Profile: Sireen Ilaiyan

Sireen is a graduate of Bakehila's programming in the Arab sector. She took part in Bakehila's first Learning and Enrichment Center in Beit Safafa, followed by participating in Bakehila's pre-academia program and going on to volunteer in the original Learning and Enrichment Center that had impacted her life so profoundly.

The following text was adapted from the speech that Sireen gave at the Forbes "30 under 30" summit, on April 6th, 2016.

My name is Sireen, I am 19 years old and grew up in Beit Safafa- an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem. Today I work in the maternity ward in the hospital, assisting women before and after birth, helping them to get settled and making sure their needs are met. I am also studying at Hebrew University for my BA in education. My dream is to someday work with kids who are falling behind and need extra help in school.

To many of you, this may seem like a standard path of a young teacher-in-training, but for me this is not the case. In the family and community in which I was raised, women are not traditionally encouraged to go out and work, but rather to focus on building families, just as my mother who got married at age 17 and never went on to higher education. My father also does not have a BA, making me the first in my family to pursue an undergraduate degree!

How did I get here?

I was lucky enough to spend my 4 high-school years participating in an after-school program by an organization called Bakehila, focused on increasing social mobility amongst underserved populations in Jerusalem. Within this framework, I spent 3 afternoons a week in a Learning Center, working on my academic skills and benefiting from extra-curricular activities. This center was the first of its kind in my community, and I am proud to have been amongst the first cohort.

It was my experience at this Learning Center, where I truly came out of my shell and became the person that I am today. My confidence grew enormously and I now feel empowered to take my life into my own hands.

After I graduated high school, I participated in another pilot program with Bakehila, volunteering my time to giving back to the Learning Centers by working with the kids to improve their school achievements and mentor them on many issues. The concept of volunteerism – of doing something in exchange for nothing – was a new one for us. However, we quickly learned that it was more than it appeared. Volunteering taught me more about myself and my hidden talents than I ever knew before, and this is what ultimately led me to decide to go into education.

Beyond academia, I learned through my experience that knowledge is not the only important factor towards becoming an educated and successful person. We also must focus on developing personal and social skills, as well as developing creative talents and building on who we are as individuals.

This experience has led me to think out of the box and opened my eyes to a whole new world of opportunity. I learned to think critically and never to stop asking questions. I believe that if you never challenge the status-quo, your situation won’t change.

I wish for all children from my community, or children living anywhere with fewer opportunities, to get their chance at life and become productive contributors to society.