CONWAY -- The Syrian Emergency Task Force and members of a working group in Conway recently celebrated the first year of management of a school for children in the war-torn country of Syria.
The SETF hosted an event on Monday at the University of Central Arkansas' downtown facility in Conway to review the organization's management of The Wisdom House Project in the Idlib Governorate province in northwest Syria. An original donation and ongoing support from a working group in Conway helps the SETF oversee the management of an elementary school in Idlib.
Attendees communicated directly with SETF field director Jomah Alqasem in Syria via an internet video call. Alqasem stayed up until 4 a.m. local time after a two-day trip to be able to talk to the group. He speaks Arabic, English and Turkish.
The working group in Conway is led by Jerry Adams, president and CEO of the Arkansas Research Alliance. He retired in 2007 after 34 years at Acxiom Corp., for which he served in a number of senior leadership roles.
Adams began discussions with the SETF in early 2016. He said the community started a dialogue when the Rev. Teri Daily invited representatives of the Islamic Center of Little Rock to share their experiences of living as Muslims in America.
Mouaz Moustafa, co-founder and executive director of the SETF, first accepted a call from Adams as he was preparing to take the stage for a TEDx presentation last year in Conway. Moustafa is a graduate of Lakeside High School and UCA.
Adams said the groups began to contemplate how they could make a long-term commitment to help people in Syria. Alqasem identified the school in Idlib as a possible benefactor.
"We started more conversations and broadened the conversation about this as something we thought we could help," Adams said. "We spent the summer validating Mouaz and the Syrian Emergency Task Force."
The 2014 documentary "Red Lines" followed Moustafa and former SETF field director Razan Shalab-al-Sham in their efforts to support the people of Syria. Shalab-al-Sham worked with Alqasem to prepare for the field director role before she moved to Europe last year to give birth to her son.
At least 500,000 Syrian people are estimated to have died during the ongoing military conflict. More than 14 million civilians have been displaced. The country's population was 22 million before the war began in 2011.
"Our goal should be to support, primarily, those most oppressed," Moustafa said. "I can't think of anyone more oppressed than orphans internally displaced in a war zone."
Alqasem has felt the effects of the war in those around him. His father was tortured to death, he lost two brothers and two of his closest friends were killed.
The working group submitted its donation to the SETF in August as a "test drive" to test the process of support. Donations are presented to the SETF, which provides the funds to the civil government of the village, which officially pays the salaries of the staff members at the school.
The academic year in Syria runs concurrently with the school year in America. Almost 150 elementary-aged orphans began at the school last year.
Alqasem said education has been one of the most affected aspects of life. Schools and hospitals are often targeted in airstrikes by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies.
"There are 'never again' moments," Moustafa said. "We say, 'Never again.' 'Never again' seems to happen again and again and again."
Support helped provide the school with computers, printers, projectors, heaters, food and other supplies, as well as a bus for transportation. The school moved underground in December for increased safety from airstrikes.
A graduation ceremony was recently held for children who completed kindergarten this school year. Pictures and information about the school, its children and ways to donate are available online at http://thewisdomhouseproject.com/.
Alqasem expressed gratitude for support from Arkansans. Moustafa described the significance of Syrian children learning about Arkansas and connecting with average Americans.
"This is unique and this is wonderful, this is pure and this is as transparent as you can get," Moustafa said.
Adams said the working group committed to supporting the Wisdom House for five years and fundraising is currently ahead of schedule. He traveled with Moustafa and SETF director of outreach Natalie Larrison, also a graduate of Lakeside and UCA, to Northampton, Mass., in March to share information about the school.
One of the SETF's most dedicated partners is the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The museum established a permanent exhibit displaying evidence of atrocities committed by Assad's regime during the war. Moustafa said representatives of the museum mainly discussed the SETF's work in Arkansas during their last meeting.
"The reality is it is a Holocaust-esque issue they are dealing with," Adams said. "I have been to D.C. a couple of times. Mouaz and I have gone over to the Holocaust Museum and the Holocaust Museum is insightful about this."
Moustafa described Adams as a "force of nature" in raising awareness and support for the school. Adams said members of the working group meet once per month and trust the domestic and international staff of the SETF.
A donation of $15 can sponsor one of the school's children for a full year. Adams said Acxiom approves the SETF as a nonprofit for employee giving.
Updates about the SETF are posted online at http://www.syriantaskforce.org/. The organization and the school post regular updates through their accounts on Facebook and Twitter.
Local on 06/22/2017