Youth Ambassadors' Program Begins 17th Year

Six Gaúcho teenagers arrived in Indiana on January 18 for a two month stay. But it was preceded by a host of errors, triggered by the late arrival of their flight to Dulles from Brazil. They were then sent to Chicago rather than Indy. Good work by Jhani Laupus, whose insistent calls to security, located them at O'Hare and got them on the right track. The airline bumped 6 people from the late flight to Indy. Our Gaucho kids arrived - about 12 hours late.

Thanks are due to the host families who waited for the kids at the airport. Jhani certainly deserves kudos for her extraordinary persistence.

Our northbound visitors will be with host families in Indianapolis, Muncie and Terre Haute through March 11.

A great opportunity to meet them will be at the Annual Feijoada on February 25 (see details below). Host families welcome invitations from others in the community to take the guests on short outings. Meet these kids, electronically and see how to contact them at
bsu.edu/web/indpartners/YAPjan07.html

The six teens are:

		Arthur Caye, 15-years-old from Porto Alegre.   Arthur's father is a doctor and his mother is a pharmacist. He has a 10-year-old brother, Augusto. He says; "My friends say that I am kind of pleasant and I like to believe that." Arthur's favorite activities include reading, computers, listening to music and playing the piano.

		Fernando Menna Barreto Dias, 17-yeara-old boy from Alegrete.   His father is in Agribusiness and his mother is a teacher. He has two brothers Ricardo, 29, and Manuel 27. He says: "I'm easy going and I like to meet new people." Fernando's favorite activities include movies and listening to music.

		Marina de Oliveira Finger, from Porto Alegre.   Her mother and father are both retired and she has a 12-year-old brother Vitor. Marina says: "I think it's very easy to live with me, I'm very open minded." Her top leisure activities include reading, practicing sports and listening to music.

		Vincenti Jawlowzki de Quadros, 16-yeara-old boy from Porto Alegre.   His father is a doctor and his mother a homemaker. He has two sisters, 11-year-old Victoria and 8-year-old Veronica. Vincenti says of himself: "I can say I am intelligent and, most of the time, friendly." His top activities include basketball, video games and listening to music.

		Sarita Prem Zeferino Reed, 16-yeara-old girl from Porto Alegre.   Her father is a professional translator and her mother is a veterinarian. Sarita has a younger sister, Samira, aged 7. Her favorite things are all kinds of sports, movies and computers. Of herself she says: "I am tranquil, happy and curious."

		Laura Zaslawski, 15-years-old from Porto Alegre.   Her father is a psychiatrist and her mother is an endocrinologist. Laura has a younger brother, Henrique Araújo. Laura says: "Almost every day I'm in a good mood, I'm funny, talkative almost always." Her top activities include: being with friends, TV/movies/theater and listening to music.

The Youth Ambassador program's genesis followed a visit to Indiana by two Gaúchas - Lucia Helena Lima and Lisete Menna Dias - in 1991. Scott Limbird of Muncie, Indiana was the first south-bound youth and Rodrigo Souto and Rodrigo Barradas, were the first north-bound teens. both of Alegrete in far western Rio Grande do Sul.

In the program, teens between 15 and 17 travel to the partner's state for up to eight weeks during each state's summer. The young people live with carefully selected families who usually have teens of about the same age. They attend classes in the host city's schools and are also expected to participate in a volunteer activity.

Letter from A Partner Parent 
 
Dear friends in Indiana,

I'm so happy our youngest son Fernando Dias is traveling to Indiana on January 17 to spend two months through the Partners of The Americas Program - Youth Ambassadors. For me, it has a special meaning because most of you know that this Program was created by me and Lucia Helena Lima in 1991 there in Indiana and started in 1992 with two young boys from Alegrete, Rodrigo Souto who had the Limbirds as a host family and Rodrigo Barradas. Fernando will stay in Muncie at Sarah Lyttle's family. I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time there.

