this conference.

                At the beginning of KUNA, familiar to all ambassadors, was the colorful, loud, exciting Parade of Nations. Every country created a sign representing their country and either bought or handmade a flag. Japan, although one of the more simple flags, actually had quite an elaborate sign—a red 3-D “temple” with koi fish painted on the pillars in metallic paint, purple “curtains” hanging from the sides. Others went for a simpler look. Take Switzerland for an example—their sign was oriented portrait-wise, showcasing a simple but elegantly drawn Swiss street. Mexico was one of those who opted for a more elaborate design, a three-dimensional donkey. Their advisor, Julie Bauscher, said of it, “It was good! The others were accurate and seemed to capture the essence of the different countries well.”

                That same night, the Global Village occurred. Bright cultural displays occupied every square inch along the wall, showing off the unique richness of each individual culture. One stall handed out beaded bracelets; Mongolia gave you your name in Mongolian on a nametag; you could sit beneath a mosquito net and listen to the laughter and voices around you at the Malawi tent. “The other booths were really interesting; I really liked Japan’s,” Caitlyn Chambers, a member of the Polish delegation, said of the Global Village as a whole. Poland taught about their geography through an interactive map game.

                During the Global Village, delegates were required to wear the native attire of their country, or rather, traditional clothing. No t-shirts or pairs of jeans were to be seen, instead, flag colors and bright stripes lit up the already busy night. The United Kingdom was dressed in various royal outfits, from the guards’ hats and red uniforms, to the posh garments of the nobles, while Italy’s sign-bearer wore an Ancient Roman gladiator outfit. This is one unique aspect of KUNA that the real United Nations might not be able to let us in on.

                Without the hard work of all these people, KUNA just would not be possible. In order to reward all of the effort that went into prepping, on the second night, assorted entertainment options were opened for two hours. In the chill room, kids hung out on their phones, tablets, and laptops, or chatted with their friends. Meanwhile, the karaoke room echoed with voices, and laughter floated out of the movie room as kids watched Brave. The Gaga room provided an interesting, fun game to get you up and moving. The dance, though, was the main event for many. Glowing necklaces bounced on kids’ necks and heads in the darkened room! It pounded with music, and you could feel the energy oozing out of the occupants.

                All through the conference, this same energy hung in each committee, summit, and General Assembly. Although the proposals haven’t been mentioned, they are truly the lifeblood of KUNA, demonstrating just how the next generation is ready to change the world. You’re on the cliff of your dreams so, like our Secretary-General Makda Mehari said in the beginning, jump.

As a new delegation to KUNA, four hours on a bus with 15 teenagers from Adams Middle School was anything but excitement and anticipation as they made their way to the Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA) at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Louisville Kentucky. KUNA is an assembly that allows teenagers to represent different countries from all over the world and to let them recognize the major issues of their countries so they can help find solutions to solve them. It is also an opportunity to experience the different cultures and customs from all kinds of countries.

Adams participated in an event called the Global Village. This is where you set up a booth to represent your country. Adams represented Guatemala and the booth contained actual Guatemalan currency, paintings, pictures, and interesting facts. But as you may know this wasn’t just thrown together in one day. It took a lot of hard work and preparation including several long meetings after school.

Adams also wore native attire. This is where they dressed up in their country’s attire to showcase what the clothing looks like in that country. Adams had four kids to dress, three girls and one boy. The three girls who participated were Emily West, Olivia Young, and Emily Dillon. They were dressed in long colorful patterned skirts/dresses and wore sashes. They also wore headdresses that also functioned as a basket to help carry things around. The only boy who wore native attire was Lucas George and he wore a bright t-shirt with a rough brown vest over top of it. He also wore a straw hat. Emily Dillon said “I felt like a Guatemalan and I got to see there culture. It was really fun and I felt like I was there. It was cool”. These costumes screamed Guatemala!

One other thing is all throughout KUNA you are expected to wear business professional or business casual. A lot of the kids that attended the conference probably don’t dress like this on a usual basis, but little did they know that this is getting you used to wearing this type of attire for when you start having job interviews, meetings with important people, and much more! KUNA is a laid back and fun conference but you do have a few meetings where you are expected to be serious and focus on the thing that is going on. Two meetings that have a very significant role in KUNA are committees and summits. Committees and summits are where you can vote on or rank a proposal. You can also participate in pro/con debate and ask technical questions. This is where you can let your voice be heard and where your opinion always matters!

Adams also had a proposal. Their proposal was that their must be at least one hour of career educational instruction per week provided by trained personal. This proposal is supposed to help kids learn more about the world of career opportunities and more!

Lastly, KUNA has such an energetic atmosphere. You are always having fun, from the late night pizzas to staying up late with your friends in the hotel room! All of the hard work put in to the conference doesn’t go unnoticed. At the end of the conference KUNA hosts a huge party to reward all the delegates for their hard work and participation. From dancing to watching a movie to just texting to playing board games there is something there for everyone to do!

