Support a young refugee be a choreographer

Hello, my name is Jana Ismail, I am a 22 year-old young woman who grew up in Bourj Al Shamali , one of the Palestinian refugee camps in south Lebanon. I have a passion for dancing and was accepted to study Choreography Arts at the Dostoevsky Omsk State University in Russia, starting at the end of September 2021. My fellowship only pays for my studies, however, and so this crowdfunding appeal aims to help me raise funds to pay for travel and living expenses during my first two years.

Current Context for a Refugee in Lebanon: Opportunities in Lebanon for Palestinians are extremely limited, as we are not allowed to work in a wide range of professions and our study possibilities are curtailed due to our refugee status. This has been made worse with the catastrophic economic crisis Lebanon is currently facing, with the national currency losing more than 90% of its value since October 2019.

Choreography Art Studies: Within this context, a few years ago I discovered dancing. I have always been interested in music – for many years I played the bagpipes – and have been active in theater and many other things (see my CV ). But when I discovered dancing, I realized this was the way I could truly and freely express myself. There was no need to speak and I could not be judged by my words. Dancing opened a world for me of expression that is often unavailable to women and to refugees. With these studies, I want to focus on different types of dancing and then specialize in choreography, as this mixes all my passions: dancing, music and theater.

How I want to give back? I want to learn choreography to then be able to come back to Lebanon and give back to the country and to the refugee community where I grew up. My dream for the future is to be able to open a dance school in the south of Lebanon for kids and young people like me, who cannot afford it but who I believe could gain so much from dancing.

What will the money cover? The money raised will cover my travel and living expenses for the first two years. My studies will be for 5 years, with a first preparatory year to learn Russian followed by 4 years of study. From the third year onwards, I would be allowed to work in Russia, which is why I am seeking funds to cover only my first two years.

A new adventure: This campaign will help me for two years, but it is much more than this. It funds an opportunity to grow, to learn from other places, and to be able to come back to Lebanon in better times and contribute to my community. I hope you can support me and I am very thankful for your kind consideration.

My family: This is my family: from left to right, there is my mother Nadia who is a primary school teacher at the camp, then there is me, my little sister Ghina and my brother Firas who works as a nurse and has been working non-stop with the Covid crisis in Lebanon. As a consequence of the current economic crisis in Lebanon, all our family savings were lost.

As banking has collapsed in Lebanon, the fundraising is done through my US-based friend Claudia Martinez Mansell who works for United Nations (UN) and runs Kissweh . She has been very active in Bourj Al Shamali camp for more than 20 years, and is a longstanding friend of my family.