From adversity to advocacy: Vivian’s path to Amala and beyond
Vivian is a passionate advocate of education, a refugee, and an integral part of the Amala family. Since graduating from Amala in 2022, Vivian has been working at Amala as a learning facilitator, running courses for the Amala Diploma Programme and acting as a mentor to our students. She is also the Programme Coordinator for the youth to youth project New Horizons, a member of the Refugee Education Council, and Guidance Counselor with the UNHCR and World University Service of Canada (WUSC), working to help others improve their lives.
Originally from Iraq, Vivian was relocated twice due to local terrorist activity, before ending up in Jordan at 18 years old. Although she had finished her high school education by then, the complexity of her situation meant she had been unable to complete all the necessary exams to be awarded a high school certificate. She recalls feeling left behind, and a bit directionless.
“I was 18, all of my friends were starting university… I remember thinking ‘What should I do? because I’m seeking asylum here.’ So I started looking for any opportunity that could help pursue my education… especially something to develop my English.”
Upon searching, she found what she was looking for in the courses offered by the JRS (Jesuit Refugee Centre), where she spent over a year perfecting her English, before applying and obtaining a scholarship to continue her education at the OSUN-affiliated Bard College. Through this programme she was able to join in on Bard classes online, and interact with other university students, despite the long distance between them. “The subjects were super helpful and I was always someone that was excited about humanities and human rights, so learning about writers, artists, activists was amazing. There was also an anthropology course and a civic engagement course!” She graduated with honours.
“My life was kind of crazy, but I always stayed on the positive side of things, because it gave me the flexibility and adaptability that I strove to have.”
Vivian wasn’t sure what her next steps would be after Bard until, by chance, one of her peers sent her a mysterious link to a mysterious school: Amala! Vivian shares how excited she was when she looked further into the Amala programmes and found that not only were they different to any sort of education she had encountered before, but that she could attend classes in person.
“I was mind-blown.”
She was taken by the range of opportunities and ethos of the community. The “unique understanding that Amala has is that education cannot just be specified in one area and in one method.” She juxtaposes it to traditional education, where the emphasis is primarily on memorising the material rather than the more analytical and developmental approach Amala takes. Although she believes such education is just as necessary, as it sets down indispensable foundations: “what is outstanding about Amala is that it works on your mindset, on your growth.”
For Vivian these focuses were the most invaluable part of her time at Amala, as they not only taught her to deal with the external, but also with inner conflict. “As a refugee, it can be challenging to assume a sense of control over one's life because we've endured a multitude of experiences, many of which were beyond our control and of a magnitude that was overwhelming. But learning at Amala helps you get out of that victim mindset and develop new ways of thinking, and makes you question ‘What’s happening with me, with my life?’ Because I'm responsible now, for my life, so what can I change?’”
Vivian talks about agency, —the idea that one has power to shape the direction of their own life— and a concept that Amala works to instil in its community in the face of such conflict, and not only through its courses. “Amala comes from the Arabic ‘أمل’ or ‘amel,’ meaning hope… never lose hope. Whatever the situation you find yourself in doesn't matter, you always have the opportunity to make a change.”
“Amala really affected my life, and not only the projects. When we had to volunteer as well, that added so many things to me too because you’re constantly learning. You’re gaining just as much as you’re giving.”
Vivian on graduation day with her (now) colleagues and Amala Co-founder Mia.
So, while staying on top of her Amala studies and developing her language skills — which were the focus of her Amala Personal Interest Project— Vivian continued to remain active in the community by volunteering at Heart of Amman: a UNDP project focused on improving the self-resilience of those most vulnerable in the community through vocational training programmes. She continued to explain that “volunteering really helped me learn more about myself, and added to my sense of agency.”
Her experiences at Amala impacted her so much she never left, and she now works as a Learning Facilitator for Amala’s fourth cohort in Amman. Teaching was not new to Vivian as she worked as a choir and substitute teacher at a school for refugee children in the past, but at Amala she found a completely different relationship to teaching. Having been in her students’ place before means that Vivian is able to connect with them on a different level; and deeply identifies with the Amala community, often repeating that “it’s so much more than a job.”
Vivian with Amala colleagues Lamis (centre) and Hasan (right), on a hiking trip with students
“From the first day at Amala, I felt I was home.”
However, Vivian did more than just facilitate after being awarded the Amala Diploma. She continued to keep up her own studies at the same time, successfully completing an online course at Oxford University on refugees and forced migration, alongside several other courses in civic engagement, ethnography, and women and children rights. She also became a member of the Refugee Education Council (REC), which works to cultivate, plan and advocate for refugee education around the world. Only active in the role for little over a year, she has already been called to represent refugees in Jordan, and the REC itself, at a refugee council summit in New York and at the 2023 Education Cannot Wait conference in Geneva. Currently she is working on the REC’s pledges for the Global Refugee Forum in December 2023.
Additionally, she is also coordinating a project called New Horizons. An organisation intent on giving young people and refugees courses and training, it focuses on cultural exchange through activities like sports, climate change, and planning community oriented projects. At New Horizons, Vivian coordinates a programme that supports young people in planning and implementing initiatives that work towards SDG goals within their communities. As a strong believer in the importance of personal wellbeing, and with a course on mental health at the University of Groningen under her belt, Vivian also facilitated a mental health programme for the New Horizons community. “It was really basic, but I think it’s needed. Raising awareness on how wellbeing matters, and knowing what to do if you’re struggling, can make a big difference [for both the individual and the community].”
“The key out of all of this madness and the mess in this world is education.”
Vivian is adding yet another string to her bow as has just begun a role as a Refugee Guidance Counselor with the UNHCR and WUSC for the Complementary Pathways programme. “As an advocate and activist, this programme provides me with a platform to offer greater support to a larger number of individuals within the refugee community. This is crucial because it centres on seeking durable solutions for refugees in a third country, harnessing their competencies and skills in the realms of education and employment.”
In the future, Vivian sees herself staying on her current path, continuing to grow with Amala and globally advocating for refugee education. “I love what I'm doing and I'm passionate about it. I think it's what the world needs and also it pays me, so it's doing the ikigai thing for me; it’s my reason for being.” Cheekily, she says that the only reason she’d leave her current job at Amala in Jordan is to help open Amala courses elsewhere, to expand the community, “but about staying with Amala, absolutely yes, I really love this place.”