Alumni stories

Joseph Jarrouche

Hey there! My name is Joseph Jarrouche and I’m a political science student at Sciences Po Paris. Being Lebanese and French and having lived around 16 years in Dubai, the international and multicultural atmosphere at LAL was a perfect match for me. As a fellow at LAL, I have created a course on the Music of the Arab World, I have translated a chemistry course and I have been multiple field trips to camps and schools. Throughout my time spent at LAL I have worked with great people from all over the world and gained experience from them in many fields.

In addition to that I have discovered new cities and aspects of my own country, Lebanon. I learned about this beautiful country from a new perspective.I have also explored the potential of what could be done to help and relief the ongoing humanitarian crisis in this little country of the Middle East.

Maya NYAGOLOVA

My name is Maya Nyagolova and I have a degree in Psychology (B.Sc.) from the University of Münster and Educational Management (M.A.) from the Technical University Berlin. I became interested in coming to Lebanon due to my last job on a project, aiming to help Syrian refugee teachers get back into the teaching profession in the state of Brandenburg, Germany.

My aims were to gather a better understanding of the educational sector of Middle Eastern countries, get to know different practices for integrating refugees in the educational system of a host country, and expand my Eurocentric-shaped point of view.

As LAL develops digital learning programs to help educate vulnerable communities, it was exactly the type of organization I was looking to volunteer at. During my fellowship I developed a framework for volunteer management, which we called LAL’s Fellowship Program. It is a tool, designed to help incoming volunteers by providing them with orientation during, information throughout and opportunity for follow-up after their volunteering at LAL.

I feel lucky that I had the chance to volunteer at LAL and work with so many inspired people, truly devoted to the mission to provide quality education to non-privileged children. I really liked the good balance between having the freedom to implement my project ideas and getting the necessary support from the team. That is why I really want to recommend LAL and the opportunities it gives for volunteers to develop their personal and professional skills.

Federica CASACCIO

Hello! My name is Federica, I am from Italy and I am currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies in Spain.
I am so glad to be one of LAL’s fellows and to have the opportunity to develop an entire e-course about Conflict Resolution on the platform Tabshoura Plus.
I strongly believe in education as a powerful tool to build peace in every society.
By working with LAL I share my knowledge about peace and conflict everyday and I also had the amazing opportunity to work closely with Lebanese and Syrian refugee children by implementing several conflict resolution workshops.
I really like to be in Lebanon, I like LAL’s positive environment and I really appreciate LAL’s team that is always supportive and ready to help whoever is in need.
I am grateful for this experience and I will definitely miss LAL’s family!

Layla Kiefel

I graduated last year in France, where I got my teaching certificate (Agrégation, major: Languages). I come from a rather traditional educational system and my goal is now to broaden my experience by learning how to use new pedagogic models. Nothing seems more crucial to me than providing education to the widest population possible. LAL makes this one of its objectives, by using new technologies as leverage. This is why I joined this NGO and its dynamic, young and efficient team.

Nilüfer HACIOSMANOĞLU

Architecture student & Journalist

Hello I am Nilüfer, an Architecture and Design student at Istanbul Ozyegin University.

I’ve had a chance to work as an intern in LAL through AIESEC. I am very excited for the experience waiting for me. It will be both interesting and fun to make educational content about Zaha Hadid for educational purposes. It is great to be a part of a team that is passionate about education and understands the power of accessing to people willing to learn through internet. Hope to learn a lot from here.

Nicole Van BATENBURG

Journalist & Researcher

My name is Nicole van Batenburg and I’m studying towards a Masters Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam. I joined LAL for a volunteering program through AIESEC, with the aim of improving my journalism skills and gaining experience in the non-profit sector. For many years I have known I want to become an international journalist who is focused on world problems and cultural differences. It is one of my dreams to do something which has a big impact on life threatening problems such as poverty, war, social inequality or other global issues like sustainability and education.

I’m really looking forward to volunteer for LAL this upcoming 7 weeks, since I will work with very friendly people who share the same goal: creating a better world. If you want to know more about my stay in Lebanon, feel free to follow the website I created with three other Dutch students www.studentsbridginggaps.com or follow me on Instagram. In the hours I’m not focusing on my own research for my masters or this internship, I will focus on exploring the country on my race bike that I took with me from the Netherlands!

