Society & Culture
Raneem's profile of social entrepreneur Lama Amr reveals a common frustration the two share. PAYCE Fellow Raneem Garhreeb begins her podcast with the sound of an Israeli checkpoint, then pivots to humor through the voice of an American PAYCE colleague. She does this to show a common experience of Palestinians abroad: Meeting people who confuse their home with Pakistan or who know nothing about the Palestinian situation. In this light, Raneem considers how her podcast’s subject, young adult Lama Amr, uses her voice to inform the world. A social entrepreneur, Lama has launched projects to support innovation and crowdfunding in Palestine, including BirHakaya and Build Palestine. Connecting with youth all over the world, she works to make things happen. Her successes do not make her immune from the daily problem of checkpoints and occupation, but she believe these setbacks making her more creative. Raneem connects Lama’s efforts to disseminate diverse stories about Palestine, seeing her as a model to follow to create change.