Lara Bellone d’Altavilla has extensively traveled and worked with refugee groups in Jordan, Greece, and the United States, developing her understanding of the global refugee crisis. Lara came to Amman in September 2019, and was supposed to stay for only four weeks in Jordan, but instantly fell in love with the country. During the year that she lived in Amman, she worked with a Jordanian NGO on projects enhancing economic opportunities to youth and women. Her fieldwork throughout Jordan allowed her to meet different communities and learn new areas of the country. She is currently working in Turkey as a media assistant with a local NGO.
Lara passionately writes about travel, cultural experiences, and social justice issues taking place in the Middle East. Lara is fascinated by Arab culture and changing negative perceptions of the region since the Middle East is a beautiful place rich in history and home to some of the most generous people you’ll meet. Lara finds that there tends to be a barrier in seeing this in the West and hopes to give an accurate representation of what the Middle East truly is. Lara is deeply connected to her Syrian and Italian ethnicities.
MEET LARARaed Meyhar is a native Jordanian that has lived in Amman for the last 11 years. He is currently studying at university, leading in many social activities that enhance his business skills & community involvement. For the past two years, he has volunteered for the UN Women Movement- HeForShe, which enhances gender equality. He is also an advocate at his university for the UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). He has gained web development experience through the websites he has created for various organizations.
Upon meeting Lara through a mutual friend, Raed wanted to join GRLبنت to share his home city with the rest of the world. He wants Jordanians & people abroad to recognize the beauty of Amman & other cities in the MENA region. For this reason, he believes the work that GRLبنت shares is empowering to himself, his mother, and his community. He hopes that GRLبنت will encourage travelers to visit the Middle East and for those in the West to see the beauty that exists in his culture & people.
MEET RAED
Reem Metwally is an Egyptian Pharmacist who studied in Amman, Jordan allowing her to deeply explore Jordanian culture & daily street life. She has participated in many social events and enjoys spending her time volunteering with different groups in Egypt & Amman. Reem spent a year working with Syrian refugees in Cairo as a teacher for various grade levels. She is also a human rights activist that has participated in women’s rights protests in Amman & Cairo. Reem enjoys engaging in the public street scenes of Amman & Cairo. She has developed her interviewing skills through public relations & communication with the locals. After meeting Lara in Amman and reconnecting through social media, Reem joined GRLبنت to share her unique perspectives of Egypt & Jordan, introducing Egyptian culture to the page. Reem shares a love for both countries, their communities, & the world as one.
MEET REEMAhmad Taha is a native Jordanian born & raised in the city of Amman. He is a software engineering student at the Hashemite University where he is completing his bachelor's degree with a focus on cybersecurity. Ahmad has participated in two hackathon events in Jordan (2019, 2020) and is also the vice president of the American Corner Debate Club at the Hashemite University. He has experience translating between Arabic & English on Fiverr & other websites. His passion in life is to help others through technology. Ahmad joined GRLبنت since the page shares local’s voices on topics that are rarely discussed in the region. GRLبنت empowers individuals by providing a platform for social issues in communities to be heard, which is needed. He is dedicated to translating the English content into Arabic in order to expand GRLبنت’s audience to native Arabic speakers.
Ahmad joined GRLبنت since the page shares local’s voices on topics that are rarely discussed in the region. GRLبنت empowers individuals by providing a platform for social issues in communities to be heard, which is needed. He is dedicated to translating the English content into Arabic in order to expand GRLبنت’s audience to native Arabic speakers.
MEET AHMAD