Hugs,
Lisete (Menna Dias)

A Tragic Loss 
 
The newspaper in Muncie that reported the fatal car crash that took the life of Alyssa Couch went far beyond the details of this tragic accident to document the shock and grief felt by those who knew her and loved her.
 
Her friend from church, Maggie Flodder, was not surprised that 21-year-old Alyssa was on her way home after tutoring a fellow Ball State student. "She was always doing mission trips and she was always involved in her church. She always wanted to help other people."
 
Alyssa, was in her second year at Ball State studying biology, chemistry and Spanish. She planned to go to graduate school at Purdue to study pharmacology.
 
Her high school principal said the news struck everyone in the community hard. "Alyssa was someone you wanted your daughter to be like, he said.
 
The news struck hard at everyone who knew her as an active Board member of Indiana Partners of the Americas. President Leslie Barratt expresses what we all feel.
 
"At the end of one year and the beginning of another, I cannot stop myself from thinking of the sudden loss of one of our Board members, Alyssa Couch. Alyssa was an example to us all of the best about Partners of the Americas. Immediately after her experience as a Youth Ambassador, Alyssa became a Board member, one of the first two youth to do so. Alyssa was an energetic, creative, enthusiastic Board member, always willing to spread the message of Partners, to recruit new participants, and to take an active leadership role. She leaves a void that is impossible to fill. We must all strive to emulate her energy and creativity and to renew our own enthusiasm for the on-going work of our partnership."

The President's Report  by Leslie Barratt 2006 has been a busy year for Indiana Partners. We showed our strengths. The Southbound projects included:

• a nursing project by Kathy Kaiser and ten of her students to Porto Alegre and Ijui.
• A Farmer-to Farmer project by Matt and Shirley Matlock in cooperation with Indiana Farm Bureau in September
• A Youth Agricultural Exchange in conjunction with the FFA of seven FFA students and one chaperone to RS this summer
• A visit by Jane Gehlhausen to RS after her participation at the Partners Convention in Belize.

The five northbound projects included the following:

• Teacher-in-Residence program sponsored by Instituto Cultural Brasil Norte Americano. Nielsen Pereira was the teacher this year, visiting the Key School in Indianapolis and working on teaching with multiple intelligences in both that school and in VSA-I.
• Youth Ambassador Program sponsored by the American Embassy in Brazil (one-week YAPs). This year, Indiana hosted five youth and a teacher in Muncie and Terre Haute.
• Youth Ambassador Program (eight-week YAPs) hosted six students this year in Lafayette, Muncie, and Terre Haute.
• Joice Cunha de Brito came on a project "Pink Confessions" with three of her students. Working closely with VSA-I, they presented theatre for personal development in Indianapolis and Muncie.
• Finally, we are currently hosting Luciana Berao de Almeida and Valeria Lamb Corbellini in a nursing exchange to Anderson, Muncie, and Terre Haute. After the visit, Luciana will travel with Jane to Belize and then to Porto Alegre.

All in all, it has been a very productive year.

Annual Meeting Report 
 
The Indiana Partners of the Americas' Annual Meeting isn't just for business. A major function is to provide personal contacts between the kindred spirits of volunteers that span our State. It was in this spirit that thirty-five members of our group met in the Indiana Farm Bureau Building in downtown Indianapolis on November 11, 2006.

The session opened at 1:00 AM with a period of socialization, renewing acquaintances with old friends and meeting new ones. A novel program revision this year was a pitch-in lunch including a competition for best Brazilian dessert. Thanks to Jane Gehlhausen for organizing this part of the event.

President Leslie Barratt opened the business meeting with a Portuguese greeting:

Bemvindo esta reunião de Companheiros das Américas Indiana. Nos encontramos cada ano para visitar com amigos, apresentar sobre nos projetos, e celebrar os Companheiros das Americas Indiana/Rio Grando do Sol. Emparticular quero suadar nos convidados especial, Luciana beirao de Almeida e Valeria Lamb Corbellini de Companheiros das Americas/RS e Philip Wagner de Rhythm of Hope.
Entao, vamos começar.

