Photo: Volunteers solicited donations on the streets of Tripoli.

With all that has been going on in Libya, it would be easy for YES alumni to feel helpless about improving their communities. But many continue to make a positive impact on their neighbors, despite the enormous challenges they face every day.

One Libyan YES alumnus in particular has been working hard to make a difference. Siraj Belgasium (YES 2013-2014) helped run a special charity event for Ramadan, called A Helping Hand, through the organization Volunteer Libya. The goal of this event was to collect donations to buy clothes and toys for the refugee camp residents in Tripoli, who have been displaced from their own cities in Libya. Siraj hoped that these gifts would bring the refugees a sense of cheer and happiness that is normally concurrent with the spirit of Eid-Al-Fitr.

Photo: Gifts purchased for children in refugee camps to celebrate Eid al Fitr.

Volunteers waited in traffic and on the streets to collect donations from car drivers and passers-by. They distributed flyers explaining the objective of the event and solicited donations. In the end, Volunteer Libya provided clothes and toys for over 150 children living in the refugee camps.