Rula Fakhoury

2018 SLP Alumna, shares hygienic practices and materials with 600 children from Ra’as Al Naqab, Jordan

While studying Pharmacy at the University of Jordan, Rula Fakhoury worried that village children in the south of Jordan did not have access to the education and materials needed to create and maintain a healthy and hygienic lifestyle. While attending the Student Leaders Program at Portland State University, she decided to focus her Community Engagement Plan (CEP) on helping these children in need.

Her CEP, called Ma’joon, consisted of a 15-day program that developed an interactive curriculum focusing on building hygienic standards for 600 children from schools in Ra’as Al Naqab, Jordan. In order to fund her project, she applied for and received a Jordan Small Project Annual Program grant from the U.S. Embassy and she reached out to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health to receive their permission to implement her project.

Once she received Ministry approval, Rula used her grant funding to purchase health materials and partnered with Mercy Corps, an international NGO, to recruit volunteers to help pack hygiene kits to provide to the children. Rula then worked with 60 primary school teachers to provide health curriculum to their students. At the close of the program, 600 children had received basic hygienic supplies, and 50% reported that they had consistently applied their newly learned hygiene lessons in their daily lives.

Rula describes her CEP experiences “one of the most enriching times of [my] life.” The project implementation helped her to see how powerful it can be to partner with governmental and non-governmental organizations to create growth in your community. Rula finished her undergraduate degree in June of 2018 and has since completed a two-month internship at a pharmaceutical company in Jordan as a Medical Representative. She looks forward to developing her career and continuing to use her skills to support her home community.

Funding for the Student Leaders Program is provided by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA-AC).

Related Program

Student Leaders Program

The MEPI Student Leaders Program is a U.S. Department of State sponsored leadership program for undergraduate student leaders from the Middle East and North Africa. The CIED-designed curriculum allows students to develop leadership skills and expand their understanding of civil society and democratic leadership.