Amal Shanty is a young woman who stands out by her incredible journey out of the Gaza Strip and how she returned stronger. In 2013, she obtained a scholarship by the Hani Qaddumi Foundation to carry out a Master’s in Business administration at the University of Glasgow but she had to leave her husband and her son behind. Right before she left, she found out that she was pregnant of her second child but, with the support of her family, she decided to take the chance and left for Glasgow. She says: “My dream to help my Palestinian community was the only driver to continue my studies”. She succeeded in all of her classes with distinction and after 3 years she came back with her diploma, job offers and a strong will to help her community.
She is currently involved in many organizations and projects. She had the opportunity to work directly with local NGOs and CBOs. She is supporting them in enhancing resilience of local community, particularly Bedouin women, youth, and internally displaced people. Moreover, she is also involved in projects mainly focused on youth and women economic empowerment, access to land and housing, and preservation of the Palestinian identity and heritage advocacy towards the right of return. She says: “I hope Palestine will really progress in trying to achieve the SDGs, and I hope the country will achieve peace”.