Adams seemed to have a good time and so did everyone else who attended the conference. Mrs. West, the advisor from Adams, said “KUNA is an experience of a lifetime that every child should have the opportunity to experience.” Adams will probably make plans to come back to KUNA and let there voices be heard once again in the future.

Saint Patrick School KUNA 2013

47 students from St.Patrick were temporary ambassadors in a mock UN assembly at the Crowne Plaza in Louisville, KY from March 24^th-26^th ,2013. It was hosted by the KY YMCA. The reason they were there? To participate in a mock UN assembly to simulate debating proposals and discuss important problems in our world today. This event allows students from 6^th-8^th grade to hear about world problems, possible solutions, and to voice their opinions on the subject at hand. This article is going to be about the experience of the St.Patrick delegation.

Upon arrival, the students of St.Patrick entered an entirely different world. A world where they were the leaders and the adults sat back and let them take control. 8^th grader, Lizzie Hamilton, took the first step into the new world. She was the Executive Committee Candidate for St.Patrick and she had the responsibility of representing our school, and of campaigning for herself in the election.

The proposal authors took the second steps. The students represented one of three countries and researched about the biggest problems in their countries. The three countries were Nepal, the Russian Federation, and the Syrian Arab Republic. The author teams were made up of 11 students. The group for Nepal was Jack Bonn, Garrett Bartholomew, Alice Chicani, and Emily Lewantowicz. The group for the Russian Federation was Shawn Kirwan, Collin McKinley, and Will Reynolds. The Syrian Arab Republic group was Cameron Garret, Anne-Marie Hays, Sydney Moore, and Desmond Ogbogu. When speaking with a few of the authors I found out a lot of things about the process of creating a proposal for a foreign country and how it affected them. Sydney Moore said, “It was confusing and nerve racking.” And when I asked about how being a proposal author was important to them and how it would help them in the future, Anne-Marie Hays said, “It is very important to me because in the future I will be able to speak with confidence and pride.”

The proposal teams came up with were very important to the countries they represented. Nepal’s proposal was an act to provide access to clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene to prevent the spread of childhood disease and death for the people of Nepal. The Russian Federation’s proposal was an act to ban floating nuclear power stations from being built in Russia. This proposal made it all the way to General Assembly, which is a great honor, and was passed. The Syrian Arab Republic’s proposal was an act to request UN Peacekeeping forces to help establish neutral zones for Internally Displaced Persons (IPDs) of Syria and help distribution of aid.

Another important part of this new world is the Native Attire. As you walk around the hotel ballroom you get to see all of the different cultural styles through the clothing they wear. Most country representatives choose outfits that are traditional attire or attire for special events, like religious ceremonies. The ambassadors dress from their head to their feet in the attire chosen by a group within the delegation. This group researches the attire of the country and gets ideas for what they can wear to represent the country the best. The ambassadors representing Nepal wore long tunic-like shirt that were green or purple. The girls wore black leggings and flats with the traditional jewel on their foreheads and a headband. The boys wore khakis and a traditional hat with nice shoes.

The female ambassadors representing the Russian Federation wore nice black pants with a long white sleeve shirts and red aprons with gold detailing; they also wore red jewelry and a black headband. The male ambassadors representing the Russian Federation wore white long-sleeved shirts and pants with a detailed sash and black and grey fur-lined hats. The female ambassadors representing the Syrian Arab Republic wore long black robe-like dresses with black head wraps and gold jewelry. The male ambassadors representing the Syrian Arab Republic wore white long-sleeved shirts and white pants with a fabric veil secure with a piece of string. The outfits made the Global Village all the more interesting.

At the beginning of the conference you see all of the countries represented proceed in carrying a flag and country sign. The country sign represents an important part of the country. For Nepal it was the Buddhist Temple. It was picked because the Buddhist temple is the biggest representation of Nepal, due to it being one of the main religions. For the Russian Federation it was a Russian nesting doll, because having a Russian nesting doll in each household is a tradition. Last, for the Syrian Arab Republic was the Temple of Damascus, because it is a main religious monument.

This three day event is an amazing opportunity that everyone should take advantage of. It helps build your leadership skills and helps you find your voice. It is a place where people are free to give their opinion and make their voice heard. All they have to do is find someone willing to listen.

ACROSS: 

1. Brr! Look at our snow hats! We live on an Eastern European island.

3. Feathers and boas, fedoras and suits, we are ready to party in the ____________!

5. Mate! We have a bloody Kangaroo!

7. Green sparkled belts and the Harlem Shake.

10. Silk clothing with many dragons and flower designs.

11. Tribal clothing with bright, colorful patterns.

12. Walking around in our nifty caftans.

Down: 

2. We often cover our heads with hi-jabs.

4. Plaid skirts with white skirts is our attire.

6. We walk around with horns on our helmets – hear us roar! And eat our famous fish-shaped candy, too!

8. With our colorful drapes, so colorful it’s GANNA make you crazy!

9. Sparky Berets!

13. Known for colorful traditional clothing and artistic bead work (this year’s KUNA used rugby costumes).