April 2023

Young people are reaping the benefits of recent Optimist Club programs in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East.  

Ghana 

A project four years in the making came full circle this spring for the Optimist Club Tema District in Ghana. In 2019, Club members partnered with the National Readers Association to create a mobile library for young people. The Club received approximately three thousand books for math, science and English that will benefit about 400 local students.

Jordan 

Education is a key component for Optimist Clubs’ community service initiatives. That’s one of the reasons President Bob McFadyen encourages Optimist Clubs to adopt a primary or elementary school in their area. The Hand in Hand Optimist Club of Amman, Jordan, connected with young people this year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The second annual event included music, dancing, characters in costume, face-painting, competitions, and the distribution of books to more than three dozen children.

View an Arabic-language video of the event posted by the Club:

Barbados 

The connection between Optimists and education dates back several decades to the organization’s Youth Appreciation program. Many Clubs, including the Optimist Club of Barbados North, created programs to acknowledge middle- and high-school age people. Youth Appreciation is designed to encourage a greater exchange of ideas between young people and adults and to recognize students for being a positive influence among their peers.

Algeria and Belize

Young people from three countries joined an online discussion this month about community service and what it means to them. Students from Algeria, Canada and Belize shared their experiences via Zoom during the event organized by the Optimist Club of Algeria and the Optimist Club of Belize. The students and participating adults agreed they would continue the discussion on other topics in the months to come.

Bangladesh

Many Optimist Club projects focus on less fortunate young people in our society, but the Optimist Club of Dhaka, Bangladesh, recently went above and beyond. Dhaka Optimists doubled their membership and worked with the business community to obtain funding for a meal service at a local orphanage.

Japan 

Optimist International’s first Club in Japan wasted no time demonstrating its commitment to community service. The Optimist Club of Tokyo, in its first quarterly newsletter, reported raising funds to provide food and clothing for a school in Laos, providing supplies and food to an orphanage in Cambodia, and donating goods and other items to two youth employment centers in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Nepal 

To the west of Japan, many of the Optimist Clubs in Nepal participated in one of the oldest Optimist programs, the Essay Contest. Students were asked to write an essay on the topic, “Who is an Everyday Hero that brings out the Optimism in You?” We congratulate all the participants and those who received certificates and awards for their work.

South Korea 

Optimist International would also like to extend a warm greeting to the newest Club in Asia. The Optimist Club of Seoul, South Korea, organized in mid-March with the initial mission of supporting a Junior Optimist Club formed at the same time. The new adult Club is sponsored by the Media-Rose Tree Optimist Club of the Atlantic Central District.