Like a phoenix rises from the ashes and forests grow better after a wildfire, these young men and women rise to be leaders of their notorious community.
Everyone is entitled to their share of adversity, and no one has it easy, but certainly living in a refugee camp is nothing short of difficult. Being born into and growing up in a refugee camp means floods every time it rains because infrastructure is nearly non-existent, it means little to no sunlight because alleys are too narrow to fit the overcrowding of refugees. It means lewdness at every corner; it means fighting bias. Ultimately wanting to prove the opposite and change the narrative known to the masses, becomes the biggest aspiration. To those who dream of course.
A prominent batch of dreamers and revolutionaries are enrolled in our university program. They exit refugee camps every day and enter campuses where they meet new people, new mentalities, and new communities, never forgetting their own. This is very prominent every time we chat with them and after the communication workshop aiming to empower Palestinian youth. Ibrahim, a nursing student with a full scholarship in A.U.B (American University of Beirut) and the proud co-founder of an educational platform called Fekra tells us that, opportunity comes to those who look for it. “I didn’t get offered the scholarship out of thin air. I rolled up my sleeves, learned about the opportunities out there, did the hard work, and eventually got the scholarship”. Ibrahim lives in one of the most infamous refugee camps in Beirut; Burj Barajneh and when you come from such a camp, thriving in nursing school and co-founding an educational platform, that merits leadership status. What Ibrahim is doing today is leading and shaping young minds. And it’s not just him, but also Salam Ghazawi resident of what could be the direst refugee camp; Shatila.
Salam Ghazawi has always been viewed as a natural leader, according to what her peers and teachers say. Is it because she is always at the top of nursing school in B.A.U (Beirut Arab University)? Maybe. But our bet is on her willingness to grow.
“I have participated in many community service workshops, but the one you provided contributed a lot to my personal and professional growth,” says Salam, attesting to her ongoing growth journey. A true quality of a leader.
Maybe Ibrahim and Salam didn’t have people like them while they were growing up and that’s why they are so keen on not just making it outside the walls of their refugee camps but also excelling. At the end of the day, community is the process of interrelated actions through which residents express their common interest in the local society. So, by default when young Palestinian adults seek knowledge beyond university curriculums and attend leadership and communication skills workshops, that truly indicates the shift and end goal of this generation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to become global leaders of their cause.
With the support needed from the Danish Muslim Aid, workshops meant to prepare and enhance the skills of Palestinian youth, are being conducted. More than 200 young men and women are benefiting from training workshops on leadership, community service, accounting, and computer science, through our ongoing partner, the Palestinian Student Fund, and carried out by AMIDEAST, Beirut Arab University, and the Business and Finance Club!
