By Brett Breeden
While many BYU students take the summer break to take vacations or work summer jobs, some embrace BYU''s motto to 'Enter to learn, go forth to serve.'
Missy Ward, 20, a senior from Murray majoring in psychology, is one of five interns from BYU volunteering for UNICEF in Manila, Philippines.
Ward, who serves as president of BYU''s student chapter of UNICEF, works in the fundraising department most days, but she also visits a shelter for sexually abused girls once a week.
'I have learned a lot about international development, about the challenges that the children around the world face and about our role and responsibility in helping them,' Ward said.
Other interns work with children in need of special protection, health and nutrition, or communications, she said.
Ward said she has visited schools, health centers, water and sanitation sites, and shelters for street kids. She said she has also met with government officials and attended children''s rights events.
'I feel very privileged to be working with UNICEF and playing some small role in the organization''s amazing work with children around the world,' Ward said.
Her group would spend a total of three months working as volunteers at their own expense, she said.
The Kennedy Center''s program for the Philippines is unique in that UNICEF does not usually allow undergraduates to do international internships and BYU''s interns are the only exception, Ward said.
This has been because of the positive relationships BYU students have forged in the Philippines, said Rodney Boynton, director of International Study programs for the Kennedy Center.
'We''re close friends with the UNICEF director for the country. He agreed to accept students on a trial basis and it went so well they''ve continued the program,' Boynton said.
Aaron White, a senior from Ithaca, N.Y., majoring in economics and international politics, traveled to the Philippines with the first group of BYU-UNICEF interns in the Summer 2001.
White said UNICEF assigned him to work in their communications program on the issues of child advocacy - promoting child rights through governmental and non-governmental organizations.
While he had many interesting experiences during his internship, White said he enjoyed training local leaders from all over the Philippines in child rights during a one-week workshop in Laguna.
White said he is working on an article detailing his experiences as an intern for UNICEF for the fall online edition of Kennedy Center''s 'Bridges' magazine.
UNICEF is the United Nation''s Children''s Fund and works in more than 160 nations and territories to protect children and their rights by shaping policy and providing services.