In an effort to fit into the new society that they now must call home, many refugees take extra steps to prove themselves to the natives of the adopted country. They start by mastering the language, engaging with the community, and focus on giving back.
Wael Ajlouni left his hometown in Damascus and came to Istanbul, Turkey, with a goal in mind to improve himself and give back to the place that welcomed him and his family.
With difficulties making connections and not knowing many people, Wael found it hard to engage, until he learned about and joined Karam. Immediately after joining the studios, Wael’s creativity and love for his community was evident in his work.
In a studio, Reimagining The Classroom, the students—including Wael— were asked to design and fabricate interactive objects that provide new ways of school-based communication, especially after going virtual and being entirely online . These ways should be designed to help students and teachers understand one another and effectively act according to each problem they face in a fun and innovative way.
In his description of his own project, Performance Management, Wael said: “Each child is talented in their own unique way. The key to discovering that talent is education. However, sometimes education doesn’t allow students to realize their talents. One of these things that could stand in the way of discovering themselves is distant learning. Therefore, it is important to spread awareness about the importance of education, and the importance of discovering oneself and their talents.”
His goals for the project are spreading awareness of the importance of discovering one’s talent and working to grow it, increasing confidence in regards to that talent, and bringing out the creativity that lives within students, no matter what field they are interested in, whether it is scientific, literature, or artistic.
The first step of the studio is researching and then conducting an interview with a teacher before implementing the project. Therefore, Wael chose one of his teachers and interviewed them. However, the teacher did not like the idea of the project and rejected it.
The rejection Wael received from the teacher did not stop him from pursuing his project. If anything, he was more determined to finish the project and show the impact it could have on the students.
After the final version of the project was finished, Wael took it to his class and showed it to his teacher. They were impressed by the outcome and even decided to implement the project in their classroom.
Now, the project is going to be placed in the school hallway where all the students can see it and interact with it.
The project is divided into an upper area, which is intended to encourage students to participate in different activities to discover their talent through phrases describing its use.
The phrases include:
Do not hide your creativity: Draw, Write, Search.
Draw and don’t worry about the results.
Write and live somewhere else.
Research and understand your own world.
Don’t be afraid of the results if you never try.
Don’t stop, the future is still ahead.
The main upper area is followed by three separate sections, with two hanging strings on which the students’ answers will be hung.
To Wael, this project will always remind him that when we have an idea, we must not give up and continue until the end to achieve it, or implement it. When we want to present an idea, we must prepare for it well, because an insufficient explanation or wrong details may be a reason for rejection.