We were fortunate to have two Gaúchas, who were performing projects in Indiana, with us. Valeria Lamb Corbellini, a visiting nurse, reported on her project. She was accompanied by Luciana Beira de Alemda, who served as her interpreter. Of special interest to many long-time members was the fact that Luciana is the wife of our old friend Juliano Noqueira, past president of the RS Partners and frequent Indiana visitor.

Other interesting reports included: Anderson University Professor of Nursing Kathy Kaiser on her group of students visiting nursing schools in Portto Alegre and Ijuí; Youth Agricultural Exchange member Andrea Picket on the trip of seven students and one adult; Chris Fenner reported for the Matlocks on the second Farm Bureau Young Farmers Exchange; Jim Nulty on the visit of Joice de Cunha and three students to VSAI; Jhani Laupus reported on the activities of the Youth Ambassador's Program. For more on these Annual Meeting reports read the minutes of the meeting by visiting our Virtual Office at bsu.edu/web/indpartners.

A major presentation was made by Philip Wagner concerning his work in Salvador, Bahia, called Rhythm of Hope. Visit Philip's web page for more information. rhythmofhope.org.

Board action at the meeting included the following:

• The Nominating Committee proposed confirmation of:
• Bob Book, Suzy Fletcher and Norma Singly to the Class of 2008
• Betty Cook and Ginny Riesenbeck to the Class of 2009
• Pam Nicholas to a vacated position in the Class of 2009
• William Fuller, Jerome Karwowski, Andres Lelong, Judy Roepke, and Jim Johnson to the Class of 2010.

Elections resulted in:

• Kathy Kaiser to fill the vacancy in the Class of 2008
• Rick Bein to fill the vacancy in the Class of 2008
• Mandy Herndon and Kathy Beck to the Class of 2010
• And the recommendations of the Nominating Committee.

Next year, the Annual Meeting will be held on November 10.
Check details at our website: bsu.edu/web.indpartners.

Rick Bein, INPOA board member, talks to Phillip Wagner at 2006 Annual Meeting.

Phillip Wagner was guest speaker at this year's annual meeting. This article in the Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University Bloomington's student newspaper, describes his work in Brazil.

Finding His Rhythm 
By Zack Teilbloom
Monday, November 27, 2006

Phillip Wagner, a post-graduate student at IU, tells of the challenges he has faced and his efforts to provide volunteers for at-risk youth in Brazil. His organization, Rhythm of Hope in Brazil, helps connect volunteers with reputable programs.

When asked, Phillip Wagner compares his life story to Forrest Gump. The similarities are striking: Both had braces on their legs early in their childhood, both served a tour of duty in Vietnam and both were unlucky in love. "But Gump got rich. I'm still just a poor shmuck," said Wagner, a post-graduate student.

Unlike Gump, who told his story to the first person he met at a bus stop - Wagner requires some prodding before he tells his life story. He would much rather describe his "constructive social facilitation" program in Brazil than how he almost died from a brain aneurysm.

Now Wagner is continuing his post-graduate studies at IU after receiving his graduate degree in Latin American and Caribbean studies last spring. But Wagner enjoys talking about the work he's doing through his organization, Rhythm of Hope in Brazil, and its Web site, rhythmofhope.org, which launched in 2004. The organization recruits potential volunteers from around the world to help pre-existing programs in Brazil. Rhythm of Hope is currently giving contacts to a group of IU students headed by junior Laura Fonseca, to help the students plan a volunteer trip for next year. Students, including Fonseca, have previously volunteered in Brazil with the help of Wagner's program.

"The whole focus of my program is facilitation," he said. "What we do is look for established, successful programs having a real impact."

Wagner has been to Brazil about 15 times and has established good working relationships with a number of different programs that serve excluded youth.

He said these programs focus on "liberating the minds of the youth" and helping them realize there is hope for a future outside the poor, violent communities they come from. "It is possible, against almost all hope, for communities to turn things around," Wagner said.

