Belonging
You remember that time you were with a group of people and everything felt just right? You had probably been with the group for an extended period of time. You shared experiences, you overcame challenges, and you unveiled your true selves. You were fully immersed, present with others. The rest of the world, your everyday life, seemed to disappear. Together you forged an identity. You were part of an authentic community.
The feeling is powerful. Unforgettable. Transformative.
Now imagine if you could harness this feeling to create
friendship where the alternative is hatred,
understanding where the alternative is discrimination, and
human flourishing where the alternative is violence.
At Sarus, this is precisely what we do.
We do exchange programs. With a twist.
Our students come from countries with
a history of conflict.
We choose high potential youth
who can influence their communities,
transforming stereotypes and discrimination.
The two groups live together for 2-4 weeks
and collaborate on projects in one country.
Then, they switch countries and live together
for an additional 2-4 weeks as they collaborate
on a new project in the other country.
We create an environment in which students are
encouraged to be curious, open, and authentic.
They are encouraged to learn deeply
about themselves & others, to explore conflict.
The experience is powerful, unforgettable, transformative.
A community takes root. But it doesn't end
at the conclusion of the program.
We hold alumni meet-ups, workshops, and retreats.
We fund alumni initiatives and provide mentorship.
The community sustains. The individual flourishes.
One person at a time, peace grows.
Bangladesh-Myanmar
We have a proven track-record of successful exchange programs between Cambodia and Vietnam. Since 2011, we've run 7 bilateral exchanges for over 120 young leaders from these countries. Participants describe their experiences as life changing. Alumni have gone on to create projects that train communities in peace skills and actively reduce discrimination.
Since 2013, we've hosted 7 interns from Bangladesh and Myanmar on our programs. This past year, we received $25,000 in funding from the Henry Luce Foundation to create the first-ever bilateral exchange program for young women leaders from these countries. In 2016, we plan to select 6 university-age students from the two countries to participate in a 6-week internship exchange between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The program is budgeted to cost $42,000, and we need your help raising the additional funds.
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Where Your Money Goes
The first $17,000 raised will go towards the new exchange program between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The second $9,000 will help support the costs of our programming between Cambodia and Vietnam. Funds will cover program costs such as transportation, accommodations, and food for staff and participants, as well as program staff salaries. We value transparency and accountability, and as such, detailed financial information is available to anyone upon request.
Why We Love Crowdfunding
For us, crowdfunding is about way more than the money we raise. Our ultimate goal is to bring new people into our community and to deepen connection and engagement with existing community members. We hope your likes, shares, comments, and donations will be a genuine act of community participation and validation. We want you to be part of our community. And through this, you'll help us, and we'll help you. We'll grow together.
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We're not just raising money, we're building a community.
