17 teens to spend 15 days in the state.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: The Federation of Malayalee Associations of Americas (FOMAA), an umbrella group representing more than 50 Malayalee organizations in North America, will send 17 middle and high school students to Kerala this summer as part of a new exchange program.
“The idea behind the ‘Summer to Kerala’ program is to allow the participants to experience their roots and see everything Kerala has to offer,” Vinson X. Palathingal, a FOMAA vice president and director the program, told The American Bazaar.
Conceived as an education and “roots” program, it will focus on cultural and language exchange and art programs, adventure, education, learning and volunteering, he added.
The students will reach the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram on August 1 and during their 15-day stay will visit Alappuzha, Kochi, Kozhikkode, Wayanad and Thrissoor, among other places, according to the itinerary posted on the program’s website.
They will visit the Global Heritage Village in Aranmula, situated on the banks of the Pampa River, and sail on the backwaters of Vembanad Lake. The teens will also experience the martial art form kalaripayattu and interact with local students, professionals and political leaders.
Palathingal said the New Jersey-based nonprofit International Institute for Scientific and Academic Collaboration Inc (IISAC) will be FOMAA’s local partner in Kerala. IISAC, which has an office in Kottayam, has run several similar exchange programs to India.
“The students should leave Kerala with a true love for the country, a sense of collective responsibility for the future of the country of their parents, a deeper understanding of what India and Kerala are really about and new friends who share your love and passion for India/Kerala, all the while having tons of fun,” he said.