Middle East Refugee Aid receives service award, addresses health disparities

A quote by Paul Farmer greets viewers on the website landing page of Middle East Refugee Aid, a nonprofit and UNC student-run organization:

“If access to health care is considered a human right, who is considered human enough to have that right?”

To Salma Hakam, a UNC junior and MERA’s director of public health, the quote touches on the importance of the group’s mission — to reduce health disparities in refugee communities through literacy-based interventions.

On Friday, MERA received the Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award from the Carolina Center for Public Service. Recipients of this award are characterized by “outstanding engagement and service to the state of North Carolina,” the center’s website says.

“We have put in so much effort to do the most good that we can, and I know we will continue to do so,” Hakam said. “So, being able to just have a second to reflect on that and also hear others speak about that was really special.” 

UNC seniors Bilal Azzam and Tala Jazairi first established MERA as a nonprofit in 2022, but Azzam said it really gained momentum last summer. This academic year, they created a MERA student organization to make use of their resources on campus. Azzam, Jazairi, Hakam, Aabia Saeed and Adam Sherif serve on the student organization’s board.

Azzam, MERA’s director of medical aid, said the group focuses on promoting health literacy in all of its endeavors. After its founding, MERA leaders consulted with health professionals to see how they could best serve refugee communities around the world. The professionals highlighted that while there are medical and dental supplies in some refugee camps, a big problem is a lack of awareness of how to use them.

“What we realized is that if we instill educational curricula about preventative health in these refugee camps, then we can essentially eliminate a problem before it exists,” Azzam said.

MERA has pursued its goal of equitable healthcare access on a local and global scale.

Last November, the organization hosted a health fair for local refugees at the Zakat Foundation of America Community Center in Durham. The groups collaborated with UNC Emergency Medical Services, Carolina Nursing, UNC Mobile Health, MyEyeDr and translators to provide a variety of free medical services and food to 130 local community members.

“There's so many barriers that our local refugee population faces,” Jazairi, who serves as MERA’s director of dental aid, said. “And so it was really, really rewarding to be part of a team that helped to alleviate that.”

MERA has also partnered with other student organizations, like the Arab Student Organization and the Muslim Students Association, to fundraise for emergency aid efforts in Morocco, Libya and Palestine.

In August, MERA arranged the distribution of dental health brochures at refugee camps in Jordan and sent a humanitarian worker to Egypt to pack medical equipment onto convoys entering Gaza, in December. 

Hakam noted that the Middle Eastern identities of MERA members means they are part of the marginalized communities they serve. But she also said that many members have the privilege of attending UNC and have not experienced international occupations and humanitarian crises.

“Although we are part of this marginalized community, we have privilege that we are using to help serve those who don't have such resources,” Hakam said.

Both Hakam and Jazairi said they most look forward to the growth of MERA and future initiatives. Azzam, who comes from a family of refugees and grew up hearing stories of war and trauma, said he most looks forward to continuing the work.

“The idea that one day, my career and the time I spent in college and hopefully medical school, went toward reducing health disparities and giving back to my ancestral experience — I think that is going to be the most rewarding thing I could ever do,” he said. “And so that's what really excites me.”

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