Rhythm of Hope in Brazil has had great success bringing volunteers together with programs that help participants grow and function successfully in society. Circus programs, sand castle building, boxing and percussion are a few of the activities in which children can participate. The programs use arts to steer children into more constructive activities.

Wagner himself had a troubled childhood. His family went through some "rough, even extreme, economic circumstances." And like Gump, Wagner had polio, though it was a mild case. For a long time, he wore leg braces at night to keep his legs from growing inward.

Wagner later served in Vietnam during the 1972 Easter Offensive and lost a close friend.

"On TV, everyone who serves in the military is portrayed as a hero," he said. "That's bullshit. I'm no hero. I didn't want to go."

Back in the States, Wagner said he felt a heightened sense of vigilance and awareness after the war. He said he would take in his whole environment and could sense people walking near him. His family convinced him to be evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Wagner said the test scored him as having extremely high post-traumatic stress. He also suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and had a brain aneurysm in March of 1979 while going through a divorce, Wagner said.

Recovery was slow and difficult, but Wagner has done a lot with his brain since the aneurysm. After receiving his bachelor's degree from IU-South Bend in 1979, Wagner became increasingly involved in social issues.

In his work with Brazilian aid agencies, he strives to provide help to people who need it and are willing to work toward change. Living his life with a purpose, Wagner is not a feather in the breeze, but a man with unrelenting dedication and commitment -- something his colleagues notice.

Danielle Valim, a Brazilian employee at the Justice of Work in Salvador, described in an e-mail the importance of Wagner's work. "For years, Phillip maintained his own Web site, and with the Internet, people learned about the situation here and many began to come here to help," she said.

"Phillip exposed himself to many critics who could think he was just one more American 'do-gooder.' But his sincerity and compassion are strong and now (Rhythm of Hope) has a team of people who really believe they can make some positive change."

Though Wagner has faced several challenges, he said he cannot afford to dwell on his hardships.

"Ultimately, I think it's all about what we do," he said. "I've had a very challenging life, which has included some incredible moments in my life, but more than anything I'd just like to find some normalcy and peace of mind. If I can accomplish that for having returned to school to reinvent myself, then I'll be happy."

Passion, Hard Work, and Discovery    Three things I took away from the POA convention By Jane Gehlhausen, POA-IN Board of Directors   Passion for Citizen Diplomacy: We've got a great thing going. Partners of America consists of so many people passionate about making our corner of the world a better place. There are so many committed volunteers, the staff at the POA National Office and others who live, breath and we are willing to pull up their sleeves to promote the ideals of working together across borders to build better understanding and improve the lives of people in the Western Hemisphere. The conference had an aura of openness, and connectedness which aligned so nicely with the conference theme: Identity and Inclusion. Of particular note, was the Keynote Address by Ms. Epsy Campbell of Costa Rica and a member of the Black Parliament of the Americas so beautifully emphasized the benefits of the inclusion of diverse racial, economic and ethnic groups. Hard Work: It is an understatement to recognize all the work that was required to put on a conference of this quality and detail. From the panel discussions, key-note speakers, break-out sessions, acquiring sponsors, regional meetings, concurrent session, award luncheons, POA national board elections, a volunteer community project, receptions, tours, & dinners. The conference contained a lot of wonderful content and also provided great networking and fellowship opportunities. Discovery: Along with the new discoveries I learned at the convention, I was honored to learn more about the country of Belize. A few interesting aspects to mention...

The people: Belize, with a population of 280,000 people is a mixture of four primary ethnic groups: Mestizo (Spanish-Maya) 44%, Creole (African-European) 30%, Maya 11% and Garifuna (Black Carib) 7%. The honorable Mr. Said Musa, the Prime Minister of Belize emphasized the beauty of Belize's ethnic diversity and the pride that this characteristic has in making Belize a wonderful rich and unique of their country.

Garifuna history: We were fortunate to be in Belize on November 19th, Garifuna Settlement Day. This day celebrates the arrival and contributions of Garnagu people to the then named British Honduras (now Belize). Many of us enjoyed a re-enactment of the landing, a parade through town, and an opportunity to attend a lively and inspirational Mass.

