I came to Reyhanli in 2011, but I remember the journey from Syria to Turkey like it was yesterday. I was in fifth grade when we left, but I never got to finish the school year. I didn’t see much of the war when we were living in Syria — I was fortunate to not have lived through horrible experiences.

I arrived with my father, and we stayed with my relatives who were already here before us. Even though I didn’t finish fifth grade, I began sixth grade in Reyhanli. School itself wasn’t hard. What was hard was that we were living in a new place with new people. But I liked Reyhanli. It was a new experience. Then again, I was young, so I didn’t contemplate much about the deeper reason why we were here.

I learned about Karam House through a friend. He told me that at Karam House, students were learning unique skills through hands-on workshops.

When I first arrived, I thought it was such a beautiful place and was really excited that I was joining a group of extraordinary people eager to build, learn, and excel. I saw a few students I had recognized from school, and even though we weren’t close at first, Karam House really strengthened our friendship bond. 

The first workshop I took was a photography workshop with Mentor Mohammad Ojjeh. It was honestly my favorite one—especially since photography holds a dear place in my heart. My second favorite workshop was definitely the prosthetics workshop. The subject matter was entirely new to me, but because of the humanitarian significance, I understood the importance right away. My teammate and I worked on a project for an eight-year-old boy. He was really shy and wouldn’t answer our questions no matter how hard we tried, so we faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning—but we didn’t give up. Instead, it pushed us harder to create something so special that he would be happy with. We realized that because this boy was so young, he would continue to need a new prosthetic as he grew. That’s why our idea focused on creating a prosthetic that could contract and expand. That way, as he grew, he could simply adjust the size rather than need to get a new prosthetic.

I gained a lot of skills at Karam House because the environment motivated me to venture out of my comfort zone and try things I would have never thought to do otherwise—and I think that has really benefited me. When I was first exposed to new projects, like creating designs on Rhino or even designing a prosthetic, I never thought that I would be able to complete them successfully. But I know now that hard work and perseverance ultimately pays off in amazing ways.

Now, I’ve graduated high school and on track to also graduate from Karam House. It’s bittersweet because although I’ll miss my time and experiences here, I’m also really excited to see what the future holds. I’ll be going to go to college to study business administration—something I’ve always wanted to do. My friend has also been accepted to the same college, which I’m sure will make the experience even greater. 

As I move forward in my life, I still think about Syria with every step I take. My ultimate hope for Syria is that it won’t stay like this. That it will be rebuilt. Maybe it will return to what it was, but maybe it will become something even better.