Nousha Kabawat is the Founder & Executive Director of Project Amal ou Salam. Nousha Kabawat is ICTJ’s Head of the Syria Program. Nousha has implemented trainings for Syrian activists in Amman, Beirut, and Istanbul in conflict resolution, negotiation, civil society building, and transitional justice. Nousha has served as the program officer for Syria at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University and the project coordinator for Syria at Search for Common Ground Lebanon and has worked as an associate producer for Frontline’s Emmy nominated documentary “Inside Assad’s Syria.” In 2013, she founded an organization called Project Amal ou Salam that works with refugee children in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to empower the future leaders of Syria through education, intervention, and trauma-based care. Their work has given over 7000 Syrian children educational opportunities. Her work has been recognized by the United States Institute of Peace and featured in National Geographic, BBC News, USA Today, and the Peace and Conflict Monitor. She holds a master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and a graduate certificate in Global Journalism from the University of Toronto.
Email: nkabawat@gmail.com
Becky Castellucci is the Partnerships & Operations Director of Project Amal ou Salam. Becky has been passionate about the Syrian cause since her visit to a refugee camp in Turkey in 2013. She works in the International Division of the National Center for State Courts where she supports rule of law and access to justice programs. She holds a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Washington College.
Paola Lepori is the Outreach & Communications Director of Project Amal ou Salam. Paola is a Middle East and international relations expert and an information and communication specialist. She currently works at the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation, European Commission, in Brussels. Paola worked as desk editor and contributor for several Italian newspapers writing extensively about international affairs and Middle Eastern issues before moving to Belgium to join the European Commission.
Paola holds a master’s degree in Near and Middle Eastern studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and a master’s degree in International Relations from Università degli Studi Roma Tre. She studied contemporary Middle Eastern countries from a socio-economic and political point of view in Rome and London while she studied international relations in Italy and Australia.
She lived in Amman and Damascus, before being forced to move out of Syria at the outbreak of the ongoing crisis. She was looking for a way to support the Syrian people when she bumped into Project Amal ou Salam and joined its family in 2016.
Email: paola.lepori@gmail.com
Yaman Barakat is the Jordan Operations Director of Project Amal ou Salam. He supervises all our activities in Jordan. His tasks include procurement, administration, HR, recruitment, local partnerships. Yaman studied information technology and worked as IT administrator for many years. Now he is the owner of a toys and gifts stationery store.
Project Amal ou Salam’s volunteers come from all over the world—Canada, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Australia, just to name a few! Our volunteers have diverse backgrounds—in education, international development, law, tourism, photography, business, technology, and much more. But they all have two things in common: they are passionate about helping the children of Syria, and they are essential to the work of Project Amal ou Salam.
Learn more about volunteering with us.
