My top priority has always been education. From my early years in life, my parents had aspirations for me to become an engineer, so I studied hard and earned top grades to make sure that happened.

But when my family was forced to leave our hometown of Aleppo and seek refuge in Reyhanli, Turkey, all of that was abruptly put on hold. It’s hard to think about your own hopes and goals when you have seven siblings counting on you for support.

By the age of sixteen, I had already accumulated years of experience in manual labor, working in material handling, furniture upholstering, and at a local stone and marble factory. In my spare time, I would volunteer with a local group to help set up events. It was through this very volunteer work that I met the Karam mentors. 

I approached the Karam team and inquired about their program. They told me about Karam’s mission, the Karam House, and the Karam Families program. The mentors encouraged me to apply to Karam Families, so I did.

 

Not only did I acquire new skills through the Karam workshops, but I learned things about myself I didn’t quite know before.

 

I realized that I love writing, so I started taking part in Basmatuna, Karam House’s journalism club. I discovered my passion for acting so I participated in Karam House’s Tempest team. I recognized that with hard work and dedication, I could accomplish so much more than I ever thought possible. I remember watching videos of 3D printers online, amazed at how a machine could do something like that. Now, here I am, operating a 3D printer and using design programs like Photoshop. I am very proud of myself. 

In life, plans shift. At first, I wanted to be an engineer. Then, watching how doctors and medical teams did all they could to help the Syrians in need, I wanted to do the same. After my experience with Karam, I also wanted to work in digital media and TV productions! I applied to a few schools and I’m hoping to get accepted into a program that allows me to develop my skills further so that I can one day return to Aleppo and use all that I learned to give back to the local people and help Syria thrive once again.