Osaeed Zakarneh

Osaeed Yahia Zakarneh is not just a professional, but a force of change. With a career spanning over ten years, he has left an indelible mark in the fields of advocacy, research, campaigning, and project management. His knack for exceeding expectations, securing funding through innovative proposals, and driving sustainable change has made him a beacon of success. Currently, as the Policy, Influencing and Media Manager at Oxfam GB in Amman, Jordan, Osaeed is the architect behind Oxfam’s influencing strategy for the Gender, Economic, and Climate Justice Programs in Jordan. His strategic insights have led to significant policy wins and increased funding, making him a key player in the organization’s success. But his influence extends beyond Oxfam. As a consultant and trainer, Osaeed has shaped capacity strengthening methodologies for various organizations, including Plan International, INJAZ, and Global Platform Jordan. His methodologies have been widely adopted, fostering positive change in the organizations and regions he has touched.

Hesham Farouk

Hesham Sayed is passionate about education. He wants to make a positive difference and impact in the development field.

He graduated from the faculty of education in the chemistry department and then he continued his postgraduate studies in psychology.

Later, he recognized his passion in the development sector, especially in education, so he started his journey with CARE Egypt as a facilitator volunteer in BPRM project. This period helped him to learn how to communicate with many different nationalities and learn more about different cultures.

After this, he joined CRS Egypt as a verification volunteer in the educational program. During this time, he gained knowledge of the refugees’ educational system in Egypt. He continued with the Save the Children as a youth and adolescent facilitator where he acquired a lot of understanding about youth and being part of their transformation to be community leaders.

Afterwards, he joined the Lazord fellowship and currently he has been placed at Wataneya for the development of orphanages as a research and knowledge coordinator. This is the start of his new journey as a researcher to make orphans’ life better. Also, he monitors and evaluates orphans’ data and does qualitative research to make sure that orphans have an equitable life.

He believes that everyone deserves equal opportunities in life. Life is a journey, and he is grateful that he is gaining a lot of experience every day from his colleagues and family, and everybody around him. He believes that in order to reach our goals, we should gain different experiences from different fields.

Ohoud Wafi

Ohoud holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Cairo University as well as a master’s degree in comparative politics from Saint Joseph University in Beirut. She started her career in civil society in Egypt in 2012, when she became a Lazord Fellow. She is passionate about helping vulnerable groups, and believes in the role that governmental and non-governmental entities can play by working together to enhance the welfare of vulnerable groups. She has worked for several organizations, such as Nahdet El Mahrousa, Misr el Kheir Foundation, and Handicap International-Egypt, and has experience in implementing different projects relating to R&D, innovation, education, and the preservation of arts and culture.

Ohoud is currently working on a short mission as a research consultant at AUC, in cooperation with UNICEF Egypt and the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Her main role for this mission is to conduct qualitative research about social workers. She had a similar mission with Handicap International-Egypt, where she conducted a needs assessment for primary health care units in Greater Cairo, focusing on early detection and early intervention (EDEI) services. Dedicated to research, Ohoud has conducted mapping assignments and published reports about: citizenship education in Egypt, the phenomena of co-working spaces, challenges facing civil society in Egypt, and development in Shalatin.

Chourouk Amouri

Chourouk Amouri obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Institute of High Commercial Studies of Carthage and is currently a student who is pursuing her master’s in entrepreneurship. Throughout her years in college, Chourouk was involved in various initiatives, both nationally and internationally, in the fields of leadership, arts, volunteering and journalism. These experiences have allowed her to see herself as well as the world around her under a different light, one where change is possible and necessary. She has also acquired different skills thanks to the projects she took part in, such as intercultural management, communication, translation, writing and entrepreneurship. Through the Lazord Fellowship, Chourouk wishes to gain the tools that will allow her to thrive in her career and to have an impact on the causes she believes in.

Osaid Zkarneh

Osaid Zkarneh obtained a diploma in Industrial Chemical Technology from Al-Balqa Applied University in 2014, and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration at the Arab Open University.

Osaid joined ACTED’s REACH Initiative as Senior Field Officer. He has also worked for other NGOs in positions such as International Programs Coordinator at Generations For Peace (through the Lazord Fellowship), and project coordinator at Bait Al Hikmah Foundation for youth and BLIMATCH (Blind Telematch) Youth Project. Osaid has also been involved in several volunteering opportunities with organizations such as Princess Basma Youth Resource Centre, ActionAid, Jordanian Women Qualifying and Training Society, United Nations Volunteers, Al Jude for Scientific Care, International Youth Foundation, and Leaders of Tomorrow. In addition, he is a member of many regional and international youth networks and organizations such as Activista International Network, Electron Youth Network, and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe Network. In 2017-2018, Osaid was part of the first group of Eisenhower Fellowship’s Youth Leaders.

Through his fellowship with Lazord, Osaid was able to write the, “Jordan Social Cohesion Report,” and design the, “Arts Towards Social Cohesion Platform Program.” Both the program and the report won the Lazord national competition in Jordan and the regional competition between Egypt and Tunisia.

Ibrahem Hassan

Ibrahem is currently seeking his Masters of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management at the American University in Cairo and completed his undergraduate studies in Economics at Suez Canal University.

Ibrahem is working towards understanding the development field in Egypt through his work in different agencies. He has gained practical experience thanks to the UN, CSR, and local NGOs, and research experience at AUC. He is developing his career in practical research. His scope of work started with youth engagement in Ismailia as an active member in various student activities before graduation. This was then directed to organizational establishments with the UN and local NGOs, and this has developed to the tackling of the gap in evaluation of practices in the development field in Egypt, concerning especially CSR activities.

“My personal aspiration is leaning towards the area between social mobilization research and practice, which I believe will create active, strong, and well-informed citizens.”