Francesco NARDONE

Science Developer
Hi I’m Francesco.
I’m from Italy but I currently live in the Netherlands.
I’m very glad to have the opportunity to be in this amazing country and volunteer with LAL.
I was welcomed by an incredibly motivated and stimulating team.
I hope to learn much from them and help realize the dream of accessible quality education for all.

Bhaskar DERCON

Fundraising Consultant

My name is Bhaskar Dercon and I’m studying International Relations at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. I was welcomed in to the LAL family in January 2018 as part of an AIESEC volunteering experience to Lebanon. The LAL team has been amazing to me, starting the first day we were allowed and even expected to give our input on the goals and strategy of the following months. The People at LAL offered me all the freedom I wanted and gave me the opportunity to work on the projects I found interesting. As an intern I was really lucky, in the second week of my internship the office welcomed Nobel Prize winner Malala along with Apple CEO Tim Cook to talk to girls from Lebanon and Syria their story where really touching and sincere. It was heartwarming to see and I am really grateful that LAL gave me the opportunity to experience this and meet such inspiring people. It was a pleasure to work with the team although I am not quite ready to leave yet!

Laurens SASTROWIJOTO

Fundraising Consultant

My name is Laurens Sastrowijoto, I am studying Public Administration and want to focus on International Relations in the near future. Through the worldwide student organisation AIESEC I got the opportunity to join LAL for an internship. After a warm welcome by the whole LAL team on the first day, I was not only asked where my interests lie so I could really focus on those, the lovely LAL team also listened to my thoughts about the goals we set for the next couple of months. I was expected to articulate myself and my opinion mattered. The warm work atmosphere made me feel at ease. The work wasn’t the only thing which made working for LAL fun and interesting, it was meeting the passionate people working at LAL.

Angela HANSWILLEMENKE

The German “Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen” (institution for foreign relations) – ifa gave me the opportunity to work as a CrossCulture intern for eight weeks abroad. In my home organization I councel and teach refugees in order to find jobs on the German job market.

I choose LAL as my host organization because I am looking forward to getting to know e-learning and project management processes. Furthermore I always wanted to be part of an NGO team with a valuable approach. That’s why I’m here!

Since I came to Lebanon, the LAL team welcomed me very warmly and supported me in many ways. It is a wonderful experience to work in a multi-professional team with so many creative people in an adventurous city like Beirut.

Jennifer GRUND

Conflict Resolution Consultant

My Name is Jennifer Grund and I am studying International Peace and Conflict Studies in Frankfurt. I’m in love with Lebanon since I am a child and I always wanted to live and work there. So I took the chance to make an internship at LAL.

To me, the education and the access to it, are the key elements of a peaceful society. So I feel honored to be a part of LAL team and their great mission.

Beside the great people who I met during my time at the office, I also had the chance to organize a workshop for non-violent conflict resolution for children. I’ve learned a lot and I really miss the organization and the country. It is sure, that I will come back, either for work or for a visit!

Sarah EL HOUCHEIMI

Web Developer

My name is Sarah El Houcheimi and I am a Software Engineering student at the University of Edinburgh. I started working with LAL in January 2017 and I have been enjoying every minute of it!

Besides introducing me to a diverse group of people within a comfortable, warm and fun environment, LAL has taught me a great deal about the e-learning process. Working with the amazing LAL team, I acquired many skills including website and digital resources development on the Irada Baladiya Website.

I will be leaving the LAL office in Lebanon, however, I am eager to continue this volunteering experience remotely while continuing my degree in Scotland.

Amandine LESAGE

Communication Consultant

I joined LAL for a volunteering program through the AIESEC organization, with the aim of gaining experience in communication and media coordination. This opportunity has undoubtedly surpassed all expectations. My dream was to come to Lebanon, not only for the beauty of the country but also for its history, culture and dynamism.

This last aspect sits at the core of what LAL is all about: an organization driven by a dedicated and passionate team, where young people share ideas to create a truly vibrant and uniquely creative environment.

As a communication consultant, I oversaw the design of their new website, as well as the content of their social network pages.

