Agency Grants Made to 22 Creative Leaders in the Middle East
FrontLines - February 2009
By Lori Severens
Cairo, Egypt—In December 2008, USAID launched a new network of social entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa—22 community leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine were chosen to receive grants in support of their work on pressing social and economic problems.
These social innovators, selected from a pool of 150, are pioneers of change within their communities. They offer creative
approaches and promising solutions through education, microenterprise, social justice, and arts and culture. The program
is funded through a public-private partnership with the Synergos Institute and donors from their global philanthropic circle. The institute works to combat global poverty and social injustice, and has backed efforts in more than 30 countries and regions.
Aref Husseini (standing) is one of 22 social innovators from the Arab world to receive grants backed by USAID. He promotes scientific education among young people in Palestine.
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Projects among the new network
range from promoting non-violent approaches to social change in Palestine and reviving traditional Berber handicrafts in Egypt to encouraging volunteerism
in Jordan and supporting organic agriculture in Lebanon. As Dave Besch, USAID’s regional alliance builder, said, “USAID cannot support every one of the 100 million young people in the Arab region, but we can identify and link people with the potential to inspire others.
That is what this program
is all about.”
In Palestine, Aref Husseini fights brain drain and gender inequities among bright young Palestinians by cultivating new inventions and encouraging scientific
research and critical thinking. His foundation, Naizak, “the Meteor” in Arabic, helps young people transform good ideas into products and attract investors. Husseini focuses on those with few resources and looks for equal numbers of inventions from young women and men. In classrooms south of Nablus, he also organizes creative thinking games for about 1,800 students.
Across the African continent in Morocco, Saadia Zrira teaches women in rural mountain communities
to cultivate aromatic and medicinal plants for local and international markets. Designed to raise incomes of women who live in poor and isolated areas, her work is built around existing indigenous resources.
She helps the women organize
into cooperatives and provides
a year of training in plant cultivation and extraction of essential oils. The soaps and other cosmetics containing the essential oils from the plants are popular in upscale Moroccan hotels, and have begun to break into the international market for environmentally and socially friendly products.
Zrira says she believes in the women’s cooperatives, not only for their economic benefits, but also for the sense of empowerment
they give their members.
In addition to $20,000 grants, the program provides Husseini, Zrira, and their colleagues with professional development, mentors, and peer support. The Synergos Institute will also help them identify strategic connections
and additional investors through its philanthropic contacts
and other resources.
The goal is to help each entrepreneur expand the impact of his or her work, establish a supportive network across the region, and encourage others to follow their examples.
“In this program, Synergos aims to support those who are already making social change take the next step and make their organizations more effective
and sustainable,” said Robert H. Dunn, president and CEO of Synergos. “We also believe these leaders will partner
with others to strengthen civil society throughout the region and collaborate across sectors to promote economic and social progress.”
USAID’s budget for the program
is $1 million. Synergos will match that amount through private donations. This is one of several programs supported by USAID’s Office of Middle East Programs that invests in global values and skills for youth in the Middle East and North Africa.
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