Today is World Refugee Day and it has a special meaning for the three founders of Mint + Laurel. We are an e-commerce and social enterprise, this is why a shop with purpose matters to us.

MAI
I started working with the UN agency for refugees in 2003. I often felt amazed by the faces I saw that express many adventures and witnessed horrors all at the same time. I always felt humbled by stories told by heroes and heroines whom we call “refugees”. That’s why probably the only speech by a celebrity that has ever resonated with me was a speech by Angelina Jolie in 2013 when she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. In her speech she made a comparison between herself and a refugee woman in a refugee camp. In her speech I knew exactly what she meant and must have felt. During my visits to camps I ask myself how come I was raised by parents who made sure I had the best education and now I am here, as a visitor in a camp, rather than a resident in it. Over the years, I know I am privileged and lucky to have had a job that has allowed me to meet Fatima from Iraq, Ahamdu from Somalia, Aishaa from Yemen, Nasira from Ethiopia, Abdul from Bangladesh, and many more from Afghanistan, Iran and who knows who I will meet next. From these people I learned the true meaning of pride, resilience and honor. And decided to live a life with a purpose. So I continue to travel and train on how to best respond to displacement and learn and share experiences. I believe in power education so I started an educational fund to support education of refugees. I also believe in economic independence and that is how I became one of the founders of Mint + Laurel. Mai Barazi is an expert in refugee and disaster aid operations.

Rama Chakaki in Jordan 2016 photo by HQSF

RAMA
”After years in telecom and software development, I felt a calling to serve. “ said one of the 35 most influential entrepreneurs in MENA-2020 according LAFEZA “When the war in Syria broke out, over 9,000,000 Syrians were displaced. among them were 450,000 university students who had access to free education in Syria, and now found themselves unable to continue in host countries where education was expensive, and in some cases unavailable to Syrians. Aside from the 450,000 university students, there were 5,000,000 Syrian youth in K-12. When I researched further, I found out that less than 1% of refugee youth have access to higher education funding. These young men and women are the backbone of their society. With an education, they gain financial independence and support themselves and their communities. Without it, they settle for $2- per-day jobs, the only ones available to them in host countries. In this position they can’t help their families get out of poverty. In many cases, they become vulnerable to radical recruitment.” Everyone I spoke to in the USA realized the lack of access to education among youth impacted by conflict has an impact on world Peace. I spoke about it in my talk at MIT solve and got good feedback . Today, I’m on a mission to raise funds for 6,000 refugee youth through edSeed, and in the process, bring their stories to mainstream US media.“ Rama A. Chakaki the Engineer by education and a former Telecom Exec

Kinda Hibrawi in Syria 2013 photo by Mohamad Ojjeh

KINDA
”Artists have always been catalysts for social change and activism, they are tuned in to social issues, as their job is to interpret the human experience. The arts can bring hope, healing, and foster cultural awareness for the greater good. People connect through vulnerability—what better way to do this than through the arts.” After the Syrian war started Kinda with a group of Syrian Americans formed a non-profit and started visiting the Syrian Turkish border helping thousand of children and vulnerable refugees. “My first visit to Syrian refugees camps, was on the Syrian Turkish border was seven years ago . I was desperate to understand what was happening. It changed me forever. None of us knew what we were getting into, nor the toll and destruction it would take on us, our country and people for years. So many ghosts of the men, women and children I met continue to haunt me today and they will forever.” Although known for her beautiful calligraphy work, one of her beautiful works is of Syrian children who died in Syria and will be forever remembered through her art you look at these beautiful faces and you can not help think of angels in the skies. Kinda’s ‘Syria Twitter Portrait’ series was a reaction to the horrific chemical weapons massacre, the ‘red line’ that took place on August 2013, a night capturing the darkest period in Syria's recent history. Kinda Hibrawi is an acclaimed artist named by the United Nations a 2012 Global Thinker and Influencer.

Mint + Laurel is a shop with social impact founded by three Syrian-American women who are passionate about living a life of purpose. We created a platform to help internally displaced women in Syria live with dignity and put food on the table for their family. We also support refugee artisans, based in Lebanon and Turkey, express their artistic talents and give them the opportunity to make an honest living doing by something they love. Our goal is to help preserve a cultural heritage, rebuild lives, and support artisan communities at risk. You can help make a difference too, by shopping any one of our products - all handmade with purpose from East to West.

Why a shop with social impact matters