Mohamed KASRAWI

Project Coordinator

Travaillons à la beauté des choses

After working in the Continuous Education Department of a private university in Beirut, Mohamed and his teams supervised more than 1000 teenagers per year at the complementary and secondary school years. Through his belief in the right for education to all, he is now dedicating time to ensure more underprivileged children get access to formal and informal education.

Florian MÜLLER

Fundraising Strategist

Donors don’t give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe.
G.T. Smith

Florian holds a double major in Middle-East studies (B.A. and M.A.) and International Relations (B.A.) from the university of Groningen in the Netherlands. His carreer so far evolved around professional committment of societal issues. Before coming to Lebanon to work in the humanitarian sector, he was a social worker protecting and mentoring unaccompanied minors for the Central Dutch Agency for the Recpetion of Asylum Seekers. Now he is committed to the development and funding of a strategy to help LAL realise its full potential.

Pamela KRAUSE

Education Officer

f you can’t come to school, the school will come to you!

Pamela holds a double major in philosophy (masters) and literature (PHD).
She seeks innovative ways to communicate difficult concepts to underprivileged students from failing schools.
She is also passionate about gender equality in Lebanon, as she seeks to empower women through education.
Pamela also develops art courses, as education to beauty should not be the privilege of the happy few.

Nesrine DANDACH

Je suis Nesrine et je vis à Bruxelles.

J’ai la chance d’avoir été acceptée pour ce projet avec LAL. L’équipe est géniale et vous vous sentez comme chez vous. Le chemin se dessine tout doucement pour l’amélioration de l’éducation au Liban et cela se passe grâce à ce genre d’initiatives. Chaque moment qu’on accorde aux enfants et à leur éducation est une chose qui n’a pas de valeur et j’encouragerai tout le monde à faire de son mieux pour donner la possibilité aux adultes de demain d’être éduqués et d’avoir accès à une éducation de qualité.

Rym El Moussaoui

My name is Rym El Moussaoui, I have a B.A. in Language and Communications Sciences: Language Acquisition Engineering and currently pursuing my Masters’ in Curriculum and Educational Management.

I chose to volunteer at LAL because I am looking for a meaningful volunteer opportunity that ties in with my career objectives – I am very interested in education especially working with students from vulnerable backgrounds. I have worked for several years in INGO’s in education projects made in response to the Syrian crisis. Being able to help others is the kind of work that I am passionate about especially where I can utilize my skills to make a positive impact in the lives of others.

Ahmad Abou Daya

I am a Lebanese student studying abroad. I love helping others and doing community-work. I am ambitious and a quick-learner. I heard about your organization and I am eager to work with you helping underprivileged kids in Lebanon getting their education. We need to make sure that the coming generations are well educated in order to help Lebanon get through actual and upcoming challenges.

Manon Fakhoury

My name is Manon Fakhoury, I’m a social science graduate from Paris Dauphine. LAL gave me the chance to work with them as an intern for the summer.

The current challenges faced by our societies, such as the environmental problems, war, terrorism, the refugee crisis, or the rise of populism, are becoming more complex every day. Being aware of these issues leaves me no choice but to commit to trying my best solving them, in order to make a difference.

I’ve always wanted to dedicate my life to working with NGOs. I believe that having the opportunity to do so in my home country, surrounded by a very motivated and welcoming team will allow me to learn and grow both personally and professionally.

Farah Makki

I’m an undergraduate student majoring in Elementary Education at AUB. This summer, I have to complete around 60 hours internship in an NGO. I heard about LAL from my friends and from the NGO fair that took place last spring at AUB. I’m very glad to have the opportunity to volunteer with you, LAL meets my interests in helping a wide range of people and in developing the educational system in our country.
I hope that my contribution will make a difference.

Muhammad Ali Haidar

I came to the realization that being called a nerd for answering most of the questions people asked me didn’t make me feel bad at all. On the contrary, it made me happy, eager to watch more documentaries and read books outside my major. In some debates, people would approach and start talking to me about things that I wouldn’t have imagined knowing of if it weren’t for my intense curiosity to understand the world. And all of this thirst to engulf information and link beautiful facts about how things operate and how matter interacts with one another came from books. So, I understand the importance of showing people knowledge through books, movies or activities. I understand that pictures in books aren’t bad at all. They tickle the brain and make sure it doesn’t forget them. So to speak, I would love to be part of something that would allow me to share my knowledge and learn from people so we’d all know the right answers to the questions and be able to ask the right questions about the world. Most importantly, I’d love to reach out to kids and people who aren’t as privileged as I was to attain books for their questions.

