Sponsored Programs Ramadan Calls 2011
From AFSWiki
The Sponsored Programs team is planning to hold two one hour long conference calls discussing Ramadan. Ramadan is the holy month of fasting for Muslims, a time when Muslims do not drink or eat from dawn to dusk. Pending on the sighting of the moon, this year Ramadan will fall on August 1st therefore the YES and FLEX students will be arriving to their host communities while fasting.
Ramadan is a festive month in the countries the students come from. It can be likened to a month long Christmas celebration with lots of community and/or family gatherings and support. For this reason, we expect this time to be challenging for students as, apart from fasting, they will be coping with all the ups and downs of culture shock along with the multiple other adjustments.
Each call will cover the same materials -- there is no need to attend more than one call. During the hour long call, we will discuss the basic practical aspects of Ramadan and answer questions. Imam Arafat will discuss Ramadan logistics, the spirituality of the month as well as the end of the month celebrations (Eid Al Fitri). Imam Arafat is the President and founder of CECF, Civilization Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (http://cecf-net.org/) and has been working closely with the YES team since the start of the YES program in 2003-04. You will also hear from a YES alumna about her experience fasting during Ramadan while on program, from a Cluster coordinator about including fasting students in local orientations, and nutrition tips.
Please note that not all YES students are Muslim and the Muslim students may elect not to fast. We also have some FLEX students who are Muslim and may wish to fast.
These calls are intended for YES and FLEX liaisons, host families, cluster coordinators, YES and FLEX Team Chairs as well as staff who work with the YES and FLEX program. Please do kindly forward this email to anyone who might be interested in the call as we do not yet have a complete email list.
Call Dates:
- Sunday July 31 @ 5 PM Eastern Time Zone (4 PM Central Time/ 3 PM Mountain Time/ 2 PM Pacific Time )
- Tuesday August 2 @ 9:30 PM Eastern Time Zone (8:30 PM Central Time/ 7:30 PM Mountain Time/ 6:30 PM Pacific Time )
If you are interested in attending a call, please RSVP to snelson@afs.org by Thursday July 28. When RSVPing please specify the following: your name, the area of the country you are from, your role (cluster coordinator/ host family/ liaison/…..) and which call you will be attending.
More information will come, including how to join the call, an agenda, and supporting materials.
Other Ramadan Materials can also be found at Ramadan Facts.
