afghan mentor ship alliance

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Afghan Mentorship Alliance2009 - 2010

UCLA United Afghan Club

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Special thanks to the co-founders of Afghan Mentorship Alliance

Malalai Anbari

Ahmad Bahrami

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Index

I. INTRODUCTIONDescriptionIdeal Schedule

II. CONTACT INFORMATIONAdministrationVolunteers

III. SITEFatima Islamic societyResalat foundationSite Rules

IV. PROPOSAL

V. 2009-2010 CURRICULUM Fall 2009Winter 2010

VI. OUTREACH

VII. APPENDIX

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Introduction

The Afghan Mentorship Alliance (AMA) is an educational outreach program which seeks

to balance the economic hardships, lack of personal attention, confusion of cultural identity, and

overall community negligence faced primarily by Afghan-American youth in the San Fernando

Valley. Founded by Malalai Anbari (Alum 09) and Ahmad Bahrami (Alum 09) in Spring of

2009, AMA remains the only organization that specifically caters to the academic needs of

Afghan-Americans ona a consistent basis. Although the program is directed towards Afghan

youth, it has been easily adjustable to accommodate students of other underrepresented

backgrounds. Resalat Foundation and Fatima Society, the two sites, do not provide educational

services to these youth. Every week, alternating between the two sites, the members of AMAprovide academic support, personal tutoring, and a unique opportunity for the youth to

experience the only mentorship program directed specifically towards Afghans in the US. Both

academic and cultural workshops are provided to the students. AMA seeks to empower the

students culturally and motivate them to seek higher education, as opposed to remaining

confined to the poverty of illiteracy. Members of the community (teachers of the site, parents,

and site organizers) often supervise our activities, providing AMA members with advice on how

to best improve the program. We hope that this generation of Afghans will be able to empower

future generations of Afghans, and that these students will one day be able to lift up their

communities in ways in which AMA cannot.

Although this program is relatively young, the program has surpassed many expectations

and has received positive feedback from the community. Students receive homework help, one-

on-one mentoring about problems they face as Afghan-Americans, encouragement to pursue

higher education, and guidance on career paths. The students are assigned to a mentor who act as

an advisor, friend, and most importantly as a role model. It is apparent that these students have

never been given such personal help or attention. Their public schools were ill-equipped to

provide individual assistance, and their parents were impeded by language and cultural barriers,

having been educated in Afghanistan and not the US. Our ultimate goal is to no longer exist: our

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intention is to help the youth develop skills and find opportunities to such an extent that our

presence will no longer be needed in the area.

Ideal Schedule

i. Introduction: five minute set-up and introduction of AMA. Pass out sign-in sheet (seeAppendix)

ii. Ice breaker: 5-10 minutes are allotted for an ice breaker. Ice breakers may be givenas a whole (to all students) or different ice breakers can be given to different ageranges. Ice breakers are of two types: discussion or activity. Discussions can beprompted by asking questions that focus on the need for academic success, promoteAfghan awareness, or help foster a sense of empathy for other people (ex. Whatwould your life be like right now if you were not born in America, but rather in arefugee camp?) Activities should ideally engage as many students as possible and

should be followed up with a discussion about the importance of the activity (ex.Giving students the opportunity to act out different career paths followed up by adiscussion about the vast array of career paths and the stereotyping of particularcareers)

iii. Transition: Five minutes are given in order for mentors and mentees to partner up inseparate areas and take out necessary materials (student folders, books, schedule, etc)

iv. Academic Assistance: This one-hour period consists of helping the student with theirhomework, going over school requirements with the student, helping students studyfor upcoming tests, preparing students for examinations (SAT, CAHSEE, AP, etc),

using students schedule planners to create deadlines, and going over transcripts. Ifstudents do not have homework or projects with them, AMA provides age-specificacademic material.

v. Mentorship: This unique twenty-thirty minute portion of the program consists ofinterpersonal discussions and guidance from the mentor as directed by each bi-weeklyschedule (the topics and questions will change for every site visit).

vi. Library Program: Five minutes are given to older students who are able to check outbooks of their choosing. Students who have already checked out books will be askedto share their thoughts about a book or give a brief presentation at this time.

vii. Conclusion. Snacks are given to the students (cannot be given to the mentors), bookswill be placed back into the cart, folders will be filed, and the site is given a quickclean-up.

