Lina Sergie Attar – Karam Foundation
Lina Sergie Attar is a Syrian-American architect and writer from Aleppo. She is the Founder and CEO of Karam Foundation. In 2007, Attar developed the vision of Karam (which means generosity in Arabic). Karam Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people help themselves. They seek to restore the dignity and quality of life for people affected by conflict by eliminating barriers to success through innovative education, entrepreneurial development, and community-driven aid. Guided by the aspirations of the people they serve, they pursue this mission with compassion, transparency, and generosity.Since 2011, Lina has directed Karam in its focus on the Syrian humanitarian crisis: developing innovative education programs for Syrian refugee youth, distributing aid to Syrian refugee families, and funding projects initiated by Syrians for Syrians. Attar is co-founder of the How Many More? project and serves on the Board of Directors of The Syria Campaign. Her articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Foreign Policy, Politico, and the Huffington Post. She has appeared on CNN, NBC News, the BBC News, NPR and other media outlets. She is a graduate of University of Aleppo, Rhode Island School of Design, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Karam House
Karam House is a community innovation workspace where Syrian refugee youth turn their passions and ideas into realities. It is a place where they can build strong relationships with peers and mentors. It is a place where they can learn competitive skills in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics that are essential to advancing their educations and futures. Most of all, Karam House is an inspiring, safe, and healing space for Syrian teenagers – who have lost so much through the trauma of displacement and war – to be teenagers.
Karam House is a place where teenagers become leaders. It's a place where young Syrian women and men can use to learn and grow:
"I have an idea, I can do it at Karam House."
"I want to learn English, I can learn it at Karam House."
"I want to go to university, I can find a mentor at Karam House."
"I feel alone, I can meet people like me at Karam House."
"I have a project, I can make it at Karam House."
"I am more than a refugee, I can be myself at Karam House."