By Trinh Tran
Youth to Yemen is a new charity organization that aims to send humanitarian aid to mitigate the effects of the crisis in Yemen, said junior Noelle Huynh, the founder and head director, in a Zoom interview. Huynh and some other MHS juniors founded the organization over the summer, she added.
Huynh described the conditions that have contributed to the crisis. They include bad water conditions, the five-year Yemeni Civil War, and widespread health issues worsened by COVID-19, she said. As a result, Yeminis—particularly children—suffer from a poor standard of living, she said. Yemini children often do not have enough food sources and shelter, as the aid they receive from the United States is insufficient, she stated.
The Youth to Yemen team participated in several initiatives focused on the situation in Yemen. “We [were involved with] a webinar which high schoolers of all Bay Area schools could attend that really spoke out about the situation in Yemen,” Huynh said.
Some team members served as panelists for UNICEF, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sending humanitarian aid to children, including Yeminis, Huynh said. The panelists discussed methods high schoolers can engage in to fund UNICEF and assist with the organization’s Yemini efforts, she added.
“It was more than 50 high schoolers or so for the audience, and [we] teamed up with other panelists, including people actually in Yemen,” Huynh said. “Alongside them, we have been able to educate and encourage people to get involved with the issue.”
Beyond educating youth about the crisis and encouraging involvement, the organization has looked into other ways to aid those in Yemen, Huynh said. For example, the team considered directly donating educational materials, such as books and stationery, she said. The team might also donate to UNICEF or other humanitarian organizations to fund vaccinations, clean water supplies, and other basic necessities, Huynh added.
One of the organization’s upcoming initiatives is a fundraiser, which will likely occur in mid-November. The team has considered several options for the fundraiser. “First, we looked at a raffle,” Huynh said. “We were going to team up with UNICEF so we could possibly send out gift cards, which could be done electronically. We were [also] planning to have a webinar where high schoolers can join to learn about the in-ground situation in Yemen. Three, we were looking at the option of selling masks. … We were planning to sell those off, and 100% of the profits would go to Yemen.”
The team members have been personally contacting students, posting on social media, and working with UNICEF to advertise the fundraiser and the organization as a whole, Huynh said. If students cannot participate in the fundraiser but would like to help, Huynh recommends staying informed through reading credible sources on the crisis.
Furthermore, Huynh said she has specific reasons to target youth and the Yemen crisis. The crisis had personal meaning to her ever since she learned about it two years ago, she said.
“To still see [the crisis] be an advancing and a continuing threat to human life, I think that’s a really big concern because of the longevity of it [and] the severity of it,” Huynh said. “For us to make a youth-led organization for the youth, it’s really important because, one, we get out true information that people can circulate. Two, we make information easy to understand … and we make it engaging because the number one thing I see from high schoolers is that they want to participate in the convenient.”
The current leadership team also includes the public media co-directors, junior Mrunmayee Jere and junior Aishah Jaffrey. The co-directors advertise events and post infographics about the crisis on social media.
“The idea is we’re increasing awareness about the problems, and the more people know about the problems, the more people are able to help and donate,” Jaffrey said in a Zoom interview.
In addition, some Instagram posts falsely claim to donate money to Yemen if Instagram users like or repost the post, Jere said in a Zoom interview. The Youth to Yemen team wants to counteract these fake posts and provide a reliable source of information, she added.
The remaining members of the leadership team are juniors Kasra Beheshti and Aisha Khan, who serve as the co-directors of project operations.
“We coordinate various team members,” Beheshti said during a Zoom interview. “Right now, we’re working together as a board to formulate new ideas, and one thing that project operations is working on is setting up financial accounts, like PayPal.”
As a whole, the project operations department is responsible for securing funds, which includes finding a network of people who can provide them, Beheshti said. The co-directors will then donate them to organizations stationed in Yemen, like UNICEF and Mercy Corps, he said.
“What we want to do next is set up a website to help with outreach,” Besheshti said. “The main problem with the Yemen crisis is that not enough high schoolers are aware or inclined to help. So, as project operations, I want to give those opportunities to high schoolers.”