Lyla Goes to Pakistan!

Interim Executive Director, Lyla Hardesty is in Pakistan this month!

Barakat’s Interim Executive Director, Lyla Hardesty, left for Pakistan on Wednesday to do program assessment on Barakat’s 4 schools in Attock. Punjab province.   These schools, the earliest of which dates back to 1994 and altogether educate 800 students and include an evening school especially for girls. Additionally, these schools sport such facilities as a lending library, computer lab and qualified teachers educated at either the University of Punjab or Allama Iqbal Open University. All of these programs are administered through the local subsidiary organization, Barakat Pakistan.

Lyla’s visit will allow her to see the progress of these programs firsthand, as well as to understand what needs still need to be met. Barakat’s programs in Pakistan began to educate Turkmen refugees from Afghanistan who had significant trouble getting educated because of linguistic barriers. Throughout her three-week long journey, Lyla will be sending us descriptions of her adventures and we’ll be posting them right here! Stay tuned for stories and photos straight from Pakistan!

Get To Know the Barakat Staff: Kate Bispham

Name: Kate Bispham

Hometown: Sydney, ME

School: Endicott College

What You Do At Barakat: 

Fun Fact: “I love the ocean and the mountains.“

What You Have Learned Working at Barakat:

Favorite Quote: “When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.” – Dian Fossey

Heroes: Dian Fossey, Greg Mortenson, many of my friends.

You’re Stranded on a Desert Island but you get to bring 5 things, they are:

1. 35mm SLR camera and film

2. memories

3. knowledge

4. a never-ending story

5. necessities for survival

Most Desired Superpower: Fluency in every language (like C3PO)

Get to Know the Barakat Staff: Sherbaz Khan

 

 

 

Name: Sherbaz Khan

Hometown: Waltham, MA

School: Heller School of Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University

 

What You do at Barakat: Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Fun Fact: “I always smile”

What have you learned while at Barakat: “I have realized that I will be able to learn a lot about professional and personal development.”

Favorite Quote: “Our attitude towards life determines life’s attitude toward us.” -Earl Nightingale

5 Things to Bring if Stranded on a Desert Island: My diaries, shaving box, hand bag, pen and paper, and money

Most Desired Superpower: Power to eradicate poverty from the world

Get To Know the Barakat Staff: Cortney Gusick

Name: Cortney Gusick

Hometown: Kapolei, HI

School: Brandeis University, Graduate Student

What You Do At Barakat:  Program Assistant

Fun Fact About Yourself:  

“I’m an amazing tree climber/fruit forager.” “I’ve never had a Facebook account.”
“I’m currently writing a book, and I love the radio program, ‘This American Life”

 What Have You Learned working at Barakat?

“That unified, dynamic, and diverse people are an excellent recipe for growth and development.”

Favorite Quote: 

“Let Your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.” -Baha’u’ llah

Heroes: Naseem Alizadeh, Luc and Sophie Pardehpoosh, Troy & Shauna.

Your suddenly stranded on a desert island but naturally you get to bring your five favorite things.  They are:

Baha’i Books, paper, pens, polaroid camera, black licorice.

Most Desired Superpower:

“That’s easy: Self-multiplication.”

Get to know the Barakat staff! Colin Rink

 

 

 

 

 

Name: Colin Rink

Hometown: Ossining, NY 

School: Northeastern University 

What do you do at Barakat: Corporate Sponsorship  

Fun fact about yourself: I have webbed toes.

What have you learned working at Barakat: Calling business and asking for sponsorship is not that bad. Business don’t hate me and some are very helpful. 

Favorite quote: “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” – Mark Twain  

Heroes: Bruce Springsteen, Barack, Spiderman  

You’re suddenly stranded on a desert island but naturally you got to bring your five favorite things. They are:
iPod, a good book, my girlfriend, George Foreman grill (solar-powered), radio to listen to Yankees games

Most desired superpower: flight

Get to know the Barakat staff: Eric Prileson

 

Name: Eric Prileson 

Hometown: Tucson, AZ 

School: Northeastern University 

What do you do at Barakat: communications, writing, editing and updating online resources.

Fun fact about yourself: played 4  sports in high school 

What have you learned working at Barakat: I have learned that the breadth of nonprofits is so extensive that it has interlaced with mainstream America in both the business and non-business world.

Working towards a common goal requires the skills and input of everyone. 

Favorite quote: “If you feel like you are witnessing a movement, then get up girl and let them know you’re  free.” Chad Urmston 

Heroes: My Grandfather, Michael Jordan, Normar Garciaparra  

You’re suddenly stranded on a desert island but naturally you got to bring your five favorite things. They are:
my baseball glove, my guitar, my favorite snacks (Nutella), favorite book “October Sky,” favorite sandwich 

Most desired superpower: ability to learn and execute everything perfectly

Get to know the Barakat staff: Yumi Ujihara

We’d like you to get to know the faces and personalities behind the Barakat staff, so we’re bringing you a series of updates about each of our staff. We hope you have as much fun reading them as we did writing them.

Name: Yumi Ujihara

Hometown: Boston/Japan

School: graduated from BU in May ’09

What do you do at Barakat: Walk for Literacy event planner

Fun fact about yourself: Love to play tennis, travel, plan to work in Nepal from Oct. to March 2010

What have you learned working at Barakat: how to coordinate/ plan a fundraising events, how to manage people

Favorite quote:“Dive in before thinking too much” – John Nood

“Live as if you died tomorrow, dream as if you’ll live forever.”

You’re suddenly stranded on a desert island but naturally you got to bring your five favorite things. They are:

water, food, tent, partner, compass/map

Most desired superpower:

An everywhere door: a door that lets me go anywhere I want

Get to know the Barakat staff: Christina Dinh

We’d like you to get to know the faces and personalities behind the Barakat staff, so we’re bringing you a series of updates about each of our staff. We hope you have as much fun reading them as we did writing them.

Name: Christina Dinh

 

 

 

 

 

Hometown: South Windsor, CT

School: Northeastern University

What you do at Barakat: Development Assistant

Fun fact about yourself: I can speak 5 languages (Vietnamese, 2 dialects of Chinese, French, and of course, English!)

What have you learned working at Barakat: I have learned a lot about South and Central Asian society and culture as well as how these factor into education.

Favorite quote: “Freedom lies in being bold.” – Robert Frost

Heroes: My mom, She’s superwoman and I honestly don’t know what I would do without her.

You’re suddenly stranded on a desert island but naturally you got to bring your five favorite thins. They are:

-my SIGG bottle

-Sunglasses

-iPod

-a good book to read

-cell phone (so I can be rescued eventually)

Most desired superpower: teleportation becuase travel is expensive and it would be awesome to travel to wherever I wanted in a flash.

 

Stayed tuned for more entries about our fantastic staff!