Part of the reason we enrolled Kareem in Newington is the emphasis on service and action in the community.  I have had the privilege of being brought up as a global citizen living in many countries and I have always had the urge to help people. Below is a recent experience I want to share.

My story begins in Dec 2010, my son Kareem was 5 months old and I had taken him to Aleppo, Syria to attend my brother’s wedding. I was not aware that it would be the last time my family would all meet up in Aleppo and that soon there would be a war.

As the civil disruptions in Syria escalated and millions of Syrians became displaced around the world, I wanted to do something to help people who were affected. Through my searches, I came across Karam Foundation, an organisation that helps people inside Syria as well as refugees who are living in a small town in the south of Turkey called Reyhanli. In 2016 they established Karam House, a safe haven for Syrian teenage refugees to learn life skills that help them build a better future. In April 2017, Karam House was looking for mentors to teach a STEM subject or topics that help develop entrepreneurial and innovation skills. This was my chance to take action! I applied to teach a one week workshop introducing the fundamentals of online marketing and was accepted. The trip there would leave a very lasting impression.

On the afternoon of 18 August, the aeroplane door opened and the westerly summer wind took me back to memories of Aleppo. I felt like I was going home. The land, the people, the accents, even the smells of the area reminded me of Aleppo. Of a city that hosts a part of who I am; a part of me.

There was a nervous energy about Reyhanli, eyes watching everywhere, however, within this nervous energy was Karam House. A beacon of light and knowledge amidst the suspicions, darkness and sadness that the air carried.  My workshop, which was merely a grain of salt in the sea of online marketing, was my action. What struck me the most was the students’ eagerness and desire to soak up as much information and knowledge as I had to give. The Syrian teens of Reyhanli had scars of starvation marking their lanky bodies and faces. They told stories of sieges that wounded their minds and souls (trapped with one pita bread to share among 24 people hiding in a flat). But their eyes were full of desire to climb above and strive for a better future. They fully understood that the key to breaking the cycle of violence and despair was education. There is a lot of talk these days about grit, struggle, and about letting our kids learn resilience and struggle. If anyone can teach us that… it is the children of Reyhanli. The people of Reyhanli teach what it means to live life every single day.

It was brief, but the encounter with the teenagers of Karam House in Reyhanli reminded me about the important aspects of life, and made me appreciate what we have in Kareem and the community around us. As I flew back to my reality, I looked down at all the countries and lands along the way to Australia. And wondered how I could extend my action further and help more people. This story, and spreading the word about beacons of light like Karam House is just a small way to share my experience and hopefully inspire more stories of action that impact people’s lives positively. I’d love to hear from others who have had similar experiences in other parts of the world.

On my part, I look forward to making this and similar actions a regular part of my year… and hope Kareem will be inspired to take his own one day!

For more information about Karam House: (https://www.karamfoundation.org/karam-house/)

 Dema Chaikhouni (Kareem Assi Y2)