Global Book Club

The Lightless Sky The Lightless Sky

by Gulwali Passarlay

A gripping, inspiring, and eye-opening memoir of fortitude and survival—of a twelve-year-old boy’s traumatic flight from Afghanistan to the West—that puts a face to one of the most shocking and devastating humanitarian crises of our time.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are the costs of war? Are they worth it?

2. Looking into Gulwali's life and how he juggled culture and values, how did he find peace through understanding other ways of thinking? How can we do the same?

3. Gulwali Passarlay’s The Lightless Sky is similar to I am Malala because both were a part of the Pashtunwali tribe and involve the Taliban. The Taliban shot Malala on her way to school, but she survived. In this autobiography, Gulwali writes about girls and education saying he didn’t want his sisters to go to school, “not because I wanted to deny them an education, but because I didn’t want any of my friends telling me they had seen my sisters outside” (Passarlay, p. 32). Do young girls have agency in Pashtun culture?

4. Ponder this quote: “Hope, along these roads at least, was an allusion. Something dangerous—and costly—to entertain.” In this circumstance, why is hope dangerous?

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GLOBAL YOUTH FORUM

COVID-19 update: due to ongoing social distancing requirements and the lack of available resources locally to host students, GYF 2020 is currently postponed to fall 2020. We are planning a reunion conference with our GYF alumni and a select group of local students to help test out a new curriculum and brainstorm location and program ideas. Some of this conference will be live-streamed for our School and Classroom participants and our overseas chapters. Global Youth Forum continues to be our most popular program, bringing in students from around the world to discuss global issues, explore innovative ways to solve problems and develop their leadership, cultural competency and diplomacy skills. Like nearly every other non-profit company, our operations have been significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Most notably, the dormitories we host our out of town students in are closed for the summer, so as we plan for GYF, we know we will be hosting local students for day trips only with the possibility some students may come from outside Kansas City and stay in the homes of our staff. We also are not able to bring in any students from outside the US, and due to continued social distancing requirements the student body will be significantly smaller than in the past. Please continue to check back here for more information.

New for 2020: The PTPI President's Reading List

Welcome to the 2020 PTPI President's Reading List. This year, for the first time, we've advanced the Global Book Club to more closely align with our mission and vision and provide a year-long experience in culture, travel, education and global citizenship. The reading list this year includes a diverse selection of books and multimedia that will enrich and inspire you to embrace the adventurer within each of us and to see the potential impact that cultural exchanges and humanitarian service adds to many lives. Join us in our facebook group to talk about what you're reading! Click the graphic to access the full reading list including descriptions of the books. Join our Facebook Group HERE.

SCHOOL & CLASSROOM

Bring the world to your classroom! The first step toward a more peaceful tomorrow is investing in children today. This completely free modern-day pen pal program offers teachers around the world resources, projects, and global connections with teachers and PTPI members to support the development of globally-minded and culturally-competent students. The School & Classroom Program (SCP) is a completely free service that matches your classroom with another classroom from across the globe. While you teach global history and tell stories about adventures in a land far, far away, you can build friendships for your students with others from these very lands. By registering your class, you will be matched with a classroom of similar age and size. You'll receive an SCP guidebook that will help you to build a curriculum that fits the needs of both classrooms. Through pen pal relationships and shared projects, your students will develop global mindedness and exposure to amazing cultures and traditions. This amazing program is very adaptable and can be as simple or in-depth as a teacher chooses for their students. Register in the fall to be matched with a partner classroom from a "far away land" for the school year. Sign up for the School & Classroom Program here or contact Laurie Arellano at (816) 531-4701 for details!

Coming in 2020: digital art competition!

We are evolving our long-standing Global Youth Murals program to allow more participation from our overseas chapters as well as home-schooled students and those students without access to art programs. Our goal is to be more inclusive and to allow students to address global issues with more individual expressions. Check back here for details about our digital art contest! Additional information and submission instructions are in the Global Youth Mural guidelines.

CLICK HERE FOR THE GUIDELINES

JOYCE C. HALL SCHOLARSHIP

COVID-19 update: scholarship applications will be accepted until further notice. Our scholarship funding has been impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and we are uncertain when scholarship funds will be available to be released to schools. Please be patient as we work with our very generous donors to help continue to fund the program. The Joyce C. Hall College Scholarship is possible through funding provided by a direct bequest from Mr. Hall when he passed. This program not only illustrates the importance of the People to People's mission to Mr. Hall, it is also a symbol of the longstanding partnership between Hallmark and People to People International. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE