Meet Asmaa Shehahed---From Refugee to Future Doctor

An estimated 773 million people are illiterate worldwide. The lack of an education poses insurmountable obstacles throughout their lives. Education serves as a lifeline for children and youth in crises and emergencies. It is more than the right to learn; in fact, a proper education can benefit the community at large.

Helping Hand for Relief and Development’s (HHRD) Education Support Program (ESP) aims to further the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal #4 ‘Quality Education’. The objective of this goal is to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all by 2030. This will be done through improved learning, skills, and protection for children. ESP helps communities through scholarships, provision of school supplies, stipends, tutoring services, and home visits.

Higher Education support allows youth, mainly HHRD sponsored orphan graduates, the ability to secure an educational path for higher levels of study. Syrian refugee Asmaa Shehahed shares her story of hardship to opportunity with the help of HHRD’s Higher Education Support program. “I was one of the sponsored Syrian orphans within HHRD’s Orphans Support Program. With the help of my HHRD social worker, I memorized the Quran in its entirety during the duration of my sponsorship. I studied well and achieved grades qualifying me to study medicine at the Jordanian University.

My first year in university was 2019 when a generous donor helped me pay university costs for first two years but then the payment stopped. I communicated with my second family, HHRD, who did not fail me and enrolled me within its “Higher Education Support Program” scholarship program to continue my study of medicine.

I am now in the 3rd year of study and in another 3 years, I hope to finish and become a doctor.
I pray the generous donors of HHRD are rewarded for their assistance. Also, I send my sincere prayers to
HHRD teams everywhere.”

Thousands of Syrian refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon are deprived of an education because they cannot afford education related cost. As a result, HHRD launched this program to help families send their children to schools (either in private or public schools).