Lifestyle

Starting in January 2011, iEARN, PBS Newshour Extra and UNICEF partnered to support students to report on the Millennium Development Goals. Students from Turkey, Pakistan, India and U.S. successfully completed the WYN reporter certification course and reported on the state of the MDGs in their communities. Mentors from PBS NewsHour Extra and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism Graduate acted as their advisors. Here is the first report from our MDG Reporting Labs:

 In Khujand many animals are stray. They are homeless and uncared for. Most people do not feed them so animals need to find the food from the rubbish and other places. Also, stray animals are often afraid of people.

On Children’s Day in Tajikistan, people of the Sugd Region visited Navruzgoh to rest and spend their holiday. Each visitor returned with different opinions about their visit.

Navruzgoh is one of Khujand’s parks. It consists of two islands in Sir-Darya River. Earlier Navruzgoh was called Chumchuk-Aral but in 2009 it was renovated and its name was changed to Navruzgoh. In the Tajik language, Navruzgoh means the place of a new day.

BOSTON, U.S. -- As people grow older, life begins to become more stressful, especially during high school and college. Stress can affect students in various ways. Cathy Chin, a sophomore at Boston Latin School (BLS), states that her stress is not caused by bad time management, but rather due to the workload given to her by the teachers. She feels that there is too much work and too little time. The need to finish all the work can push students to frustration and even to stress.

BOSTON, U.S. -- For the past few months, students and adults at Boston Latin School have been getting locally grown vegetable samples during lunch time. This is part of a program to serve different varieties of vegetables grown by local farmers for lunch. The school's YouthCan group is pushing to get local foods into the school.

BOSTON, U.S. -- Whole Foods? In Jamaica Plain? Where is the irony there? This diverse neighborhood’s culture is not only enriched with families of Latino decent but is also home to many predominately white middle-class individuals for whom shopping at the store is a lifestyle choice no matter what the location. Whole Foods, which offers locally grown produce and other organic products, would hardly be out of character here.

Students from Boston Latin, Quincy Upper, Snowden and O'Bryant schools in Boston are reporting stories for the U.S.-Mongolia Emerging Youth Leaders Program. This program engages youth in both countries in a community journalism program exploring democracy and free expression in civil society. It is supported by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Check out their stories!

HO CHI MINH CTY, Vietnam – Standing outside Ho Chi Minh City's Opera House on July 31, Doan Quang, 19, a student at the city's International University, was happy to announce that in 30 minutes he had hugged around nine people. But he also admitted that he was turned down by 15. At first, he was ashamed. “But then I got used to it. I believe the next person will be glad to hug me,” he added. This was the spirit of the Free Hugs campaign, which brought together more than 200 students, residents and visitors on a Sunday morning.