Princeton Clay Project raises funds, awareness to help Syrian refugee youth

Avigail Gilad '19 and Maria Chiara Ficarelli ’19 recently co-founded the Princeton Clay Project, a fundraising and awareness initiative dedicated to sending Syrian refugee youth to Al Albayt University in Jordan through the Amal Scholarship Fund.

The group has so far raised upwards of $3,000, according to Ficarelli and Gilad.

Ficarelli is an associate photo editor for the Daily Princetonian.

The Amal Scholarship Fund was started by Julie Whittaker GS of the Wilson School, who also co-founded the Princeton Refugee Project.The Amal Scholarship Fund was named for “amal,” the Arabic word for hope, and offers needy students four-year university scholarships to study at Al Albayt, a public Jordanian university located ten minutes away from Za’atari Refugee Camp, according to the Amal Scholarship Fund website. The website notes that the cost of a four-year bachelor’s degree in Jordan – including tuition, books and living stipend – is $19,000.

The Clay Project is working in close conjunction with the Princeton Refugee Project, the Nassau Presbyterian Church and the Social Justice Committee of the Center for Jewish Life, with the goal of raising $10,000 – enough to support two years of study at Al Albayt University for one student. The groups are continuing to seek partners to be able to provide matching funds of $10,000 to be able to support the final two years of higher-level education for Syrian students, according to Gilad.

Whittaker said that her work at the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan inspired her to found the Amal Foundation and then the Princeton Refugee Project at the graduate college.

"I met so many talented and ambitious youth who had interrupted university educations… In the camp, these youth were truly community leaders, organizing service initiatives, cultural activities and awareness events," she said.

Students granted scholarships by the scholarship fund are able to attend Al Albayt University, but are expected to also have the time to lead community-building initiatives in the Za’atari Refugee Camp.

“Imagine the power that these refugees will have if we invest in them now. What if we take all these young people who are in refugee camps and teach them the skills they will need in the future to recreate or rebuild their homes? This is the time to act,” Gilad said.

Ficarelli and Gilad said that the word "clay" carries both symbolic and literal meanings which motivated their decision to name their work the Princeton Clay Project. Clay represents stability, which Syrian refugees could use at this moment, they said.

The co-founders launched their project on March 26 with a four-hour mug-making marathon at the Wilson Ceramic Studio, where around 70 students created more than 100 total ceramic mugs, bowls and vases.

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After the items were glazed, the members of the project intend to sell the finished products, with all proceeds going toward the Amal Scholarship Fund. The items will be sold at Labyrinth Books and Rise Power Yoga, as well as around campus, Ficarelli and Gilad noted.

According to Ficarelli and Gilad, the exact price of the mugs has not been determined yet but will not exceed $10.

Although Ficarelli and Gilad said they were very proud of the results so far, they added that there is much more work to be done.

“It is a moral imperative — we can’t just stay here in an ivory tower and do our own thing and shut ourselves off from the world,” Ficarelli said. “If we really want to live up to the motto of being in the service of humanity, we need to make a difference.”

With the help of Susan Jennings, a leader in refugee resettlement efforts at Nassau Presbyterian Church, the Clay Project conducted a 2.5-mile walk along Washington Road and Nassau Street on April 2. Ficarelli explained that the distance of the walk was meant to resemble the 2.5-mile journey taken by so many Syrian refugees crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos.

The Clay Project collected donations of around $300 from the families and friends of those who participated in the walk, and some individuals held signs which broadcasted the number of refugees displaced or the number of Syrians who have died in the sea while crossing to Greece, Ficarelli noted.

“Our congregation was so pleased to learn of the students’ engagement,” Jennings said. “Concern for refugees is consistent with this country's values as a democracy, and from our congregation’s point of view, it is consistent with our faith.”

According to Jennings, Nassau Presbyterian — which has been actively involved in refugee resettlement for nearly five decades — is due to receive a family from Syria sometime in the next six to eight weeks.

Jennings said that the Clay Project and the Princeton Refugee Project, among others, are “performing a valuable service by educating the campus about these issues.”

Gilad said that on Wednesday night in McCosh 50, the Clay Project also hosted a screening of “Salam Neighbor,” a documentary made by two American filmmakers about the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, which is home to about 10,000 young people aged 18-24.

Gilad said she hoped that students watching this movie would be more motivated to take action on this pressing issue. She added that she hoped students would not only feel sympathy for the refugees but would also be moved to be more active in the Princeton community as a result.

“I think there is a general acceptance of our cause [at the University], but we are really trying to push past the boundary of, ‘Oh yeah, this is a thing and I’m going to continue my life parallel to it,’” Gilad added. “We want students to really see how they engage with this issue.”

The Clay Project, with the help of the Princeton Refugee Project, will also be hosting an Arts Gala on April 28 at Chancellor Green, featuring drawings, paintings and photographs that Syrian refugees from the Zaatari Refugee Camp have contributed, according to Gilad. The artwork — much of which was produced by Syrian youth — will be auctioned off, with all profits going directly back to the refugee artists, Gilad noted.

“People who come to the Arts Gala are going to that see these paintings were physically made by a Syrian refugee,” Gilad said. “It’s that visceral reaction that someone across the world who is undergoing so much adversity really made this art.”

Whittaker asked all members of the Princeton community to come together in order to help allow Syrian refugees to achieve the same benefits of higher education that students receive at the University.

"We hope that together, as a Princeton community, we can do our part to address this crisis and respond to the call for help that so many Syrian refugee students have made," Whittaker added.

The members of Clay Project have worked and plan to continue working with the Social Justice Committee of the Center for Jewish Life, the Princeton Refugee Project, the Muslim Students Association and the Office of Religious Life, according to Ficarelli and Gilad.