Meet Roaa, a shining star from our Hello Future Small Business Incubator Class of '23! Her journey isn't just about fashion – it's a beautiful story of transformation that will inspire you. 

When Roaa first joined us in 2022, she was like a quiet butterfly waiting to spread her wings. Sure, she might have worked at her own pace, but don't let that fool you – behind that thoughtful approach was a perfectionist with big dreams! 

Here's the thing about Roaa that makes us smile: while she started out unsure of her amazing potential, our Hello Future classes helped her discover her inner sparkle. With each project, we watched her confidence grow until she wasn't just participating – she was winning!

And then came the game-changer: The Hijabi Store! Finding stylish, modest clothing in Arbat Refugee Camp often meant long, expensive trips to Sulaymaniyah City. Many young women in the camp struggled to find fashion that spoke to their style and values. Roaa saw this gap and knew she could bridge it. 

When we introduced artificial intelligence literacy into our curriculum last year, some people asked us why. Why teach AI to refugee youth? Why now? The answer is simple: because they need it most.

AI isn't just coming – it's here, reshaping our world in ways both visible and invisible. From the phones in our pockets to the services we use daily, AI is becoming as fundamental as reading and writing. But here's what keeps me up at night: while most of the world debates AI's future, refugee youth and underserved communities risk being left behind. Again.

Three weeks ago, I watched Jodi's little sister Jehan graduate from our Small Business Incubator program. Not only did she graduate - she won a start-up grant to open her own beauty salon. Watching her mother's face as Jehan received her certificate, I saw something profound: hope. Through tears, she told Hasara, our Director of Curriculum and Training, that seeing her daughter on stage was the first moment of real joy she'd felt in years.

Brothers Aind and Dlir, residents of the Arbat refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, attended their first Hello Future courses when they were 15 and 17 years old, respectively. Dlir’s path through Hello Future’s courses resulted in him building skills -- digital, communications, design thinking -- and received a scholarship to the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani, where he is majoring in Computer Science with a business minor.

As refugee crises drag on and time in camps evolves into the new normal, long-term needs are often left uncared for. This is an especially dangerous reality for teenagers, who are at a critical time in their educational development and at risk of seeing their dreams disappear forever.

Hello Future Awarded Multi-year Grant from USA for UNHCR. “The support of USA for UNHCR is a catalytic investment in our program that also sends a clear message about the importance of supporting programs for refugee teenagers -- an age group often forgotten in the humanitarian sector,” said Charlie Grosso, Hello Future’s founder and executive director.

Refugees Need Action, Not Just Advocacy. Urge UNGA to Action Instead of Advocacy. Sign Petition Here.

I am excited to introduce the newest members of our Board of Directors and Advisory Council. We simply cannot achieve our mission of bridging the education gap for adolescent refugees without the support and guidance of our talented and compassionate Board members. They are experts in their field, bring a wealth of experience, and will help move us closer to our goal of preventing a lost generation.

Aba strives to use his own experience as a refugee to help our students forge their own paths forward. He focuses on trust and respect and encourages our students to learn with and from each other.

Many programs that provide for refugee education fail to make it past the pilot stage. The lack of incentive to replicate a program at scale and the inability to measure tangible success halt successful programs in their tracks and refugee youth are the ones who pay the price.

After escaping conflict and violence, many refugees are unable to attend traditional school for years. NGOs and program leaders must devise innovative ways of providing accessible, portable, creative education to those affected by displacement.

Charlie Grosso talks with We are for Good hosts about the founding of Hello Future, the importance of digital literacy, and the current state of refugees around the world. They discuss the ways Hello Future is transforming the refugee experience through opportunities, education, and sense of purpose.

STEM education has been heralded as the education of the future. In the context of refugee education, this means pushing science and technology on vulnerable youth instead of teaching them a wide range of soft and hard skills to prepare them for their future. This has implications for individuals and communities at large, as groups of students are graduating with a niche set of skills only useful in specific contexts.

The MIT Migration Summit focuses on education and workforce development in the face of displacement. As part of the program. Hello Future will present a participatory design workshop and journey mapping from the lens of refugee teens on April 25 & 26.

On April 8th at 9am EST, we will host a Skoll Ecosystem event, Preventing a Lost Generation: Refugee Teens & 21st Century Economy. The event will focus on the themes of this year’s conference including progress, advancing global solutions, and moving past hardship.

Listen to two students who participated in our summer camp discuss their diverse backgrounds, experience with Hello Future, and the way the camp shifted their mindset.

Hello Future founder, Charlie Grosso, discusses the ways her upbringing impact her commitment to refugee youth with Steven More host of Seeds Podcast. They explore ways to bridge the gaps in humanitarian work and focus on the good.

Report highlights the adaptability of our students’ digital literacy skills throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen to Charlie Grosso discuss the experience of alienation and the ways it may further impact refugee youth.

Charlie Grosso featured on panel of successful female founders who forged their own paths in the business world.