Jordan is our next stop on the Trip Around the World, where we’re visiting our Questscope teammates and spending time with Syrian refugees living in the capital city, Amman.
One of the most important skills to learn in our line of work is to listen – to show up without an agenda, and to just give the gift of time and empathy.
None of the members from the Trip Around the World team have been to Jordan before, or have spent time with Syrian refugees. So we wanted to learn as much as we could, and listen closely. But we also wanted to do something to help out the families and new friends we were meeting.
One of the best – and most fun! – ways to spend time with new people is over a delicious meal. A meal shared is an invitation to family.
Not everyone is privileged to have more than one meal a day, and yet having enough food in the house is the foundation of energy to work, think, and spend quality time with loved ones.
So when we visited these families, we also showed up with foods – lots of it! Enough for a big, shared meal together, and enough to last them a while longer too.
We had a beautiful spread of fallafel, pita breads, olives, hummus, cheese salads, and so much more. Everyone was so excited to dig in, us not least!
We were solving a short term need, but we were also creating a long lasting relationship.
“This food is more important than empty promises that some organization make,” said one father. “We were able to share experiences while having a shared meal.”
One surprise – these families had never spent time with a person from Africa before, so this was a first for them! They told us that it made them feel good and special to have shared such moments with us.
Meet Joseph!
Hello hello! My name is Joseph Kyobe and I am the Regional Growth Lead at Kuja Kuja. I love getting the chance to work in the field and see first hand the amazing work Alight is doing around the world. Come follow me as I take you through the Changemakers 365 projects we did on this life-changing trip!