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Contact Information

Malalai Anbari Co-founder manbari@gmail

Ahmad Bahrami Co-founder [email protected]

Zachia Nazarzai 2009-2010 direct [email protected]

Maryam Zaman Core volunteer [email protected]

Anoushah Rasta Core volunteer [email protected]

Reza Hessabi Core volunteer [email protected]

Uzayr Humkar Core volunteer [email protected]

Zehra Yar-Khan Fatima Representative [email protected] or 805-

529-7527

Gulshad Resalat Representative 951-206-5262 or 818-646-

6516

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Site

In Spring of 2009, AMA launched by serving the needs of students at Fatima IslamicSociety, a mosque located in San Fernando Valley. In Fall of 2009, AMA had expanded andbegan to serve the needs of students at Resalat Foundation a mosque located nearby FatimaSociety. AMA volunteers visit both sites on Saturday/Sunday every other week. Depending onthe quarter, AMA may function on academic even weeks (weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 8) or odd weeks(weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9).

Saturday: Saturdays site visits are located at Resalat Foundation located at 7120 Remmet

Ave, CA 91303. Although the site is mostly Iranian, Afghan students attend the site (although infewer numbers than their Iranian counterparts). Although our focus is to target Afghan students,AMA will not turn away students from other ethnicities but will instead try to create unity.Approximately 11-15 students are served at this site.

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Sunday: Sundays site visits are located at Fatima Islamic Society located at 7252 Remmet Ave,CA 91303. The students at site are predominately Afghan with occasional students of Pakistani

descent. Approximately 5-9 students are served at this site.

Site Rules

1. Mentors are to act as counselors before they act as friends

2. Never give out phone numbers

3. Never bring up religion or politics. If it comes up, slowly adjust the conversation

4. Never allow mentees to remain unattended, make sure all students are safely picked-up

5. Never use profanity, hateful words, or racist/sexist language

6. Never discuss drugs, alcohol, or smoking to the mentees

7. Be patient, kind, courteous and show good manners

8. Always remember that we are representing the AMA and the United Afghan Club

9. Be respectful of the site; do not leave the site a mess

10. Be flexible with the conversations. Allow your student to express his/her thoughts

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Statement of Need

The two sites are located in Canoga Park, home to a significant number of refugees who have fledfrom war and poverty in Afghanistan (one of the four major locations of the Afghan refugees in the US).Very few statistics exist about Afghan-Americans, which only further stresses the point that thispopulation is often overlooked, forgotten, and underrepresented. The children of these refugees inheritcultural tensions as they try to negotiate between both their Afghan and American identities, as well astheir Muslim faith, in an economically-disadvantaged environment that provides them with neither

educational assistance nor the ability to properly maintain both identities. Some of these culturalproblems include stigmas towards Afghan girls who seek an education, pressure to stop students frommoving away from home to seek higher education at universities, and the pressure to marry immediatelyout of high school rather than to delay marriage until after receiving some education. Resalat Foundationand Fatima Society are two mosques which provide a religious-based education; however, they do notprovide youth with the support they need to move onto higher education. Although they were most likelyprosperous in Afghanistan, the refugee parents of these children left behind everything, starting anew inthe United States. Although statistics cannot be given to show the living conditions of these students,some of the students we have tutored come from very poor backgrounds, living off welfare, food stamps,or disability checks. Many of the students have one or both parents who have never received a collegeeducation. Several students have one or both parents who cannot read English or speak Englishproficiently. Thus, students often receive minimal help from parents who do not understand thehomework material. Site teachers and site organizers supervise our activities and provide us with helpful

advice as to how to improve the program. The sites have generously allowed AMA to use their classroomfacilities. In addition, they allow AMA members to use some of their other resources (ex. white board,projector, etc.). However, the sites do not have the resources to provide AMA with much-neededmaterials that are vital for this program to continue and expand. Furthermore, the resources we have beenprovided with thus far are finite and inconsistent, contingent more upon availability than what is actuallyneeded. We seek $4,569.00 in assistance from CAC to maintain this project.

