Arab Humanitarians you need to know

Arab Humanitarians you need to know
Updated 18 August 2020 14:00
Arab News

In celebration of World Humanitarian Day (Aug. 19), here are some Arab philanthropists who continuously use their platforms for a good cause. 

  1. Jessica Kahawaty
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    July 2017 marked my second trip to a refugee camp (it took a year for me to make sure I had enough finesse to re-visit a camp. I was older and wiser!) This was a special trip as I was invited to be the face of a special partnership with Louis Vuitton and UNICEF for the ‘Make A Promise Campaign’ - It was the perfect synergy to do good on a large scale. The campaign had raised over USD$2.5m for some of the world’s most vulnerable children. We visited the Zaatari Refugee camp in Jordan which hosts over 100,000 Syrian refugees. As I visited the camps’ Makani centres which provide psychosocial support and life skills, I came across a welding area. As I entered and started speaking to a group of young men, a 20-something year old man who looked like my brother said to me “please take me wherever you came from. I want to work and live!! I’ll do anything.” And I had to look him blankly in the eyes and tell him to continue to have hope & never to give up. What was I to say? I can’t? I wish? I’m sorry you’re serving time for a life you didn’t wish for? This is unfair? I felt guilty that trip. Why do I have opportunities in this life that they only dream about? What is this life lottery? Who am I to walk out of here, free, and leave them behind? That trip, I learnt that the average time a refugee stays in a refugee camp is 19 years. Devastating. Is this a life sentence just because they were born at the wrong place and wrong time? Broken hearted after the stories and people I met all day, I got into the UN convoy as it was time to leave. As we drove out, I looked out the window for some hope. Instead, I saw an elderly man, hunched over, sitting by his vegetables, crying silently. I wish I had a second to tell the car to stop but out the gates we went before the curfew at sunset... Two men - one in his 20s, one in his 90s. One with hope to leave, the other with all hope gone.

  2. Salma Abu Deif
  3. Gigi Hadid
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Our first stops this morning were to two UNICEF supported schools, one “urban” pre-school in Kolda and one village elementary school outside the city. The most impactful support from UNICEF for these schools is the teacher training and provided educational materials like “School-in-a-Box” (pictured). For the elementary schools in the villages, there are less kids and not enough teachers, so training includes teachers learning to handle dual-grade classes while still maintaining quality education. Previously, pre-school was something that only high-income families had access to. Studies show that children here who start at this level are more likely to go further with their schooling, but only 17% of children here have access to and attend a pre-school. As well early development education, French is introduced to their local dialect in pre-school, so they are up to date linguistically and more developed mentally and educationally when they enter elementary school. Because this prevents early school-dropouts and significantly improves learning outcome, it is important that community leaders spread awareness of where pre-schools are accessible (regardless of the families’ economic status), and educating parents on the importance of putting their child in school early; UNICEF is supporting rural communities in setting up their own local pre-schools and encouraging district education government in setting up pre-schools within elementary schools that already exist. The Education Chief’s main goal is equity and quality of education for these children. In the village elementary school, three classrooms accommodate about 180 children; this is where we were explained the major need for UNICEF funded teacher dual-grade training. At this time, 110 teachers have been trained (leaders say they are planning on training 180 more) in the surrounding areas of Kolda so that it is possible for the 286 multi-grade classes to function and educate as many children as possible.

  4. Halima Aden
  5. Elissa Sednaoui
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    in #Xalapa #Mexico I had the honour to visit one of the wonderful facilities which gives a home to unaccompanied minors who are refugees. The young boy from the first picture had arrived the night before alone , on foot from Honduras and he cannot read or write. He told me his father is dead and he left mother and brothers behind. We cannot show the face of these young people to protect their identities because these children are often running for their lives. I am incredibly touched by the progressive mindset (and the effective realisation of these ideas) of the mayor Dr. Pedro Hipolito Rodríguez (last picture) and his team, and #AcnurMexico @refugees. As i told them, i wish i had seen the same problem solving attitude from more European politicians. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to invite these young refugees at the @funtasiaeducation youth workshop which begun the day after my visit - 7 refugees youth joined 80 children from the local public schools. We are currently working on the development of a joint longer term partnership between FUNTASIA, UNHCR and Xalapa.

  6. Ahmed Helmy
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    في 21 سبتمبر 2017، أحمد حلمي ومنى زكي سفراء النوايا الحسنة ليونيسف مصر، شاركوا في فعالية خلال الدورة ال72 للجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة في مقر الأمم المتحدة في نيويورك. وحضروا إطلاق تقرير عالمي عن تنمية الأطفال في مرحلة الطفولة المبكرة اللي أصدرته يونيسف، واللي بيدعو الحكومات والشركات لتأييد وتوفير بداية عادلة للأطفال في كل مكان. اعرفوا أكتر عن التقرير من خلال البيان الصحفي هنا: https://www.unicef.org/arabic/media/24327_100927.html On the 21st of September 2017, UNICEF Egypt's Ambassadors أحمد حلمي Ahmed Helmy and Mona Zaki joined a high level event at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, marking the launch of UNICEF’s “Early Moments Matter, for Every Child” report, which calls on governments and businesses to endorse and provide a fair start for children everywhere. Know more about the report through the event's press release here: https://www.unicef.org/media/media_100893.html

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