Mufti, Founder of Education NGO, Delivers Assembly

Founder and CEO of SONBOLA Massa Mufti told the Exeter community about her work providing Syrian refugees with better education at her assembly on Tuesday. She shed light on the complicated dynamics of the Syrian Civil War with the help of slides and videos and explained how the lives of citizens have been upturned due to the rampant violence in the country. A Syrian refugee herself, Mufti has voiced her opinion about the humanitarian crisis through various platforms, such as the Dubai International Humanitarian and Aid Development Conference. During her assembly speech, she emphasized the importance of providing children with access to education in times of uncertainty, which is the mission of the group she started.

“The point is to help people be able to get themselves up and work to support their own families.”

SONBOLA is a nonprofit that works towards educating Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Currently centered around a student center that features a library and a computer lab and that serves hundreds of students each year, they believe that educating the younger generation will counteract the disintegration of societies in times of war and solve problems like unemployment, radicalization and child labor. SONBOLA also hopes to give professionals in education opportunities to hone the skills needed to contribute to the reformation of Syria. In addition to classes focused on mathematics, English, Arabic and science, Mufti’s nonprofit also provides Syrian students with transportation to and from school, as their camps might be located in remote regions. “SONBOLA helps alleviate the horrors of war,” senior Ali Hassani, who first initiated the idea of bringing Mufti to Exeter, said.Hassani originally connected with Mufti through a childhood friend in Abu Dhabi; after recognizing his passion for education in Syria, she had introduced him to Mufti’s team. He and his friend both became student ambassadors for the organization, and after working hard to increase SONBOLA’s outreach in Dubai, Hassani realized that having Mufti speak at assembly would be a wonderful opportunity for Exonians. “I hope that Exonians can understand that a lot is being done,” he said. “The West says that the Arab world is not doing enough to alleviate the refugee crisis and I think this is grossly inaccurate.”With that in mind, Hassani reached out to Head of the Assembly Committee Kathleen Brownback and put her in contact with Massa Mufti. “Ms. Brownback thought it was an incredible idea and very quickly they took her on,” he said. The Assembly Committee had previously identified the crisis in Middle East and education for refugees as two main themes of the assembly program this year. Thus, they were open to inviting Massa Mufti from Dubai to the Academy for an assembly speech, a Latin study lunch and a conversation with the Senior Studies Human Rights class.Senior Grace Duisberg, who attended the Latin Study lunch, felt that she gained more insight into the current situation in Syria from Mufti’s talk and appreciated the opportunity to look outside the Exeter bubble. “We pride ourselves on promoting diversity, so it’s important to remember that some of the students’ backgrounds might indeed be places like Syria,” she said.Prep Emma Cerrato agreed. “It’s interesting to see how we’re in a pretty advantageous spot at Exeter in terms of education,” she said. “A lot of kids don’t have what we have.”Religion Instructor Thomas Simpson, who is teaching the Human Rights elective this year, also described Massa Mufti as “an excellent fit” for his class, because of her “on-the-ground experience and expertise” with the peacebuilding process as a dedicated activist. During the class, Mufti discussed with seniors how to galvanize effective opposition to a brutal regime and how to establish a viable NGO. “A conversation with ten kids instead of a presentation for the whole school was way more specific and directed towards our lives and actions, what we all can do,” senior Matilde Leboni said. She expressed appreciation for the “powerful experience” of meeting someone so personally involved in the humanitarian relief effort.Many members of the Academy were inspired by SONBOLA’s message regarding the importance of education. Instructor in Religion Nuri Friedlander reflected on how children who entered middle school when the conflict began are now “old enough to be graduating from high school.”  However, many of them have lost their chance at an education. “Providing educational opportunities for these young Syrians may help save these generation,” he said, echoing Mufti.Prep Samuel Park also applauded Mufti’s sentiments. “It’s true that education is the key to solve everything,” he said. “The point is to help people be able to get themselves up and work to support their own families.”Mufti also emphasized Syria’s recent history and how the civil war has developed over the past years. According to Senior Frieda-Luna Schloer, the Vox animated video shown by Mufti helped her visualize the key players in the conflict and how it escalated into a humanitarian crisis. “It helped me understand the issue better,” she said.Similarly, upper Gabby Meeks said that it was informative to “know more about Syria in general” through the video. Some, including prep Samuel Park, felt more negatively about the density of the information, which may have confused some students. “The whole thing was just in slide format and you just couldn’t read all the slides,” he said. “Clarity is important.”All in all, however, the assembly was well received. Hassani urged the community to keep Mufti’s message in mind moving forward. “It’s very obvious that the civil war in syria is the great humanitarian crisis of our time,” he said. “I think it’s fitting that a school like Exeter, with our Non-Sibi values, should tackle it.”