Program Summary Worksheet

As stated previously in the proposal, a site visit consists of academic support and mentorship. Beforethese two sessions begin, the mentors begin the program with an engaging ice-breaker or question to

involve the students (for ex. What is the importance of knowing your roots?). Mentors then meet withtheir student(s) and isolate their group from the other groups. The academic portion includes homeworkassistance, guidance on how to prepare for upcoming tests, review of progress of the students academicgoals, assistance with college applications, and tips on how the student can improve academically. Anyquestions the student has regarding school are answered here. The mentoring portion includes personalcounseling with the student regarding any problems they face: cultural, familial, academic, internal, or

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other. Mentors attempt to bond with the student and provide them with advice or outside assistance ifnecessary. Mentors try to motivate students to fix their community and their problems rather thanabandon their community, in order to promote self-empowerment in the student.

Campus partners Community Partners

Muslim Student Association, Pakistan StudentAssociation, Iranian Student Group, Mentors forAcademic and Peer Support

Fatima Islamic Society, Resalat EducationalFoundation, Salaam Youth Group, AfghanAmerican Muslim Outreach

Number of mentors/volunteers last year Number of mentors/volunteers this year

8 15

Number of students served last year Number of students will serve this year

Approximately 20-25 Approximately 40-45

Allocation given last year Current requestN/A $4,569.00

Program Goals, Objectives, and Methodologies

Goal: To have parents learn the importance of education in order to persuade them to makeeducation to their, as well as their childs, number one priority.

Objective: To host one parent orientation meeting at the beginning of the year

Methodology: Parents will be invited to the sites in order to be introduced to AMA, its goals, and its

methodologies. AMA will also have parents fill out proper waivers at this meeting (confidentiality,safety/liability, etc). By showing the parents that there is hope for a child to achieve academic success andrepresenting ourselves as successful UCLA students, parents will be encouraged to help their childrenaccomplish their goals. This event can also be a social where parents can meet one another, and a safe,comfortable, and trustworthy environment can be fostered. As a result, parents may be more willing toallow their children to come to AMA on a weekly basis.

Objective: To establish parent-tutor conference at least twice a year.

Methodology: Tutors will require grade reports from their students, in order to update the students

parents about their academic progress twice a year. Parents will be notified through mail, phone, or emailto attend site and meet with the tutor. The first half of the meeting will be held solely between the tutorand the parent(s). At the meeting, the tutor will discuss and explain the progress of the student. If the tutorfeels that there are cultural practices that are inhibiting the students from academic success, the tutor willnegotiate with parents the importance of culture and the importance of school, and how the two do nothave to be mutually exclusive. The second half of the meeting will include the student who will discuss

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his or her grades and goals for improvement with his or her parents, under the supervision of the tutor.

Goal: To help foster a successful academic atmosphere

Objective: To attend site on a bi-weekly basis, providing mentoring, tutoring, and one-on-one

counseling. We will attend Fatima Society four times a quarter, a total of 12 times the whole year.Similarly we will attend Resalat Foundation four times a quarter, a total of 12 times the whole year.

Methodology: Use UCLA vans to go to site, use sister organizations (Muslim Student Association,

Iranian Student Group, Pakistan Student Association, and our own mother organization (United AfghanClub) to tutor/mentor. Mentoring is peer advisement, with 2-3 students assigned per mentor. Mentorswill address students problems in the community, with family, and regarding the culture, during the peeradvising session. Tutoring consists of at least half-hour of homework help and includes skill-buildingexercises which help build the level of proficiency of the subject matter. Upcoming tests are discussed aswell as important examinations (CAHSEE, SAT, ACT etc). Any questions that the student has regardingtheir school material will be addressed in this tutoring session. The sessions will be recorded in studentfolders which are carried by the mentor in order continue appropriate discussions for the next site visit.

