I’ve mentioned Mennonite Central Committee’s YAMEN and SALT programs in a few posts. These are one year cultural exchange programs that send participants to countries around the world. The two programs are very similar with one core distinction – the sending countries.
- SALT (Serving And Learning Together) sends Christian North American young adults (ages 19-30) to volunteer in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin and Central America and the Middle East.
- YAMEN (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Program) sends Christian young adults (ages 19-30) to volunteer between countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin and Central America and the Middle East.
Some other differences are that SALT participants have to do some fundraising for their positions while YAMEN participants are supported by the MCC country budget. SALT participants benefit from US and Canadian passports, while YAMEN participants sometime have to switch positions due to Visa issues. The relative ease of obtaining Cambodian Visas is one reason why we have such a large SALT/YAMEN program.
This year we are welcoming two SALT participants from the United States, two YAMEN participants from Kenya, and one YAMEN participant from Indonesia. They are an exciting group of young people that I’ll say more about later – I plan to share their profiles with you along with information on their work placements and host families once they complete orientation.
We unexpectedly got to host the YAMEN and SALT participants on their second night in the country. A large mattress factory caught fire and the chemicals spread thick noxious smoke across the neighborhood. Mattresses here are made of foam, not springs. The newly arrived volunteers had to be evacuated because of the smoke and ended up spending the night with us (a few neighborhoods over).
I got to attend Phnom Penh Mennonite with them on Sunday. Then, on Sunday night, we had them over for a welcome meal. Crystal prepared a beautiful rice table for them (I got to shop for fun ingredients – like the edible flowers).
We’re looking forward to getting to know them better and were delighted to learn that some of them like Settlers of Catan. They are a talented bunch including artists, singers, triple threats, musicians, etc.
sounds busy and wonderful!
Thanks for explaining what SALT and YAMEN stands for.
Thanks for explaining the difference between SALT and YEMEN, and the picture of the young people is wonderful.
Crystal set a beautiful table, as usual 😊