Yousra Khalil

Yousra is a driven young development practitioner. She began her career as a translator, international and slum educator, and researcher during university. She was passionate about research, yet she always wanted to work on the ground and be closer to the beneficiaries, particularly when it came to providing education assistance to underprivileged communities. This became true after joining in the Lazord Fellowship. She not only gained new knowledge and abilities, but she also became involved in MEAL activities that allowed her to integrate her research abilities with her enthusiasm for field work.

On the personal level, Yousra is a cat rescuer, an enthusiast of Islamic heritage and architecture, interested in urbanism, and she presently plans to learn more about advocacy and activism.

Mohamed El Fetyany

Mohamed was born and raised in Alexandria City until he obtained his bachelor’s degree. His journey in civil society started when he was 11 years old. He used to volunteer in local NGOs and participated in many projects in Bibliotheca Alexandrina. He went to the EU delegation in Cairo while participating in the Model European Union as a member of the Parliament Council. In the same year he worked on a project funded by UNHCR. At this time, he found his passion working in the development field. In his second year of university he started volunteering at Caritas Egypt-Alexandria office. He was responsible for the Fundraising Committee as a team leader. He considers the Lazord Fellowship as a golden opportunity, especially since he was placed at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which will allow him to promote his professional skills and gain all the experience he needs for the future.

“I want to inspire many people in the future. I want someone to said because of you, I didn’t give up.”

Nourhan Refaat

Nourhan graduated from the English department at the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University. She believes that the development field consists of work by the people to the people. Nour works from her heart. She works for youth empowerment on many levels by working with different INGOs. She defines herself as adventurer who seeks to discover this world, but according to her, the best adventure that anyone can ever experience is to discover oneself. Nour started her career very early during college. She thought that she was working to help people and to satisfy their needs, but what she discovered was that work feeds one’s soul and make each one of us more human. She loves talking with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and nationalities. Everyone has a story that deserves to be heard. You can find Nour working with youth of varying ages, helping them to map out their future by determining their needs and assets.

Abdulrahman Al Rawas

AbdelRahman is a Syrian living in Egypt. He works at Syria El-Ghad, which is sponsored by UNHRC. He is a project manager of the Livelihood Project, and since 2012, he has been involved in the development field as a volunteer and an employee.

In 2017, he graduated from Ain Shams University, from the Faculty of Commerce in the Department of Business Administration. As a student at Ain Shams University, he participated in several student activities, such as Model Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (MOIC) and the Model Of American Congress (MAC).

Last year, he started as an information analyst on the Livelihood Project. After proving his competence and ability to manage a team, AbdelRahman was honored at the end of the project by being asked to become the project manager this year. In addition, he has been, and is currently a volunteer on several volunteer teams (related to the Syrian community in Egypt).

AbdelRahman hopes to continue developing his skills in the field of humanitarian work and is dedicated to provide what he can especially when it comes to economic empowerment to refugee communities.

Lian Saifi

When Lian Saifi first joined the program, she was a fresh graduate and joined the great local youth organization Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT). She spent two years there, building her skills and capacities. It was the perfect place to do so, because they gave her the opportunity and the space to grow and come out of her comfort zone. Being there nurtured in her the drive to keep trying new things and be up for challenges. She first joined LOT as an intern and was rapidly given the full trust to lead an entire project.

After understanding the youth context and the local sphere of NGOs in Jordan, she decided to apply to an international organization. One of them was the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which is one of the most reputable organizations among the INGOs in Jordan. She became the multimedia technical officer at NRC, working in the communications and advocacy unit. She manages communication products that advocate and address Syrian refugee issues in Jordan. The communication products vary from videos, photos, publications, data visualization, and blog content to campaigns.

“Now that I am out there, I can reflect back to those 4 years that passed and I would say that I am very proud of myself, and very happy with the opportunities I was given along the way, and I would tell you to stay tuned, because you will be hearing some great news about me in the coming days.”