Objective: Improve the students GPAs or test scores. AMA seeks to increase the GPA of middleschool and high school students with a GPA of 3.49 or lower by at least .2. AMA seeks to increase theGPA of students with 3.5 or higher by at least .1 or maintain their current level.

Methodology: AMA tutors will work with students during homework help, tutoring, or through emailcontact to provide students with the academic assistance needed to improve their GPAs. Elementaryschool children will provide a copy of last years report cards that will serve as the basis for growth andprogress throughout the year. AMA seeks to increase the number of Outstandings and to reduce thenumber of Insufficients. Such improvement goals will depend upon each students own report cardsfrom the previous academic year.

Objective: To provide students with necessary academic resources. Two review books will be providedto aid students for preparing for the SAT. One review book will be provided to help students preparingfor the ACT.

Methodology: Prep books such as SAT, ACT, CAHSEE, and college-information books similar tothose carried by the Incarcerated Youth Tutorial Project under CPO. AMA will have access to thesebooks and volunteers will be held accountable for their maintenance. When not in use, books will bestored in a library-like setting to preserve their condition.

Objective: To provide students with updated, relevant academic-related information. Each student willbe provided with five pamphlets. The topics for the pamphlets include skill building, A-G requirements,scholarships, AP Tests, and CAHSEE.

Methodology: AMA will make copies of scholarship applications, internships, skill-buildinghomework, A-G requirements, CAHSEE, AP testing, and other important hand-outs needed by the

students.

Objective: To provide each student with a planner (a total of 45) to help them plan their academiccareers and learn about time-management.

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Methodology: Each student will be provided with a planner. AMA volunteers will instruct thestudents to fill out personal goals for the year while marking important dates for the students such ascollege application deadlines. Students will be held accountable for the goals which they write in.

Objective: To provide one academic workshop each quarter at each site, totaling to three workshops per

year at each site.

Methodology: Each workshop, approximately forty-five minutes long, will be given in addition tothe normal tutoring/mentoring sessions. Workshops will include, but are not limited to: FAFSA assistance(how to apply for FAFSA), Resume-building, personal-statement help, and assistance in writing basicessays. Workshops will be led by volunteers/tutors. Relevant worksheets and hand-outs will bedistributed during the workshops to provide tangible resources. Tutors will be required to create anoutline/template of the workshop for future use.

Goals: To create an Afghan-American identity for holistic development

Objective: To invite a guest speaker to the AMA site for the students at least once a quarter, totalingthree guest speakers for the year.

Methodology: An Afghan-American guest speaker will be contacted by students and brought in once

a quarter to establish the importance of education and maintaining a cultural balance for the students.Guest speakers may include educated and prominent figures in the Afghan-American community whowill try to inspire the students. Speakers will most likely come from personal contacts.

Objective: To visit the Persian/Afghan exhibit at LACMA with students once during the year.

Methodology: Obtain UCLA vans and student waivers in order to take the students to LACMA

exhibit in Los Angeles. Parents will be recommended to attend with the event but will be asked to covertheir own expenses.

Objective: To increase awareness through education about Afghanistan through the creation of a smalllibrary lending program (mobile library) that consists of 18 books. The subjects of the books vary fromthe different languages spoken in Afghanistan to the rich cultural history of Afghanistan.

Methodology: Provide students with books and movies about Afghanistan (literature, fiction, non-fiction, factual, documentary, etc.) that they normally do not have access to. AMA will create a library forstudents and maintain the books and movies for check-out. Students will be assigned a book to read andlater discuss their thoughts about it with other students.

Objective: To provide cultural workshops at least three times a year to the students at the site.

