In the two months since our team left Jenin, we have had many exciting developments for A Global Voice for Autism. Here are a few highlights:
-Skype Parent Follow-Ups: We have made several attempts to follow up with the mothers over Skype but after realizing that Skype cannot support the bandwidth of our calls (we have volunteers in the U.S., Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and more!) we have decided to switch to pre-recorded videos. The mothers will now film therapy sessions with their children using the cameras on their cell phones and will send these to our therapists for feedback along with any questions they have. We are excited to welcome a three new Arabic-speaking volunteers to our team, which will allow us to get back to the mothers faster and to make sure that their needs and our suggestions are not lost in translation.
-Business Plan Competition: A professor at Hult International Business School is going to be hosting a business plan competition in one of her courses in July in which her students will be challenged to develop a sustainable business plan for A Global Voice for Autism. This will allow us to continue expanding so that our services can reach communities in need around the world.
-Watson University-In the fall, I will be attending the Watson University program in Boulder, Colorado. Watson University is a program for 18-23 year old social entrepreneurs from around the world. At Watson, I will have the opportunity to work with mentors to scale A Global Voice for Autism and to pilot potential programs for international sites.
-Partnerships in Jordan, Jerusalem/Ramallah and Canada-We are excited to be discussing partnerships and collaborations with organizations around the world. We are always open to new partners and projects in any communities in need. Please let us know if you are interested in partnering or know an organization that would benefit from our programs. We have more exciting announcements on the way…stay tuned!
-Melissa
The Jenin Autism Project 