Meet our Amman Diploma Programme Facilitators

You’ve already met our Amala High School Diploma Programme students, but now it is time to introduce you to our  facilitator team! Over the coming 15 months, the team will be leading the facilitation of the Amala High School Diploma Programme in Amaan, Jordan for the first ever cohort of students. Our team of three, Lamis, Muhamad and Fatima, hail from Jordan, Syria and Iraq and bring a range of expertise in youth leadership, education, coordination as well as lived refugee experiences. Read on for an introduction of each team member.

Lamis

Programme Facilitator and Lead Coordinator

From a young age, Lamis knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to humanitarian work. Before getting involved in Amala, Lamis worked with various organisations, from working as a translator for Human Rights Watch, program manager at the Institute of International Cultural Exchange, and most recently, an academic counsellor at the Cosmopolitan Academy Services in Jordan. 

Lamis first heard about Amala when a friend asked her to spread the word about the Amala High School Diploma Programme (AHDP) to potential students. Upon exploring the Amala website, she was immediately captivated by both Amala’s mission and its programs. Before she was even aware that the role of Lead Facilitator was open, Lamis felt she was “prepared to do anything” to support Amala. 

When explaining where her courage to leave behind her previous job came from, Lamis announced, “I needed to get back to working with passion.” Having worked with refugees before, she also understands that there is a “huge” need for a programme like the AHDP in Jordan. 

Throughout the DP, Lamis has constantly been in awe of the students’ desire to learn. But the students are not the only ones learning through the AHDP. Reflecting on the first week of classes, Lamis explained that she has prioritised building students’ understanding that anyone can learn from anyone. “I’ll always look at myself as a learner. I’m going through a learning process just like the students.” Lamis believes that learning is a two-way process; when students share what they have learnt, Lamis will also share the things she has learnt from the students. She believes these small acts cultivate mutual trust and respect, allowing students to feel more comfortable asking for help as well as providing positive and constructive feedback.

Many of the learners applied for the AHDP with ambitions they hope the AHDP will enable them to achieve. While Lamis loves learning about each students’ interests and aspirations, she also recognises the importance of encouraging the learners to “keep an open mind”. After all, throughout the AHDP, students will encounter subjects they have never engaged with before. 

As soon as the current COVID-19 related restrictions loosen up in Jordan, Lamis is looking forward to going out for a meal with all the students and facilitators. She hopes that these interactions, in and out of the class, will enable learners to build a support network they can rely on throughout and beyond the AHDP.

Muhamad

Facilitator 

Muhamad is no stranger to facilitating Amala courses. Before the launch of the AHDP, he facilitated two short courses in Amman: Peacebuilding in Your Community and Artistic and Cultural Expression. As the AHDP program launcher, Muhamad was also responsible for on the ground coordination in preparation for the AHDP.

Muhamad’s journey with Amala began when he first took the Peacebuilding in Your Community short course in 2018. The name of the course first caught his eye - he had never heard of an entire course dedicated to peacebuilding. But Muhamad understood that the scarcity of peacebuilding courses didn’t mean there is no need for them; "Peacebuilding is something that we all need, but no one was talking about it.”

Although Muhamad had previously taken several courses since arriving in Jordan, he had never been surrounded by such a diverse group of learners before. “One of the most interesting things about the course was being in a multicultural environment.” Even as a facilitator, the diversity among the students is what fascinates Muhamad the most. As students come in with varied educational backgrounds and experiences, he believes a significant part of the learners’ experiences involves learning from each other. 

So how can a facilitator help build such an environment where learners feel comfortable expressing their thoughts with others? Muhamad believes sharing his personal experiences is an important step in breaking the ice. He has seen many of his own experiences as a refugee resonate with other learners; these moments inspire students to make connections between what they are learning and their personal experiences, enabling them to build deeper understandings. Muhamad also highly values the meetups outside of the classroom, where friendships further develop. 

While many of the AHDP students have previously taken courses with Amala before, Muhamad can see that the learners are now more “motivated and energetic”. They are excited to be part of a pioneering program and are hopeful that the AHDP will open up more opportunities, including pathways to higher education.

Fatima

Assistant Facilitator

Fatima first discovered Amala through a Facebook group when Amala opened up applications for our  Peacebuilding in Your Community short course. The name of the course was what initially caught her eye, and as she read more about the course, she was captivated by the relevance of the topics the course promised to explore. Excited and full of hope, along with a friend, Fatima applied for the course.

Fatima describes her experience taking the Peacebuilding course as “unforgettable” and believes it was “one of the greatest experiences” of her life. From the beginning, Fatima recognised a significant difference between the Peacebuilding course and other courses she had previously taken; “It wasn’t theoretical. It was practical. We could really apply the things that we were learning.” In addition to the practicality of the course, Fatima also appreciated the diversity among her fellow learners. At university, where she obtained a scholarship to study English Language and Literature, her cohort was only made up of Jordanians. “In the Peacebuilding course, I met people from different nationalities, different backgrounds, and even different religions. This enhanced my ability to be flexible, to accept, and be respectful of people who were different from me.”

With such a diverse group of learners, building a trusting environment was crucial; Fatima believes the attitudes and actions of the facilitators played a key role in shaping the supportive culture among the learners. So when the opportunity to become a facilitator for the Amala High School Diploma Programme arose, Fatima was confident that through a facilitator role, she could truly make a positive difference. 

Fatima believes the skills she developed through Amala’s Peacebuilding course are invaluable to her work as a facilitator. The course not only gave her confidence but also helped her understand how to effectively “facilitate discussions, prepare guiding questions and help others express their ideas.”

Fatima particularly enjoys reviewing students’ independent work as it not only allows her to gauge students’ understanding but also learn more about their experiences. She also enjoys physically meeting up with the students; during the students’ first meetup in the first week of class, she witnessed the students open up in ways few were comfortable doing during their online classes. Although Fatima believes it is more of a challenge to engage students solely through online classes (that the team are running until restrictions are eased in Jordan), her motivation is constantly being fuelled by the students’ hope and excitement. “I feel how much they appreciate and value this opportunity.”