IISO Charity Bazaar - Special Visit by Team Hope

Dear All

Syrian Hands hopes this message finds you in good health and high spirits. We're thrilled to unveil an exciting event that promises to foster community engagement while supporting Syrian Refugee Students in Lebanon. Mark your calendars for our Charity Bazaar on DEC 10th, featuring a lineup of activities designed to enhance public awareness about the Refugee crisis in Syria & Palestine, and raise funds for a noble cause.

Event Overview:

- Date: Dec. 10th, from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM.

The itinerary for the day is as follows:

• 11:00 - 14:00: Immerse yourself in a diverse array of International Stalls & Kids' Game Corners by IISO students spanning across the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors.
• 14:00 – 14:30: Join us on the 3rd floor for an insightful introduction to the Team Hope*.
• 14:30 – 15:00: Embark on a captivating journey through the rich history of Palestine, also on the 3rd floor.

Looking forward to a day filled with exploration and cultural enrichment!

* Team Hope:

Escaping one of the most brutal civil wars in modern history and settling in Lebanon, a country where youth are the only source of hope for a brighter future, a group of intelligent and promising Syrian refugee students initiated Team Hope in 2016 to revive the hope for refugees across the globe. With the limited educational resources and opportunities in the host country, the challenges accompanying transitioning to a new academic curriculum, and the scarcity of hands-on learning experience and vocational training within the Lebanese curriculum, Multi-Aid Programs, a non-governmental humanitarian organization through Team Hope embarked on an educational revolution by integrating STEM education in its non-formal education curriculum.

With this initiative, Team Hope enrolled in various training courses, which prepared them to win more than 20 awards on the national level and one award on the regional level, in addition to 7 awards on the international level. Most recently, Team Hope prevailed in first place in the SUMO challenge and second place in the RACE challenge through the ARC competition that was organized across Lebanon. This triumph has qualified Team Hope to travel to Japan and participate in All SUMO Japan to represent Lebanon in this competition.

Two Team Hope members, Ahmad Shurbaji and Haitham Jaamur, are preparing for the SUMO challenge in Japan next month. In this competition, the team creates a robot that will fight like the old Japanese sumo to get their opponents out of the battle zone. Following the predefined specifications, the team has to make a solid, strong, and effective robot that can stand in the battle zone and beat the competitive robot. The competition will occur in December and include several matches, whereby the team with the highest rank will be the champion.

From 2016 to 2023, Team Hope participated in Robotics Challenges, representing all refugees worldwide, and earned three awards on the international level with their outstanding achievement of winning first place twice, in Dubai (2019) and Singapore (2023). Due to all preceding accomplishments, Team Hope captured international attention and gained fame as it was welcomed in Washington D.C at the White House, the House of Representatives, and the United States Congress and was highlighted by prominent newspapers and social media platforms such as Washinton Post, the Guardian, and NowThis.

“Hope is born from the womb of suffering”; this phrase indeed describes the journey of Team Hope and other refugee students who defeated the bitterness of the war and the deteriorating living conditions to prove resilience and inspire all vulnerable children worldwide. Team Hope reformed the perception regarding refugees from dependent individuals to independent and capable ambassadors of hope and willing change-makers who are striving to rebuild their country again.

Warm regards,

IISO Team