From the Montagnard community in Vietnam to the refugee children in Greensboro, student initiatives have reached far and wide with aid from the Bonner Center. This year, four independent sites have already made a significant impact.

The oldest site is the African Youth Initiative, which began about a year ago.

“It’s a coalition of organizations … that come together to coordinate projects that benefit African youth,” said project coordinator and Bonner Americorps member Bevelyn Ukah ’10. “The main principle is that youth should be able to implement things that benefit their community.”

African Youth Initiative gives young Africans in America the ability to take charge of their futures.

“People of the African diaspora are the experts of their own experiences,” said Ukah. “With that said, it makes a lot more sense to gauge community problem solving through consulting with people who are experiencing them.”

The same principle applies to the Montagnard Research Team, led by project coordinators and members of the Montagnard community sophomore Hvung Ksor and junior Lek Siu.

“This summer, Lek and I went back to Vietnam and did research about Montagnard health, mostly hypertension,” said Ksor. “We interviewed the villagers about their diet, family and lifestyle.”

As members of the Montagnard community, Ksor and Siu know what the people need.

“They are not eating healthy food,” said Siu. “They used to pick up the plants from the mountains, and now they use chemicals to fertilize their plants. When you eat chemicals, it can damage your health.”

Like Ksor and Siu, project coordinator and sophomore José Oliva runs Roads to College with the knowledge of what it is like to be a part of the refugee community.

“Roads to College (is) a college access program,” said Oliva. “We provide workshops and motivational talks to local high schools.”

Many sites, including Roads to College, collaborate with others to make a larger impact.

“This year, we’re trying to provide the same services to other Bonner sites, like Glen Haven and Elimu,” said Oliva.

Unlike the other independent projects, Guilford College Mental Health Outreach is run on Guilford’s campus.

“It’s an informational site that provides accurate information about mental illness and what it means to have mental health issues,” said project coordinator Shelby Smith, a senior.

The goal this year is to get rid of the stigma surrounding mental health problems.

“It’s a (collection of) highly stigmatized medical condition(s),” said Smith. “I emphasize the word medical.”

There are many things Guilfordians can do to support these independent sites.

“Guilford students could get involved in life skills,” said Ksor. “We work with the Montagnard community, helping immigrants become citizens and trying to get a community center for the Montagnard.”

Project coordinators are willing to answer any questions, especially those about their sites.

“Anybody is welcome to contact me if they want to get involved or talk about the issue,” said Smith. “I’m always willing to have an open ear.”