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Manal, 25 years old, Law student at the Lebanese University, on a DAFI scholarship. From Al Zabadani, Syria; in Lebanon since 2011.
“Back in Syria, I was studying banking. I had completed my first year when we had to flee. Afterwards, I remained out of university for five years. I lost these five years, until DAFI came to my rescue. I felt extremely happy when I received the scholarship. Not studying made me feel really down. Resuming my studies was my ultimate dream. I was ready to grasp every opportunity to do so. But we live in a very remote village and it was not easy.
If I could go back ten years, I would wish that the war had never happened and that we had not lost our home. But it is too late for that. So now, I want to tell the children and youth around me: “do your very best to succeed in life”.”