SAMEH WAREH
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Ms. Sameh Wareh came to speak at the Polytechnic School on February 19, 2019. Ms. Wareh embodies the philosophy of "do what you can with what you have where you are" and showed us how one person with a community's support can make a difference. Ms. Wareh exudes a passion for life and has more energy than the sun as it rises into the morning sky. She is a professor, artist, humanitarian, naturalist, global citizen, author, environmental activist, and promoter of global awareness about the plight of Syrian refugees. Her heart is big, her zest for life infectious, and her talents many.
Rather than watching from the sidelines as refugees were fleeing war-torn Syria, Ms. Wareh decided to collect aid, take a solo trip to Turkey at great peril to herself, and to go in search of refugees. Hearing how she believed that she would end up where she was needed was transformational. Even though she had to make life-altering decisions about how to allocate aid, she took it upon herself to make a difference. She showed us that it is possible to be impactful through small but heartfelt actions, using one's skills and talents combined with available resources. She tirelessly worked to ensure that obstacles were overcome as she joined with a community that supported and partnered with her for the greater good.
Her blog captures her 2012 solo trip to Turkey when she went looking for Syrian Refugees to offer them aid. It also shares the journey of her second humanitarian trip in November 2013 to open a school and start an art therapy program in Tripoli, Lebanon. The process by which she built relationships with the children and families of her school and the depth of that connection is something I will never forget. It reminded me that with the right relationships, and a heartfelt desire to both listen and help, we can make an impact that can change our own and other’s lives.
In her blog, she says that her purchase of a plane ticket to Turkey to help refugees was "sparked by an idea, and thus, the idea of now is a powerful one. Never underestimate it." I think many of us feel the need to help and have a great desire to do so, but that someone like Ms. Wareh is rarer because she took action and made the commitment. Her words are a powerful reminder to listen to those nudges in your mind to make a difference and to act on them. Her words also remind me that we need to overcome our own sense of helplessness in an unpredictable world by reaching outwards, instead of inwards, in order to make a difference in our small and interconnected planet.
To learn more about Ms. Wareh, visit her website and blog at:
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