Reina Sultan (Jordan)

Reina Sultan recently graduated from UCSB with honors as a Political Science major (International Relations) and French minor. As a student fundraiser and subsequently a fundraising supervisor at the UCSB Annual Fund, she raised nearly $170,000 for student resource programs. She strove to involve herself in several organizations, holding leadership positions in both her sorority and Associated Students over the course of several years. During her junior year, she was awarded the prestigious Philip & Aida Siff Educational Foundation Scholarship in recognition of her academic achievements. While interning in Washington D.C. that same year, she was given the opportunity to represent UCSB at UC Day, a yearly event aimed at lobbying California representatives to better serve the UC system. She just ended her time working as an English teaching assistant in France, where she worked with high school students in priority education zones. She is extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Collateral Repair Project in Amman, Jordan. The daughter of Lebanese refugees, she feels very strongly about advocating for and volunteering with refugee communities displaced by violence. After returning from Jordan, Reina recounted her time there by saying, "I wish I could express in words how meaningful and formative my time with CRP was. AP gave me the opportunity to work with and amplify the voices of beautiful, resilient refugee women in Amman, Jordan. I urge everyone with the means and privilege to make change with an organization like CRP to seize that opportunity immediately".



Nadia

14 Jul

When asked to directly address Americans, Nadia said, “My biggest dream in this world is to go to America, to settle down there with my husband and our kids. It is my deepest wish. I beg you.”

IMG_0346Nadia is from Iraq, where it seems like war has been raging on endlessly. Despite it being better before Daesh, Nadia said, “the state of Iraq is not good and it wasn’t good before either.” Nadia recounted her fears escalating when her and her husband began noticing their neighbors disappearing or leaving without a word. She fled to Amman, Jordan with her family because of the lack of security and safety in her home country.

Nadia’s husband is CRP’s beloved handyman. He helps around the office when anything is broken, but he also provides much-needed laughs by teasing the staff and interns. While her husband works and her youngest daughter participates in the Kids’ Summer Camp, Nadia comes to the Hope Workshop. Talking about the program, she immediately begins smiling. She loves it here, saying that she hopes God grants the staff and volunteers “health and vigor,” an Arabic idiom used to express great appreciation. CRP and the women of the Hope Workshop have made her feel safe and welcome.

Despite hardships, Nadia refuses to have her dreams stifled. She longs for her family to be resettled, “My children didn’t have a future in Iraq and they don’t have a future here. I want us to get out. I will ensure they have a future.”

Posted By Reina Sultan (Jordan)

Posted Jul 14th, 2017

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