In young Mohammed Al Deelan’s life, 2015 was a seminal year; he could no longer handle watching women, children and the elderly leave their homes, and felt compelled to help in any way. With that, he started a social media campaign, and left his city to go to Irbil, Iraq, where he established the ‘Wasel Tasel’ team. The team consists of many volunteers dedicated to supporting people in need, especially refugees and people displaced in 30 camps around seven governorates and three major cities. They are also committed to helping these people overcome even the hardest obstacles, and find a shimmer of hope for a better future.

Al Deelan did not know that he himself would soon become a displaced person – that he would leave his university, friends and home, to join the convoys of the displaced headed to the unknown, only one month after establishing ‘Wasel Tasel’. But this didn’t stop him from running the ‘Wasel Tasel’ team, gathering important donations, and helping others in need especially now that no one understood what they needed as much as he did.

Al Deelan believes that displaced people have two options: to feel helpless and destitute, or to face their situations, and hold on to the hope that any country is capable of healing its wounds with time.

To maximize the ‘Wasel Tasel’ team’s impact, Al Deelan established relief committees with young  volunteers in various Iraqi cities, a medical committee consisting of specialized volunteer doctors, and a management committee dedicated to organizing the work. Aside from day-to-day work, the team organizes mobile fundraising exhibits, and distribution campaigns to provide water, gas, medicine and clothing.

Today, ‘Wasel Tasel’ provides meals, clothing, rent allowance, medicine and support to people in need in over 30 camps in seven governorates, every day. The team also ensures wounded people in Irbil receive hospital care, and helps hundreds of orphans in the camps.

Al Deelan chose to, instead of giving up, to help those in need, and to plant a smile on their faces and hope in their hearts.