Syrian cooking with Muhammad and Nadia
Muhammad Khalid Rabia and his wife Nadia are from Homs, Syria. Homs is famous throughout the Middle East for its pastries and Muhammad worked as a pastry chef before the conflict broke out. They left Syria and spent three years in Jordan before coming to the United States. Muhammad currently works for an IT company, and he and Nadia still cook in their spare time. They have three sons - Munir, Amir, and Tareq. Nadia has taught a Syrian cooking class and Muhammad taught a Syrian pastries class. 
Modern Indian politics with Tuneer
Tuneer is a junior fellow at the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. His research focuses on Indo-Pacific maritime security and strategy. Tuneer is an alumnus of American University, Washington D.C., the University of Warwick, and the University of Toronto. He taught a seminar on Issues on Modern Indian Politics, with a specific focus on Hindu Nationalism |
Writing for resilience with Anna
Anna was born in the middle of Russia where they have very cold and long winters. Because of that, when she was a child, she began reading a lot and creating stories. The power of love brought her to the US, and she got married last year. As an immigrant, she says any type of interaction in English is challenging for her. Sometimes she finds it difficult to express herself as she would like to. Anna leads writing workshops as an effort to show other people something important, honest, and light about herself. Anna strongly believes that we are made of the stories that we tell each other. 
Jordanian cooking with Afaf
Afaf is enrolled in the Ph.D. program in education and anthropology at Columbia University where she focuses on education in the Arab world between schooling (as led by government and private institutions) and local communities, mainly families. Prior to that, Afaf received her master’s in Arab studies from Georgetown University. In her home country, Jordan, Afaf worked as a translator and interpreter with several organizations and NGOs. She also taught English for four years in her hometown Shobak, 200km south of Amman. |
Brazilian dance with Juliana and Daniel
Juliana and Daniel are not permanent immigrants to the United States, but came here from a different country: Brazil. They are really interested in migration as a movement and in how people from different backgrounds and cultures can connect with each other. They recently moved from Washington DC to Chicago. They led a KAMA DC class about Brazilian popular dances and society in which participants were able to try . 
Kurdish language and culture with Ceto
Ceto Ozel is a Turkish Kurdish journalist, educator, and author. Originally from northern Iraq, he is the author of several books on Kurdish language and grammar. He has also had a long career in investigative journalism, including creating a news magazine focused on issues including migration, displacement, human rights, education and cultural rights. He is a passionate advocate for community-centered, democratic access to education and holds an MA in sustainable development from World Learning – SIT Graduate Institute. |
Afro-Venezuelan dance with Fa
Fa is a culture strategist, arts patroness, former human rights lawyer, and dancer from Venezuela. She is also a co-founder of KAMA DC. She led a session on Afro-Venezuelan dance, an intercultural experience of high cardio, role-playing, group chanting, ritual intensity, and awesome dance moves. |
Community organizing with Patricks
Patricks is a public policy expert and human rights defender from Liberia. He has over ten years of experience in administration, conflict resolution, organizational management, policy formulation and implementation, investigations of human rights abuses related to policy and corruption. He led KAMA DC's very first session on grassroots mobilization, civic education, and constituency building. |
Saudi cooking with Jawaher
Jawaher was born in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is a modern city that, in Jawaher’s words, adapts the latest technologies, yet is very conservative when it comes to traditions and beliefs. Jawaher lived in North African countries before moving to the United States. During her years of living in different countries, Jawaher has experienced and lived among various cultures including different cuisines. |
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Photo by Mariel Garcia 2019
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North African cooking with Mahdi
Mahdi was born in Rabat, Morocco in 1994 to a Moroccan father and Algerian mother. He has lived in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh, and has been in Virginia since the age of 11. He grew up speaking Arabic and English while listening to his parents speak French to each other. When discussing his Arab culture, particularly food, Mahdi realized that Americans have a lot of misconceptions about what people actually ate and set about to prepare authentic dishes that represented true Middle Eastern food. He loves cooking with his mother, Kabasa is his favorite, and the recipes tonight are all passed down from her. He still goes back to Algeria to visit family and enjoys the cultural exchange with his relatives who are eager to hear about life in America. |
Classical Indian dance with Mishka
Mishka is an instructor and dancer affiliated with the Potomac-based Mayur Dance Company, which aims to master the Indian classical dance form of Odissi, and to build on these traditions by bringing them to the stage in new ways. Born in India, she has performed domestically and internationally in all kinds of venues for over 25 years. Mishka is interested in all genres and aspects of performance art and human expression. |
UX design with Eduardo
Eduardo Ortiz is a designer and an engineer with over a decade of experience. For the past 6 years he’s been focused on developing design within social impact practices in order to help make a positive difference in the world. He’s co-founded Project 100, an organization dedicated to helping get progressive women elected to Congress, and PRTNRS, LLC a social impact design and engineering studio working with organizations that are helping improve their communities. He previously held several titles (Executive Creative Director, Director, Designer) at the US Digital Service, a White House startup launched under President Obama to use design and technology to deliver better services to the American people; he focused on immigration reform and developing new capabilities for NATO. He is also a decorated Marine Corps veteran. |