Bethany College is participating in a Servant Leadership service project, hosted by student Kristen Hanks. This project consists of selling/buying bracelets (Yuda Bands) in order to help fight poverty through education! Our sponsored child is 14-year-old Roland Richard Manyaye from Zimbabwe. He would like to be a judge after completing his education. Roland has four siblings, as well as two relatives that are trying to get through school.

YOUR PART in all of this is to head to Trollslända, Blacksmith Coffee, or The White Peacock, and purchase a Yuda Band (or a few) for $7 (cash or card) each between October 5th and 18^th. There are several designs and colors, so find your perfect fit!

Here is the organization’s description of how the organization works:

“Bright high school aged students in the developing world want to study. But they live in parts of their country where public high school is either unavailable or too expensive. They approach the Yuda Bands organization for help. You fall in love with the Yuda Bands project because you understand that education is the most effective way to break the poverty cycle. You sign up for your own project at the bottom of this page. In the meantime while you’re getting ready for your sales, you indirectly gave a job to the Yuda Bands makers who are hard at work making your hand-made 100% Fair Trade bracelets out of repurposed coconut shells and leather. Read stories and see pictures of each student in need of sponsorship. After you find and select the student you want to support make sure you set up a Skype Video call with them. It doesn’t get more REAL than this! An experienced member of the Yuda Bands team will contact you directly to help you set up your project. Through our online resources you can complete a training, download posters, and order t-shirts. You’ll get your box of 100, 200, 300, or 400 Yuda Bands along with posters and the Yuda Bands t-shirts you order. You get a great variety of band designs which you’ll sell for two weeks for $7 each and your classmates love them! You feel AMAZING knowing that in less than one month you created jobs and provided education for some of the most needy people in the world. You feel a special attachment to the project and your new international friend. You join other project leaders around the US or from your school on a Yuda Trip to meet your student in his/her own home. Not only did you improve the lives of many others, your perspective on life will never be the same.”

I was lucky enough to be one of the volunteer salespeople on campus for this great project! When people approached the table, they would get excited about how neat the bracelets are, and when they were told what we were supporting, they would get even more excited! Students, staff, and faculty were all involved in this support; it’s incredible to see how progressive and full of love and helpfulness my cohorts and mentors are! Next week, those who were involved our project will be able to Skype Roland!

The best part about this project is that you can be a part of it too!!!

Head to yudabands.org and find out how to get your school to sponsor a student-in-need! We are genuinely fighting poverty through education, creating better individuals, and in turn, creating a better world.

Thank you to everyone who supported Roland and Bethany College Servant Leadership these last couple of weeks. Make sure to head to The White Peacock, Blacksmith Coffee, or Trollslända before the end of tomorrow for one final stretch of helping fund Roland’s education!