UNRWA school alumnus in Amman climbs Everest to raise funds

Jordan

Published: 2018-04-24 09:12

Last Updated: 2024-03-26 12:14


Jarah Hawamdeh during his trip.
Jarah Hawamdeh during his trip.

Jarah Hawamdeh, a Palestinian refugee living in Jordan, has succeeded in climbing Mount Everest in an attempt to raise funds for his former school in Amman, which is run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

On Sunday April 22, 2018, Hawamdeh returned to Amman after completing his historical trip where his family alongside tens of people welcomed him in celebration of the achievement.

Losing his leg due to bone cancer at age 15 did not stop the Jabal Al Joufeh resident from becoming a climber.

He embarked on the 17,500-step mission on April 3, 2018 in order to raise the “much-needed funds” to prevent the school from closing.

“The Al-Jofeh UNRWA School, which I attended for 10 years, is facing closure due to an unprecedented financial crisis caused by the Trump administration’s drastic 83% cut in funding to UNRWA,” the activist wrote on his personal Facebook page.

Despite the cold weather and his health condition, Hawamdeh was among the two people to make it to the Mount Everest Base Camp out of the 11 who undertook the trip.

This isn’t the first time the youth decides to climb mountains in order to inspire change. In 2015, two years after the cancer diagnosis, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro showing cancer patients around the world that “nothing is impossible.”

His fundraising campaign has a target of $1 million and at the time this article is written, he is a long way away from that goal. His trip went under the hashtag #MyFirstStep and according to the youth, he had done his part “now do yours” by contributing to the cause.