Hello African Students at UW-Madison!

My name is Lisa Jiardini and I am a
volunteer with Madison Friends of
International Students working
specifically with the International
Reach Program. This program was created
to bring international students in contact
with children from local schools so that
the two parties could learn more about
each other.

How is works: A teacher calls me with a request
for international speakers and I find a speaker
from a list of volunteers I have to come and talk
to the class. The volunteer speaker goes to the
school (transportation can be arranged or
reimbursed) and talks to the children and
shows them things from their country. The children
in turn will ask questions and sometimes give
you information about themselves. The total time
could be 45 minutes to a few hours, depending on
the type of request.

I have gotten a lot of requests for African
speakers and only have three volunteers to choose
from. I hope that some of you who read this, will
be interested in volunteering some time
to teach children  about their country and
culture. Meeting someone from another country can
really bring the children's studies alive and you may
correct some of the misconstrued ideas the children
might have gotten from TV or media about your country.
You also have the opportunity to meet American
children and experience a setting different from
your everyday life.

I look forward to hearing from anyone who is
interested and am happy to answer any questions
you may have. You can reach me by email or
at 828-9944.

Thank you,


Lisa Jiardini
MFIS