From Yemen to Italy: Odai's Story
Reflections from Rahaf, Amala Educator, Amman
In 2020, Odai arrived in Jordan after leaving Yemen. He was only eleven years old, accompanied by his father and younger sister, leaving behind a homeland they never chose to abandon. They came searching for what every human being searches for: a better life, safety, and a future worth waiting for.
I met Odai through Amala Education's Global Secondary Diploma program, and today he is eighteen. But standing before me was never simply a refugee student trying to complete his education. I saw someone who carried the curiosity of a brilliant mind and the courage of a resilient heart, all at once.
“Amala didn’t just prepare me academically. it prepared me for my journey at life.”
Odai (right) with his classmates. As he will not be present for the graduation of the cohort, the class and educators held a mini graduation ceremony at the learning centre in Amman for Odai and another student who has been resettled.
What sets Odai apart is not only his fluency in English, nor his hunger to read and explore every topic he encounters, it is something far deeper than that. Odai does not use artificial intelligence to think for him. He learns from it, so that he can think more for himself. At a time when many reach for tools to shorten the distance between question and answer, Odai chose to use those tools as a mirror, one that reflects and sharpens his own thinking rather than replacing it.
He stood before his peers and delivered a full workshop on artificial intelligence, its origins, the stages of its evolution, and how it is shaping the future we are all walking toward. The session was more than engaging, because the person presenting it was not reciting information. He was sharing a genuine passion he had lived and built entirely on his own. And that same spirit carried into everything he did in the classroom. Odai was always the one to look around and check if someone needed help. Without being asked, without hesitation. He gave his knowledge the same way he built it, openly and with purpose.
I often think about Odai and find myself wondering: how does someone who grew up in the heart of destruction, who experienced displacement and refuge while still a child, carry so much light in his eyes? The answer, I believe, is that Odai never saw obstacles as walls that stopped him. He saw them as opportunities, ones he built with his own hands.
Last week, Odai had his last class with us before leaving for Italy.
We said goodbye to him with tears we made no effort to hide, and I told him what I had always carried in my heart: I am proud of you, Odai. Proud not only of what you have achieved, but of who you are, of the person you chose to become despite everything life put in your path.
I don't wish you luck in Italy, Odai, because I know you don't need it. I have seen how you prepare, how you show up, and how you turn every challenge into a stepping stone. You will not just settle into your new life there, you will exceed every expectation, including your own. Italy has no idea what is coming, but I do. Go show them.
Your Teacher Rahaf
“Amala didn’t just support me - it transformed me.
Everything this organization gave me; the guidance, the belief, the tools, became the foundation of who I’m becoming personally and academically.
Amala walked alongside me through my studies in Jordan, shaping me into someone who doesn’t wait for the perfect conditions someone who can start, grow, and thrive anywhere in the world.
And now, as I take this step to Italy, I carry everything Amala built in me. The resilience, the passion, and the belief that I belong wherever I choose to go.
This organization is proof that when the right people come together with the right mission, they don’t just change circumstances they change lives. And they changed mine.”
Odai with his classmates and educators, Rahaf and Ru’a