As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact lives on a global scale, Yale Young Global Scholars students and alumni have worked hard to develop initiatives that address related concerns, such as mental health struggles, medical supply shortages, and economic uncertainties. The following examples showcase our impressive network of young leaders striving to make a global impact by tackling this pandemic head-on.
Louai Allani (Nonprofit Founder) | PLE III 2020 Admit from UAE
CORONAMOOD is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of COVID-19, shares helpful resources, and surveys human behavior during the pandemic. CORONAMOOD features a survey where anonymous data is collected and donated to private research. The main objective is to study peoples’ moods and social well-being and transform this data into relatable statistics.
Amina Rotari (Club Founder) | IAG 2019 from Moldova
Rotaract Club Moldova International develops initiatives that promote COVID-19 community awareness and raises funds for essential workers in Moldova, specifically for doctors.
Jonathan John Ojangole (Entrepreneur) | SDSE 2019 from Uganda
Jonathan co-founded The Bricket Campaign to distribute biomass briquettes in Kampala, Uganda. Biomass briquettes are an alternative energy source made from plant waste. Briquettes are cheaper, burn cleaner, and burn longer than lump charcoal. Not only are briquettes more economical, they utilize plant waste that is often poorly disposed and contributes to sanitation-related disease in congested urban areas. Government restrictions have tempoarily halted economic activities in Uganda, and with charcoal prices increasing, people are more willing to explore different options. Jonathan currently distributes to about 100 households each month, and he plans to increase this number over the coming months. He also employs 30 sales affiliates to spread word of this opportunity for cheaper, stable fuel that benefits the city environment.
Samiha Singh (Online Platform Founder) | PLE 2018 from India
Samiha founded a website that provides emotional support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Calm During Covid offers a pen pal program, daily blog with resources, and a book club. Her site helps connect young people during a time of uncertainty and isolation.
Bincheng Mao (Nonprofit Founder) | IAS 2017 from CA
The East Coast Coalition for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination (ECC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to social inclusion for underprivileged minorities. The organization currently coalesces students and alumni from 15 colleges and universities on the U.S. East Coast. ECC’s current project, “COVID-19 Service Initiative,” has brought 1,000+ students together to donate medical necessities to help underprivileged communities affected by the global pandemic. Bincheng led the coalition to initiate an emergency relief project that raised over $30,000 to send 31 cartons of medical supplies, including medical gloves, personal protective suits and face shields, and N95 respirators, to marginalized communities and hospitals in China, Italy, and the United States. ECC has also sent supplies to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Additionally, ECC is partnering with Asia Society to organize a virtual forum, “Standing Against Racism in the Time of COVID” in early May.
Chris Tu (Fundraiser) and Blake He (Fundraiser) | IAS 2016 and SEE 2016 from China
Chris Tu and Blake He worked with other YYGS alumni from Xiuning Middle School in China to lead a fundraising campaign to collect face masks for Yale-New Haven Hospital. They raised enough funds to purchase 800 medical-grade masks and pay the substantial cost to ship these boxes to New Haven. The masks are already in use by two departments at Yale-New Haven Hospital. YYGS alumni contributers are listed below:
1. Chris 涂豫飞 Yufei Tu (IAS 2016)
2. Vickey 陈一苇 Yiwei Chen (SDSE 2018)
3. Becky 张晨露 Chenlu Zhang (SDSE 2018)
4. Stephanie 程韵 Yun Cheng (ATC 2018)
5. Yunying 胡韵颖 Hu (SPI 2015)
6. Blake 贺济元 Jiyuan He (SEE 2016)
7. Amber 周冰妍 Bingkai Zhou
8. Carlos 赵新宇 Xinyu Zhao (ATC 2018)
9. Felix 程晓亮 Xiaoguang Cheng (BBS 2017)
10. Faith 汪雪 Xue Yu
11. Karin 丁乐妍 Lekai Ding
12. April 方星 Xing Fang (PLE 2018)
13. Bryant 黄子墨 Zimo Huang (BBS 2018)
14. Bruson 詹庆霖 Qinglin Zhan (ATC 2019)
15. Michael 俞宋骁凯 Xiaokai Yusong (FST 2019)
16. Yuxiu 胡毓秀 Hu (FST 2019)
17. Yuxin 郑昱欣 Zheng (ATC 2019)
18. Yunfeng 叶云峰 Ye (CAM 2019)
If you are a YYGS alumni and would like to share an initiative related to COVID-19, please Share Your Story for an opportunity to be featured in a future publication.