“The history of architecture is the history of the struggle for light.”

Syrian, from Busra Al-Sham; seeking Undergraduate degree in Architecture and is enrolled at American University of Madaba.  

I am Reem Al-Hamad, a 21-year-old girl from Busra Al-Sham, a city in Dar’a, Syria that UNESCO declared a world Heritage site.

Like many Syrians, my family arrived in Jordan in 2012.

My father is a civil engineer working in Saudi Arabia. The COVID 19 pandemic forced him to accept a salary cut.

He could barely cover the living expenses of our family and the medical bills of my 15 years old sister who suffers from brain atrophy after an injury she sustained during the hostilities. We could not get her proper medical attention in Syria. She was one of the reasons we had to seek asylum in Jordan.

I often marveled at the beauty of Busra’s amphitheater and other archeological sites. I was fascinated by the architectural manifestations of cultures . My father used to show me the modern projects that he supervised in KSA. What impressed me the most was how intertwined was technology and architecture.

I felt a strong affinity to both and decided to focus on the restoration of historical buildings and green architecture.

As a young Syrian refugee living in a region that had its share of natural and manmade disasters, I believe my interest in restoration and in green architecture will go a long way in responding to the need to preserve our archeological heritage and build environmentally friendly structures.

The scholarship I received covered only 99 credits of the total of 176 needed to graduate.

I hope you will help me combine my passion for history and archeological heritage with my dream to be a leading architect in green architecture and restoration.

Why Would Donors Fund You?

I want to be the bridge between a a culturally rich urban past and an environmentally safer future. My major will allow me to restore part of the urban scene we lost to war. Collective memory cannot be separated from the visual incubator that hosts it. When we all return to the places we spent our childhood in, I want these places to withstand the onslaught of climate change.

Your support will allow me restore some of the war-ravaged historic landmarks while making them fit for the future.

How Do You Plan to Payback?

1. By organizing public awareness campaigns to help people transform their home spaces into
   healthy spaces using simple and accessible environmental preservation ideas.
2. I want to preserve historic landmarks so that they continue to be part of our identity but also fit for a green future for generations to come.
3. I want to establish a Syrian Green Building Association, to raise awareness and knowledge about green buildings. It will be a space for learning and volunteering.
4. I will allocate part of the proceeds to finance educating young architects with a focus on green architecture.

Volunteer Work/Social Capital

2019 - Hathi Hayati Association

Provides food aid to the needy particularly during the month of Ramadan and Eid.

Children activities

2018-2020 Al-Awael Website

A website that helps students in providing books, exams and study papers, and I was a volunteer in providing these things to students in addition to entering data and organizing appointments.

What Have You Done to Improve Yourself? Awards and Achievements

1-I gave a lecture about Miguel Montor, a world renowned architect from Mexico. I reached out to him in person, and my friends coordinated the Q & A segment. I was the only student at the Faculty of Architecture at AUM to have done that . https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S9GY5Nx1m-0_Fez4RKtommQsVjCeY7j4/view?usp=sharing

2-Certificate of participation at the Bunyan platform workshop on post-Corona housing architecture.

3- Certificate of Photography (10 Hours)

4- conversational English language certificate (one month)

5 - Architectural presentation course

6- Photoshop through YouTube

7- I organized a donation campaign for cancer patients in my university