Day 1: Travelling to Jordan

We all met up at Heathrow airport ready to start our journey together. I love deployments as it forces you to step out of your comfort zone and meet other people that you wouldn’t usually meet otherwise. Deployment groups include people from all over the country and globally. I have made lifelong friends from my deployments, and I am so grateful to Salam for bringing us together to help others.

I am always shy at first but then I slowly open up - I used to be very shy when I was younger, but I feel my opportunities with Salam has brought me out of my shell! Everyone is nervous at first but once we break the ice at the airport and sit together on the plane, by the time we get to Jordan, we have already bonded.

We had a long travel day, so we ended up landing at around 3am. Once we got to our accommodation it was around 4am. We had an early start, so we slept for around 4 hours before we had to get ready and start the day. We started with an early morning briefing with the Salam Team and our charity partner, Johud on the ground. The purpose of this briefing is to give us a detailed itinerary of what we will be doing there the next coming days. It is also used as an opportunity to educate and motivate us - to remember our purpose of being here. During this briefing, we also had the opportunity of speaking to local widows. They were telling us their stories of how they ended up here in Jordan, their financial needs, and other problems they’re facing.

The briefing lasted a couple of hours or so; after this, we went to do family visits. We would usually go to a camp right away to distribute aid but due to the lack of sleep, the team thought it would be best to commence that starting tomorrow. We visited a couple of families - both dealing with an immense amount of stress due to their situations.that our donations are helping them get the help they need. Family visits are always very personal’s this lasted a while.

After we finished with the family visits, it was past Maghreb, so we all went to eat after a long day and had an early night due to the lack of sleep from the night before. Tomorrow would be a fresh early day for the team.

Day 2: First day of deployment and distributions

Today, we left very early from the hotel as we had a long coach journey ahead of us. We drove to a very needy part of Jordan. The camp conditions were nothing like I’ve seen before in Lebanon. It was very clear that the families here needed our support and that we have made it to them. The Salam food boxes were already set up and we got started on distributing these to the families. The boxes were very heavy, so we all went in pairs to take the boxes to their homes. The ground was very uneven and steep, so this was quite difficult to do (especially under the hot sun) but it was worth it as the smiles on their faces is priceless. May Allah swt accept our efforts.

Food distributions take a while as we go on by one so everything is done in an organised and orderly fashion. It is important to ensure every family is treated with the same level of respect and time. Every family should get the same thing, so nobody feels lesser than. After the food distribution, we went to do some family visits in the same area. Again, I was absolutely shocked at the conditions. One family in particular had dirty water inside their camp. There was no hygiene, or anything put in place for them to avoid this. It was heart breaking to witness as nobody deserves to live in such conditions. Again, that our donations have reached them.

Then we went back on the coach and made our way to another camp. We did more family visits, and we also got the opportunity to play with the kids there! A lot of us brought sweets with us from the UK to distribute to the kids so we had the opportunity to hand them out and play games with all of them. Definitely one of my favourite moments as I love kids and bringing a smile to their faces is a feeling I can’t even describe. After this, we experienced torrential rains in the area and hailstones. We all quickly ran back to the bus to wait for it to finish. It was getting very bad, and we were waiting for a while for it to finish. As it was approaching Maghreb and we had a long drive back to our accommodation, we ended the day there.

Day 3: Mafraq Refugee Camps

Today, we left very early from the hotel as we had a long coach journey ahead of us. We drove to a very needy part of Jordan. The camp conditions were nothing like I’ve seen before in Lebanon. It was very clear that the families here needed our support and that we have made it to them. The Salam food boxes were already set up and we got started on distributing these to the families. The boxes were very heavy, so we all went in pairs to take the boxes to their homes. The ground was very uneven and steep, so this was quite difficult to do (especially under the hot sun) but it was worth it as the smiles on their faces is priceless. May Allah swt accept our efforts.

Food distributions take a while as we go on by one so everything is done in an organised and orderly fashion. It is important to ensure every family is treated with the same level of respect and time. Every family should get the same thing, so nobody feels lesser than. After the food distribution, we went to do some family visits in the same area. Again, I was absolutely shocked at the conditions. One family in particular had dirty water inside their camp. There was no hygiene, or anything put in place for them to avoid this. It was heart breaking to witness as nobody deserves to live in such conditions. Again, that our donations have reached them.

Then we went back on the coach and made our way to another camp. We did more family visits, and we also got the opportunity to play with the kids there! A lot of us brought sweets with us from the UK to distribute to the kids so we had the opportunity to hand them out and play games with all of them. Definitely one of my favourite moments as I love kids and bringing a smile to their faces is a feeling I can’t even describe. After this, we experienced torrential rains in the area and hailstones. We all quickly ran back to the bus to wait for it to finish. It was getting very bad, and we were waiting for a while for it to finish. As it was approaching Maghreb and we had a long drive back to our accommodation, we ended the day there.

Day 4: Distributions

Today we visited one of Salam’s x Johud centres in Jordan. This is a community centre for all - children and adults. For the children, they have a playground, educational games, and classes for them to learn. They also have activities set up within different subjects, so the children are engaged. For the adults, Salam has set up their very first mental healthcare program where refugees can come to have therapy and have someone to talk to. Due to their situation, it is very hard for them to open up about their trauma. Introducing this new program means they can heal from their trauma and build a community for themselves. This was my favourite day as we got to witness everything they were doing - we even observed one of the mental health sessions and it was beautiful to witness. I’m glad that mental health is being addressed both in MEDCs and LEDCs - we can all agree that mental health is just as important as physical health.

On this day, we also distributed food and sanitary products at the centre. We were carrying the boxes to their mode of transport so they can take their things home - we paid for their taxis so make it easier for them. We also got to distribute toys for the children which was an amazing experience as they were so overjoyed.

After a long day there, we made our way to do some more family visits. It doesn’t get easier - every family’s story is so unique and you can’t help but shed a tear at what they’re going through. It is so surreal to listen to what they are going to when our lives are so different to theirs. It is a real humbling experience. for being the vessel to their duas. After the family visits, we went back to our accommodation.

Day 5: Orphan Fun Day

On our last day here in Jordan, we had a jam-packed day of fun planned. Usually, the last day of any deployment is used for orphans. Salam organised an opportunity for us where we can take the orphans shopping for new clothes and shoes and then after have a huge fun party for them. In the morning, we went on our coach to the shopping centre. There, we were each assigned an orphan and we were assisting them on finding clothes/shoes that they’d like to purchase (ofc we are purchasing on their behalf through our donations). I had google translate on my phone so I was using this to communicate with the girl I was assigned to. I wish I could speak Arabic! She was an absolute sweetheart that we got to communicate via the app. She chose really lovely stuff.

After a while at the shopping centre, we then made our way to the community centre where we would be hosting the party for the orphans. We went early to help set up. There was music, games, mascots, a bouncy castle, food, etc. The party went on for the rest of the day - we danced with them, sang with them, it really was a blast. Through this, we also managed to get the orphans sponsored! We also distributed boys for each of them. they were so so so happy. It was the perfect end to our deployment.

After this, we went back to our accommodation to pack our things as the next morning, we’d be flying back to the UK.

Day 6: Travel back to UK

It is always a bittersweet moment when we all head on our last coach ride together. The deployment sounds short, but it always feels like a lifetime. So many memories made and most importantly, our donations were distributed to the families who most the them needed for this opportunity. Spending all this time together makes you feel like a family - bonded for life. Experiencing stuff like this together is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I absolutely love our Jordan group. We have been organising meetups since! I am so grateful to have made new friends from this trip and I’m excited to meet even more amazing people on future deployments