Dana is a currently a project officer in the operations unit at INJAZ, which supports the creation of opportunities for Jordanian youth. Having graduated from the University of Jordan with a B.Sc. in management information systems, Dana has worked for INJAZ for almost five years, the Lazord Fellowship being the stepping stone to her career at INJAZ. “I could see myself with the INJAZ family, and I like to witness the impact on youth and how they become leaders in their community. I myself, was thrilled when I became a Lazord Fellow.” She has been in charge of many projects reporting and conducting intensive (almost daily) follow-up with around 40 colleagues across Jordan; this is a challenging task as it requires collecting information and reporting it to upper management in a dynamic and accurate method. “I have been taking on more responsibilities in the last 5 years and I think I have a lot to learn on how to improve my leadership skills, on a professional and personal level.” Dana believes that, “Today, our survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.” She hopes for success for all and for herself in all of their endeavors.
Qusai Tayseer Al Amayrih
Qusai studied business economics in college. His passion was to work with youth, so upon graduating from Tafila Technical University, he looked for an opportunity that would allow him to continue to work with young people. The Lazord Fellowship gave him this opportunity; through the fellowship and his placement at INJAZ, Qusai had real hands-on experience with young people, his work being to connect them with job opportunities. Since 2014, he has worked hard on decreasing the rate of unemployment in Jordan.
Asia Alsadawi
To empower others, you should be strong, dedicated, confident, and have hope. All of us have the potential to bring about change but need a little push to start, great effort to continue, and no way to end.
Aya Sabry
Aya is the regional fellowship program officer at Ashoka Arab World. Her work involves supporting Ashoka Fellows, who are the leading social entrepreneurs in the region, to expand their work and scale their impact. In 2017, Aya was recognized as a Professional Fellow by the US Department of State and worked in the Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism in Washington D.C. Her main expertises includes strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, dialogue facilitation and graphic design. Aya has a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and upon graduation, she was awarded the Lazord Fellowship from the American University in Cairo, due to her deep passion towards pursuing a career in the development field. She also has a diploma in NGO management and a diploma in liberal arts and sciences.
Waheed Yaghi
At the beginning of Waheed’s first human development work he thought that he could not do anything but over time things got easier and with every problem he faced, he ended up finding a solution. With constant training and sharing experiences with others, he became a different person in communicating with others and building relationships. The Lazord Fellowship had a great impact on his career and brought about a big change in his personality.
“Everyone has a fingerprint that he can put in this world thanks to Lazord.”
Alaa Tayseer Othman
As a Lazord Fellow, Alaa started her placement at the Families Development Association (FDA) as an administrative assistant on October 2014. In her position, she was a very hard worker, quick-witted, responsible and reliable. This resulted in her being hired on the FDA staff.
Hiba Al-Hamaideh
Hiba is the Programs Manager at LOYAC, an NGO for youth empowerment and development.
As a Lazord Fellow, she was placed at LOYAC, and consequently was offered a job after finishing the fellowship program. She is passionate and eager to help and support youth.
Before joining the fellowship, she worked as a lawyer from 2012 to 2014.
Hiba graduated from the University of Jordan in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in law.
Rawan Thabet
Rawan’s working experience with youth engagement projects has been focused on contributing to communication, leadership development, and team building to refine their civic engagement and activism. As an advocate for youth, she works with refugee communities and local youth to establish and manage youth networks across all governorates in Jordan and regionally.
Abdullah O. Abusham
Abdullah graduated from Petra University in 2014, and after several months of searching for a job opportunity, he realized that the Lazord Fellowship could provide him with the right opportunity to work and acquire new skills. After the yearlong fellowship he found that his passion for social work grew, particularly after working with youth at the Jordanian Hashemite Fund For Human Development (JOHUD), where he met many inspiring youth who aspired to achieve positive change.
Through the Lazord Fellowship he received several training sessions at INJAZ that had a great impact on his professional and personal life. This gave him the opportunity to be more engaged in the field of development; recognize different skills and abilities in himself; and continuously strive to achieve positive change in his community. This is why he continued to work at JOHUD after the fellowship, and is currently a project coordinator for the program YouthPower.
Abdullah’s advice to new Lazord Fellows is to embrace community work even after graduating from the fellowship. “Also, never give up, because the beauty of life is in doing what you love.”
Ahmad Hassan Ali
Ahmad Hassan is a mechanical engineer who graduated from Alexandria University in 2014.
During his university life he participated in different student activities but the real journey started when he became a co-founder of MOIC Alex. This experience allowed him to test his abilities of teamwork, ideation, team building, leadership and planning.
This experience also highlighted the butterfly effect concept as a way of change: simple little steps can lead to a major change in the long run. In 2014, he was accepted as a Lazord Fellow and placed at the Tahrir Academy, starting another journey of self-exploration as he helped established the academy’s new project, “Go Teach”. It was a journey filled with experiences, benefits and friends.
For the coming years he is planning to learn more about planning at the industrial level to see the possibilities of adjusting their techniques along with NGOs.