Methodology: The workshops will be held in addition to the normal mentoring/tutoring provided bythe volunteer/tutors. Tutors will lead workshops such as The History of Afghan Women, FamousAfghan Intellectuals, and An Introduction to Modern Afghan History. Similar to the academic

workshops, each will last forty-five minutes and will include hand-outs for further research.Goal: To create leadership skills in the volunteers of AMA.

Objective: To provide three mentor trainings throughout the year to each mentor.

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Methodology: At the beginning of each quarter (fall, winter, and spring), the volunteers will betrained on how to address the community problems for the students, how to begin to create change in thestudents lives, and how to maintain proper relationships with students to maximize the effectiveness ofthe program. Tutors/volunteers will be instructed about what to do, what not to do, what to report, and thelogistical aspects of the organization. Tutors/volunteers who show extraordinary leadership will berecognized and will be recommended for higher leadership positions the following year.

Objective: To provide at least 15 mentors with important responsibilities by the end of the year.

Methodology: As stated earlier, mentors will be responsible for their students. Each mentor may beassigned up to three students. Mentors will be held accountable for maintaining personalized folders foreach student in which relevant discussions, reminders, and academic problems are recorded after everysite visit. Also included are progress reports and personal goals set by the student. Mentors areresponsible for making sure the folders are up-to-date and organized.

Objective: Provide four leadership positions to volunteers.

Methodology: Volunteers who show motivation and reliability will be nominated to become a part ofthe board. Once on board, volunteers will be given the opportunity to oversee important tasks that othervolunteers do not have access to (i.e. site coordination, creation of mentorship curriculum, etc).

Internal Organization

Afghan Mentorship Alliance consists of a four-member team including three board members underthe supervision of one administrator.

Position Roles

Administrator Oversee entire project and make sure the board is performing its assigned tasks.

AdministrativeAssistant*

Maintain files, folders, library books, and other project resources. Responsible for takingnotes at general meetings as well as updating and corresponding with board andvolunteers. Will contact volunteers scheduled to serve as mentors.

Site Coordinator* Maintains contact with community organizers and informs them of any developments orupdates. Will also maintain contact information of students.

TutoringCoordinator*

Responsible for the creation of both workshops and weekly tutoring curriculum.

Volunteer Volunteers will serve as mentors at the site. They are responsible for attending siteregularly and coming prepared to mentor and tutor their students with personalized

assistance that is not provided by the curriculum.

*Board members

All board members will be responsible for outreaching and recruiting UCLA students to serve as mentors.The mother organization, the United Afghan Club, will advertise this project to the members of the club

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and to members of sister organizations such as the Muslim Student Association and the Pakistani StudentAssociation.

Meeting Purpose Occurrence

Board Training To train and to assign relevant tasks to theboard of AMA. Goals and methods will be

discussed.

Week 0 of Fall.

General BoardMeeting

To maintain tasks of the board and provideupdates

Twice per quarter.

VolunteerTraining

To train volunteers to serve as mentors andtutors

Week 0 and 1 of Fall, Winter, and Springas well as individual meetings if necessary

GeneralVolunteerMeeting

To provide updates and maintain volunteers At least three times per quarter

Program Evaluation*

Every quarter, the program will be evaluated by the students, the mentors, the board, and the communitypartners. Due to the fact that the project started just last year, a clear form of evaluation has not yet beendeveloped.

Students will be given an anonymous survey assessing the programs:

Relevance

Effectiveness

Usefulness

Overall quality

Mentors must collect grade reports from the previous academic quarter/year and compare them withupdated grade reports given to students from school. All improvements or drops in grades will be citedand presented to board (to assess whether GPA has increased or not). Any other relevant information suchas examination grades, attendance, teacher comments, and special awards will also be noted in thestudents profiles.

The board will be responsible for evaluating the effectiveness and the attendance of the volunteers.

