Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Dalal
Sangoor, Bahrain
“The whole experience
was flat-out amazing. I feel so blessed to have had
the priviledge of two wonderful girls staying with
me, and I learned so much from them. By the end of
the week, we felt (and acted!) like sisters. Our
differences in culture weren't a problem, but
rather something that brought us together. We had
mutual interest and curiousity, and a genuine
desire to learn about other cultures.
I didn't expect to be hosting actual people, so learning to really love my homestay girls as people, as well as loving their culture and their values, was really an eye-opening experience. I have a new level of respect for Middle Eastern culture, I feel like a more cultured and open person, and I got fantansic new friends. I only wish they could have stayed longer, or that I could go visit them, because we still have so much to learn from each other, and building these bridges to connect our different (and really not that different) worlds is SO important.”
I didn't expect to be hosting actual people, so learning to really love my homestay girls as people, as well as loving their culture and their values, was really an eye-opening experience. I have a new level of respect for Middle Eastern culture, I feel like a more cultured and open person, and I got fantansic new friends. I only wish they could have stayed longer, or that I could go visit them, because we still have so much to learn from each other, and building these bridges to connect our different (and really not that different) worlds is SO important.”
Shanzi
Shafique - Lahore,
Pakistan
Kelly
Landers - Stoneham,
Massachusets, USA
“In
Pakistan, we often have a stereotype that Americans
would be discriminative toward us; But all that
changed when we met our host families and the girls
and got a feel for how open minded they were. They
didn’t have any pre-conceived notions about us
which was quite a change from our normal
thoughts…it was wonderful!”
“Women2Women bridges
the gap between us and the kids in the U.S.
In the Middle East, and in the whole world, we want
peace! We are the young leaders of tomorrow, and we
can be the peacemakers.”
Krisanne
Campos, Boston, USA
Assra
Jaffri, Lahore, Pakistan
“…not to be
trivial, but we're all just teenage girls, and
we’re interested in the same things like boys…but
the open conversations we had showed us just how
many similarities we actually had!”
“
...Cultural insights into peace are indeed the top
priority, but as a business student, it is an
incredible opportunity to hear from these
establishes women talking about their
experiences. This is something you don’t get
to experience everyday! Through this program
we were also able as representatives of our country
to show the softer side of Pakistan and
Islam."
Halla
Al-Safadi, Gaza City,
Palestine
"I was
fortunate enough to be chosen to attend the Women
to Women Leadership Conference and Cultural
Exchange in Boston. Attending this conference
was really the best experience of my life. It
gave me the opportunity to learn, network and
acquire the leadership and professional development
skills I will need to succeed as a future leader.
We had the chance to meet with national and
international women leaders, and from them I was
able to see that women have the power to change the
world and accomplish whatever they set their minds
to. The Conference taught me many things, but
above all I learned that good leaders are sometimes
followers; and that good relationships, and the
ability to be flexible."
Women2Women
Cultural Connection & Leadership
Program