Dropping out of middle school to earn a meager handful of much-needed dollars for his family captured Hamzi in a very bad story.

A bad life-story that will cut his future down to a small size of struggle and second-rate opportunities. But it is also a story of buried treasure.

Hamzi was a good student. Math was his favorite subject – his passion. He had to put this passion on ice, maybe forever, when he dropped out to go to work in construction as a 16-year-old.

And it was hard to see his buddies going on to high school. He was left...MORE

After spending a day with Questscope staff and volunteers, my entire perception of refugees has shifted. I left in awe of the joy, love and consideration I experienced and observed.

I think Western news often asks us to believe that refugees are under-resourced, under-skilled people who are living in hopeless and dark situations. It was beautiful to see the opposite at Questscope. The people I met were passionate teachers, talented artists, and hopeful souls that welcomed me with open arms. 

I remember my...MORE

We were five days in to a nine-day trip when we pulled up to the guard post at Za’atari camp in northern Jordan. We’d seen the news stories and heard the statistics: There are 79,000 people living as refugees in temporary housing while they wait for the war to end in Syria or for UN refugee resettlement and placement.

In a place where I was expecting to find hopelessness and defeat, there is indeed unimaginable pain.

But it was at Za’atari, where I learned about how people living as refugees are also living as real-life heroes, as they create the world of...MORE

Last week – just after midnight – 1,500 people finally found refuge after surviving more than two years of siege. 

They traveled for days in crowded buses after they left their besieged villages. They survived a suicide bombing attack. And they arrived at our collective shelters in the middle of the night - women and children - physically and emotionally exhausted. They kept moving in hope they would find safety at the end of that journey.  

And when they arrived, our Syria team was there – ready and able to provide shelter and assistance.

...MORE