Community members will be given evaluation forms to fill out, assessing similar judgments as therecipients of the program. AMA hopes that community members will provide much more comprehensiveforms of advice and detailed guidance of their own expectations:

Relevance

Effectiveness

Usefulness

Overall quality

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*See Appendix for Evaluations

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE

PROGRAM SUMMARY WORKSHEET

Program: Afghan Mentorship Alliance

Total years in operation as student program: year (began Winter/Spring of last

academic year)

Community partners: (Please list all partners, such as schools, nonprofit groups, community

organizations)Fatima Islamic Society, Resalat Educational Foundation, support of Salaam Youth Group,

Afghan American Muslim Outreach

UCLA partners: (Please list all campus entities that support or collaborate with your program,

such as academic departments, student groups, etc.)

Muslim Student Association, Pakistani Student Association, United Arab Society, Mentors

for Academic and Peer Support, Incarcerated Youth Tutorial Project

UCLA VOLUNTEERS 2008-2009

(average)

2009-2010

(proposed)

Total per site visit 4 9

Total per quarter 8 18

Total per academic year 15 20

SERVICE RECIPIENTS 2008-2009

(average)

2009-2010

(proposed)

Total per site 9 13

Total per quarter 20-25 26

Total per academic year 20-25 40

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SITE VISITS 2008-2009

(average)

2009-2010

(proposed)

Total per quarter 7 8

Total per academic year 7 24

BUDGET 2008-2009 2009-2010

Total Program Budget n/a

$4,569

Total CAC Allocation n/a

$4,569

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE

BUDGET WORKSHEET

Budget Line

Item

Priorit

y

(pleaserank)

Total

Program

Cost

Amount

Requested from

Other Sources

Amount

Requested

from CAC

CAC

allocation(leave

blank)

Clerical

Supplies

2 $1412.02 $0 $1412.02

Food 5 $408.88 $0 $408.88

Printing 3 $150.00 $0 $150.00

Special

Supplies

4 $774.42 $0 $774.42

Transportation

1 $1824.00 $0 $1824.00

Total Cost $4,569 $4,569 $4,569

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List other sources of funding: CAC supplement fund. Other potential source may include

CPC Regular fund or CS Mini Fund.

Total funds Requested from CAC: $4,569.00

Community Members Letter of Support

August 15, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

Last year we had the privilege of having the UCLA students come to our Sunday School and

help the kids with academics. The purpose of the program was to help disadvantaged, underrepresented; first-generation/second-generation immigrant children to attain academic successand a greater sense of cultural awareness. The UCLA students spent time talking to students thatare in middle and high school regarding courses to take to prepare for college. They helped themwith what they were currently studying in school and with preparing for the future. The programwas extremely beneficial and the children looked forward to spending time with the UCLAstudents each week.

We are hoping that this program will continue this year. We would love to see the UCLAstudents return and help the younger children again.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me. I am a teacher at theSunday School and an active member of the community.

Thank you,

Zehra Yar-Khan

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805 529 7527

[email protected]

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Appendix

Appendix 1

Sample Evaluation: Student/Recipient of Services

The survey will be anonymous and will include, but will not be limited to the followingquestions.

1. On a scale of 1 10, with 10 being extremely helpful, how would you ratethis program in terms of helpfulness?

2. Have any of the mentors said anything that has ever offended you? (Y/N).

3. Do you feel that you are improving from this program?

4. What changes would you like to see? Please be detailed.

5. Which aspect of this project most appeals to you? Which part do youenjoy the most?

6. Has this program created a greater awareness of your Afghan (or other

cultural) heritage?

7. Has this program motivated you to succeed academically?

Appendix 2

Sample Evaluation: Community Organizer

Please fill out with as much detail as possible. The more detail you give, the better the projectcan improve.

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1. On a scale of 1-10, what is your overall attitude towards the program? (with 10 beingextremely satisfied).

2. What are its positives?

3. What are its negatives?

4. What improvements do you think the project could make?

5. Have you ever had poor experiences with any of the volunteers?

6. How strongly do you feel your role is in this project?

7. Are there goals you would like to accomplish that AMA currently has not set?

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