Rouba Mhaissen (born 1987/1988) is a Syrian-Lebanese economist and activist. She is the founder of Sawa for Development and Aid, a grassroots organization which serves Syrian refugees in Lebanon,[1] and the British-based Sawa Foundation.[2]
Mhaissen was born in Beirut. She has two brothers and a sister, of whom she is ten years younger.[1] Her mother was a Lebanese homemaker, while her father was a Syrian businessman.[1] As a child she frequently visited Syria to see family.[2][3]
She attended the American University of Beirut, earning a degree in economics, and then the London School of Economics, where she earned a master's degree in development studies. She was persuaded to study economics by her parents, rather than to pursue her love of theater.[1] She also holds a PhD in gender and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.[1]
In 2006, Mhaissen worked with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; in later years, she worked with Lebanese refugees in Syria.[1][3]
In December 2011, Mhaissen founded Sawa for Development and Aid.[1][4] The organization provides support related for basic needs to Syrian refugees in the Beqaa Valley, such as shelter, blankets, and food. It also organizes workshops to educate refugee women.[4]
Mhaissen has promoted grassroots activism over international aid efforts.[4]
In 2016, Mhaissen received the Marsh Award for Peacemaking and Peacekeeping from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.[3]
In 2017 she was named on Forbes 30 Under 30 list of the most influential people in Policy and Law.[5]
In 2019 she was given the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award, and the Rafto Prize “for defending human rights from the local to the global level for people living as refugees”.[1][6]
In 2021 she was given a DVF Award.[7]
Mhaissen is married and has two children.[1]
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