Nature: Of course, Belize is wonderfully tropical and has a rich history with the Mayan civilization. Moreover, taking an opportunity to snorkel with sting ray's and sharks was a special experience I'll never forget!

Phrases: Of course, I'm already using the two new phrases I learned... "UnBelizeable" and "You better Belize it"! Creative marketing at it's best!

All in all, the opportunity to participate in my first POA conference was a very special experience and one I hope to repeat very soon.

RGS Students in Indiana 
 
Three of the four students from the Pontifical University of Porto Alegre, Brazil who are attending Ball State this semester (the other is Fernanda Fensterseifer) as part of the US-Brazil Sustainability Consortium, visited IPOA's booth at the International Festival. The students are Marina Moschetta, Glaucia Correa, and Mauricio Alves.

BSU students at International Festival

In addition, two students (Fabio Beckhauser and Gustavo Okihiro) are attending Ball State this semester from the Federal University of Technology in Curitiba, Brazil, also as part of the US-Brazil Sustainability Consortium.

The US-Brazil Sustainability Consortium is funded (2003-2007) by the departments of education in the U.S. and Brazil as part of the US-Brazil Consortium Program. Students participate via one-semester exchanges, each funded by the department of education in their home country.

Memories from my Partners of America visit to Rio Grande do Sul
By Jane Gehlhausen, POA-IN Member of the Board of Directors

The ten days in Rio Grande do Sul in November 2006 will forever be a memorable experience.

From November 20th to 30th, I participated in an exchange trip through the Partners of America (POA) to our (POA-IN) partner state in Rio Grande do Sul to learn about the culture and history of the region. The true treasure of this experience was the large number of individuals involved and whom I was able to meet, from POA members, to professionals in business and at local universities, to ESL students. I gained knowledge and understanding from the young and old alike.

Not intentionally excluding anything, a few highlights of the trip included: learning the history of the European immigrants, the gaucho's, as well as the fascinating political history, the tour of Porto Alegre, meeting various business professionals and participating in the program at the American Chamber, visiting the cities of cities of Bento Gonçalves, Gramado, Canella, and Nova Petropolis, home stays and endless interesting conversations, trying the Brazilian cuisine from a Churrascaria, Galeteria, Pizzeria, and a Café Colonial. I'll also never forget the heartfelt and very worthy social programs at INAMEX and Creche Vila Brasil as well as the many other programs and opportunities I was able to experience.

Special thanks to my host families: Nara Finco (itinerary planner extraordinaire) & Carmen Englert (Porto Alegre), Claudia Stern (Gramado), Beatrize Glauche (Bento Gonçalves). It was a privilege to be the recipient of your hospitality in opening your homes and making su casa, mi casa. Also a special thank you to POA Member's: Marlene, Juliano, Luciana, Vanda, Elaine, Ester, Cecila, and Valeria for your active involvement in being a part of my program.

To the rest of the POA - RS members and the other individuals who planned and participated in my program - Muito Obrigada!

Having the opportunity to participate in an exchange with our partner state is an experience that will not only enhance the understanding and knowledge to better plan future programs and events, but is also personally very rewarding. If the opportunity arises for you to have this experience, I wish you Bon Viagem!

Remember the good times at our 2006 Feijoada?
We're going to have them again this February.
Mark your Calendar for
February 25, 2007
2:00 - 4:30
A complete Brazilian Feijoada,
Guaraná and other Brazilian favorites

Entertainment provided by:
The POA Youth Exchange Group from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Fishers Library Conference Center
5 Municipal Drive
Fishers, IN 46038
(317) 579-0300

The Fishers library is located in near the railroad tracks in downtown Fishers just north of 116th St.

Questions? Contact Jane Gehlhausen, POA Board Member at 828.3379 or jgehlhausen@insightbb.comr

For more information about Indiana Partners of the Americas, go to our Web site: bsu.edu/web/indpartners