Glorianna Flemming, a first year Political Science major, spent her spring break volunteering with Syrian and Iraqi refugees in a healthcare clinic in Amman, Jordan. Here, Glorianna describes her experience: 

"My name is Glorianna Flemming and I’m a freshman student at Ohio State and a Political Science major. I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio but my family moved to the Middle East during my senior year of high school.  This spring break I had the opportunity to travel to Amman, Jordan to serve in a clinic providing care to Syrian and Iraqi refugees.  Many of these refugees had fled their homes carrying with them only the clothes on their back and are now living in tents in Jordan. They can’t work and have no social welfare programs available to them. Some are suffering from arthritis problems because of the long journey they’ve had to travel and the continual stress in their day-to-day lives.  The House of Ruth Clinic, where I worked, was opened in conjunction with Global Hope in order to help provided health care to the refugees. In addition to serving in the clinic, we were able to sit and listen to a lot of the stories of the refugees. Our next project is to start sharing their stories via social media and raising awareness of the issues. Ideally we would like to start pairing some of the refugee families with western sponsors, until they’re able to get back up on their feet.  

One of the stories that most resonated with me was that of Lina, a 21-year-old pharmacy major who had to flee Iraq about a year and a half ago. While on her way to school she was attacked by terrorists who unsuccessfully tried to get her in their car.  Although she was able to get away they promised to return later that night.  Since Lina’s parents were out of the country at the time, she had to flee with her younger sibling to Jordan.  She has since been reconnected with her family but they’ve been stuck in Jordan for the past year and a half and Lina is unable to continue her schooling. The clinic and Global Hope have been working with families like this in order to help give them some limited income for the time being. Lina is working with the clinic as a translator and makings a little money each mouth to help support her family as they wait for their papers to immigrate to the US.

The need in this area is incredibly large and seems scary any time you look at the massive amount of need. For me this was such a powerful trip because suddenly this issue was no longer on the news or in my textbooks, but staring me right in the face."