Soheila Shourbaji

When I read about this volunteering opportunity, it really clicked for me. The need for more interactive learning in public schools is huge and this is coming from a student who graduated from one. I am very interested in content development in biology because I’m very passionate about it and want the youth to see how beautiful it is. On the long term, this kind of education will help them aspire to build unconventional careers in research and science. I would also love to do activities with children when available. I can’t wait to start working on this!

One of the courses I developped is an EB8 Science course called : Disorders of the Immune System.

Mohamad Chamas

Don’t let school get in the way of your education.

I recently graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in Global Cultural Studies, Education, and Documentary studies. Growing up with a strictly scientific and engineering formation, I was quickly disillusioned with corporate modes of social change. After working with public schools on incorporating technology into education, I realized that change starts from within people, rather than the machines they used.
I now have dedicated my life to providing open access education for all, and Lebanese Alternative Learning is at the cutting edge of this work in Lebanon.

Karam Sarieddine

Because helping others is the best thing I love to do, I decided to join LAL. The idea of this ngo attracted me from the word go since i used to study alone without any help and faced many difficulties.Therefore, i liked the way LAL simplifies things for both students and teachers. I’m more than happy to be part of this amazing team working on the geology & chemistry parts which are related to my Petroleum Studies in AUB.

I hope my contribution will make a difference.

Joseph Khiami

My name Is Joseph Khiami and I am an Economics student at the American University of Beirut. ‎
I joined LAL in June 2018 because the education issue in the region concerns me and I wanted to make a ‎direct impact on it. ‎
During this period, I developed math chapters and created interactive web contents on the platform.‎

Reenal Faysal

I’m Reenal Faysal majoring in Petroleum Studies at AUB. I have a nonacademic internship to be done this summer for about 60 to 80 hours. I got to know your center by an NGO fair that was done at AUB and I was interested to apply for such an internship. It’s my pleasure having a training experience there where I can learn new stuff and get to know more people. In addition, this learning center may give me the opportunity to share in the learning process of children that are need indeed to have a happy and eventful childhood and a prosperous future.

Amani NASR

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
Albert Einstein

I am majoring in Civil Engineering because I am fascinated by large structures, towers and bridges. By choosing something I love, education suddenly transformed from a boring thing I have to do into a fun thing I want to do. My interest in Girls Can Count project stems from my belief that everyone deserves the chance I’ve been given to pursue education and do what they love.

Ary BERBERIAN

80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Pareto Principle

After majoring in Telecommunications, I realized my passion lies elsewhere and oriented my career towards the world of Data. Since then, I try to convince people around me to do something they love for a living. Being passionate about what we daily do is very important to me.

As a math enthusiast, I joined the Girls Can Count project to facilitate the teaching of this beautiful subject. Since I believe that the whole educational system is wrong, I see a bright future for LAL, because of the values they defend and the change it wants to accomplish.

Rybal CHEBLY

Only the Fruitful Tree will Have Stones Thrown At.

I majored in Electro-mechanical engineering; I am an outgoing and composed person and always aiming high while consistently striving for success and great achievements.

Marlyne KARIM

I am Civil Engineering graduate and I helped in developing the content in Tabshoura STEAM because nothing feels better than sharing what you know with people who want to learn from you.

I hope that my contribution can make a difference.

Sarah Jane FAHED

Field Coordinator

Hello! My name is Sarah-Jane
I was a LAL volunteer from January 2016 to March 2016. These 3 months were super awesome! I had an overview of the diverse work of LAL: I’ve been to schools in the Bekaa to interview the teachers about Tabshoura, supported in the movie making of the Tabshoura’s website, and created content for social media and the website!

The (super) team was composed of a dozen people working on Tabshoura Kindergarten.
I’m happy to see that in less than a year a lot of people joined the LAL’s family and contributed to the quick growth and the great work for alternative ways of learning adapted to all!