EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of articles detailing the efforts and involvement of two Lakeside High School graduates in the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which advocates for the safety and well-being of Syrian civilians during the country's ongoing civil war.
Members of the Syrian Emergency Task Force have steadily expanded and modified the ways in which they offer services and support for civilians affected by the Syrian Civil War.
The SETF was founded as a nonprofit organization in 2012 by Mouaz Moustafa, a graduate of Lakeside High School and the University of Central Arkansas, with two doctors who sought to aid civilian demonstrations. Peaceful protests began in Syria during the Arab Spring in early 2011.
Moustafa began work with the SETF in political advocacy, lobbying in Washington, D.C., for support from elected officials and government agencies for the protesters. He originally moved to D.C. as an intern for former U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder before he worked in the office of former U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln for three years.
Fellow Lakeside and UCA alum Natalie Larrison reached out to Moustafa more than a year ago as the task force began to establish new methods for support. She previously taught English, journalism and photography for five years at North Pulaski High School in Jacksonville. The school merged with Jacksonville High School this school year after the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District detached from the Pulaski County Special School District
SETF team members met with a group of five teachers in January 2016. They were caring for more than 200 students affected by the war.
Moustafa later led a TEDx Talk in Conway about his organization and the conflict in Syria. A group of volunteers from Conway said they wanted to aid refugees. Moustafa said the SETF could offer a more concrete avenue of support for the teachers and their children in the Idlib Governorate province in northwestern Syria.
The effort was spearheaded by members of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Conway, including Jerry Adams, CEO of Arkansas Research Alliance, who retired from Acxiom in 2007 after 34 years in senior leadership roles. Other leaders include church member Brett Hardison, the Rev. Teri Daily and her husband, Dave Daily, who teaches religion at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville.
Larrison joined the organization in time to coordinate the partnership. The church joined in the effort with other local organizations, including UCA, Hendrix College, Acxiom, Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, the Conway mayor's office, Conway School District, Conway Regional Health System, Nabholz Corp. and First United Methodist Church.
"She plunged in with more passion than I could ever imagine," Moustafa said. "That is the same case for all of our other staff."
SETF has supported the Wisdom House school in Idlib for the past eight months. SETF first assisted the orphanage with school supplies, backpacks, mattresses and food. A $5,000 donation from Conway was used to purchase an electric generator and to pay the salaries of the five teachers.
The staff includes the teachers, an administrative assistant and a custodian. The entire school recently moved underground for increased safety and Larrison maintains constant communication with the English teacher.
"It's funny to see the trivial things and the little problems any teacher faces and then seeing these other really big problems that come in in these conversations," Larrison said.
Moustafa said the staff and students are grateful for everything they receive. Donations from Americans have helped provide supplies, computers, food and other items.
"From the English teacher's perspective, she's just thankful every single day," Larrison said. "She is hesitant to even complain because she is just a beautiful soul and she is thankful. Sometimes I have to even egg her on, 'No tell me. What do you really need?'"
Moustafa and Larrison recently traveled to Massachusetts to raise awareness for the Wisdom House Project and a new campaign, Letters of Hope, in which contributors can write letters of support for the children in the school. SETF recently delivered the first letters to Idlib.
"We really do stand in solidarity with them," Larrison said. "That's very, very comforting and almost better than anything we could provide to them, just letting them know that we are there for them and if they need us or if they need any kind of help, we are on standby."
The Wisdom House Project is funded entirely through donations. Its funds are separated from the rest of the organization's operations.
Direct humanitarian support for the school and its children is one of four main methods SETF provides. The organization's approach has evolved over time.
Donations also support ongoing political advocacy efforts in D.C. Moustafa said many individuals and groups reached out to the SETF after the release of a documentary, "Red Lines," in 2014. The film featured Moustafa and SETF field director Razan Shalab-al-Sham working to aid civilians in Syria.
An Adopt a Village program allows refugees to return home through civil implementation efforts funded by the U.S. Department of State and other foreign offices. SETF helps to reestablish utilities, city government and civil services in affected regions.
SETF also offers legal services. Staff members also coordinated with a military photographer within the government to amass more than 55,000 photos from the war. They helped the photographer flee the country in 2013 and the photos are now on display in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.
Local on 03/27/2017