Since 2016, my life has been relatively stable, but it wasn’t always as such. Before coming to Reyhanli, I left my hometown in Syria to live in the capital, Damascus. We thought we were safe there, but when tension rose in the area we lived in, we moved to a different part of Syria. Violence also broke out there. The last city we moved to in Syria was in a rural part of Homs. Unfortunately, that proved to be unsafe either, which is why we eventually decided to move to Lebanon. We lived in Beirut for two years before coming to Reyhanli, Turkey. 

The move to Reyhanli was honestly the hardest. Everything here was foreign, from the language to the structure of everyday life. Adjusting was a struggle, but I’ve acclimated now. It’s mandatory that you acclimate. 

Even though we left Syria around 2014, I never abandoned school or my studies. It was really hard not to, though, especially in Lebanon. Although I did attend school there, I couldn’t learn anything new because all the subjects were taught in French or English. I know neither, so I would go to school to just sit and listen. That’s why I eventually came to Turkey—so that I could finish my studies.

By the time I arrived in Reyhanli, I was behind two grades, but I was still accepted into ninth grade. Even though it was great that I could pick up where I left off, it was extremely difficult given I had no foundation from previous years. Still, I was grateful to be back in school, which is why I spent most of my time studying to get to the level of my classmates.

I learned about Karam House through a friend. He offered me a brochure detailing what Karam House was and what I could learn there. It looked innovative and fun all at once.  

I attended the first workshop and decided to keep coming because no one else in Reyhanli was doing what Karam House was. Each workshop was so different from the one before, which was great because each one taught something new —things I never imagined I’d learn. The Flying Robots workshop was by far my favorite. When I first heard about it, I thought it may be too advanced and that I wouldn’t be able to actually create anything. But I was wrong because the mentors walked us through it step-by-step and made sure we were grasping all the concepts. 

Everything I learned in Karam House, I had little-to-no experience in before. For example, we learned about different software programs like Rhino and Fusion. I had never even heard of them before, but I would listen carefully in class and try to absorb all that was taught. Now, I can create and complete designs all on my own. 

In moving from city to city, then from country to country, I’ll admit I started losing hope. I valued my education, but circumstances made things unbelievably difficult. Not to mention, I felt alone and on my own. I’m so grateful that I found Karam House when I did. Not only did I learn skills I never thought I would, but I found a community of people who were just like me. This gave me hope and confidence to keep going and that I can do what I set my mind to. 

It feels great to be one of the first students to graduate from Karam House. Time really did fly by. There is still so much I want to learn and skills that I want to develop. The good news is that I’ve already been accepted into college to study something in the medical field. I have my sight set on becoming a nurse. 

My road to success was not easy, and I know I still have a long way to go. But for now, my current goal is to excel at college. I’ll take it one step at a time until I finally graduate, find a job, and start the next chapter of my life.