Randolph-Macon College alumna Farah Hatoum ’18 believes in the power of hope. And she believes in helping others.

In 2017, she developed and implemented a five-day medical clinic for refugee children in Kfarselwan, Lebanon. The project was aided by a $10,000 grant from the Davis Projects for Peace. In summer 2018, she was again awarded a $10,000 grant from Projects for Peace so that she could return to Lebanon to continue her work there.

Helping Others
Hatoum, who majored in biology and Spanish, is determined to help alleviate the plight of the large refugee population in Kfarselwan, and to promote the coexistence between the Lebanese people and Syrian refuges. She worked diligently to set up a free clinic in Lebanon, where she helped provide medical care to refugee children.

“There are more refugees in Lebanon than there are Lebanese people,” she says. “Not only does this cause issues from a medical and public-health standpoint, but also from a political and social standpoint. Just as this project changed me last year, it changed me this year. I was able to help a multitude of families in the village of Kfarselwan, and I saw smiles on the faces of children from all over Lebanon in the five short days I spent there.”

Spreading Peace
Hatoum, who was born in Lebanon, spent each day facilitating the event and assisting three doctors. In addition to free medical exams, children received necessary medications and a three-month supply of vitamins. Hatoum and the doctors she worked with also provided parents with health and sanitation education. “These refugees and vulnerable Lebanese families live in heartbreaking conditions, and any little bit of help can go a long way,” she says.

Although frustrated that she couldn’t do more—”What I did was a drop in the ocean”—Hatoum remains hopeful. “This experience reaffirmed my love for my home country and motivated me to spread peace wherever I go,” she says. “Organizations like the Davis Project for Peace are making a tremendous difference around the world, one project at a time.”

At RMC, Hatoum was the recipient of the Janet Harvey Trivette ’78 & W. Proctor Harvey Jr. Endowed Student Award; the Dr. and Mrs. Marshall and Alice McCabe Pre-Medical Scholarship; the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant; and the Presidential Scholarship.

Hatoum, who will graduate with a master’s degree in public health (MPH) at George Washington University in December 2018, says, “RMC gives students the opportunity to discover what they love and who they are. I’m grateful to have discovered my passions at Randolph-Macon.”

The Davis Projects for Peace Program
Projects for Peace was created in 2007. Undergraduates at 90 partner schools of the Davis United World College Scholars Program annually submit plans for Projects for Peace. Winning proposals are funded through the program.