It was difficult to pick Ibrahim out in the high energy bustle of the old city. Families were gathering for Iftar, the "break fast" highlight after a long day of fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the streets and stores were bursting with life and music. We stood with an old friend, Mohannad, who my daughter and I had worked with at King’s Academy Summer Enrichment Program, then Buck and I hired as part of Migrate’s Global Summer Internship. He and Ibrahim, our Opportunity Fund scholar, were joining my family for dinner at Jafra Cafe, one of Jordan’s most famous and authentic eateries, hidden away in the heart of downtown Amman.
I scanned the street in both directions, wondering if I would be able to pick Ibrahim out if I saw him. After all, it had been over a year and a half since we last met during our initial interview with him. I remembered how impressed I was by him. He has an incredible story - forced in his young life to flee first Iraq and then Syria; living with his family under unstable financial circumstances, his father and mother struggling to find employment and make ends meet And yet there he had been, with perfect English; composure, drive and direction beyond his years; and a strong academic record despite a chaotic and interrupted education. There had been no question in our mind - he was deserving of the incredible education our hard-earned funds make possible. He exemplifies why we give to KAOF.
I didn’t need to worry. When Ibrahim popped into view, weaving through the throngs of men, women, and children out on this warm and festive Arabian night, I knew immediately who he was. I was delighted and honored he was joining us.
The eight of us were ushered to a table in the corner Mohannad had reserved for us. Over the din of a full house, we feasted on an endless buffet of Jordanian specialties: lentils, falafel, moutabel, fattet hummus, tabbouleh, fattoush, grilled meats, and frosty lemon mint drinks. Ibrahim caught us up on his past year at King’s Academy. He has loved his time there and is extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity KOAF has provided to him. He reflected on the hopeless resignation he had felt before he received a King’s Academy scholarship.
Now, as a rising senior, he has started to look at colleges and dream about his next steps.
The burden of application fees and his inability to visit the schools that interest him are a clear handicap. He will not have the privilege so many of our children have of visiting and applying to as many colleges as they like. He is unlikely to have family and friends who are active alumnae of the schools on his list. He will, instead, have to do this as he has done all things - with limited resources and his own wits. He is working to narrow his list to just six schools in the US and Canada.
Ibrahim is one of the most resilient people I have had the honor to meet. You don’t walk away from him feeling sorry for the horrors and hardships he has and will still face; you walk away full of anticipation and excitement to see how he will use his transformative KA education to change the course of his own and other’s lives.
We all agreed we couldn’t part without one final Jordanian tradition. Out on the warm and colorfully lit street, our overflowing plates of kanafeh added a sweet final flourish to a perfect evening.
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