Transformative Education for Displaced Youth - A Conversation with Holli Ghaisen, Louie Barnett and Amala students, Christine & Motasim

Amala has developed the first international high school curriculum for young people who are displaced. They also offer Changemaker Courses in areas such as Peace-building, Ethical Leadership, and Social Entrepreneurship. Formerly known as Sky School, Amala was conceived in 2017 in response to the gap in quality education provision for displaced youth.

Holli Ghaisen is the Learning Lead for Amala in Kakuma, Kenya. Holli believes Amala’s High School Diploma is not only the answer to the high demand for education in Kakuma, but that it is also offers solutions to the community’s problems. He joined Amala to be part of that solution. Holli has worked for organisations such as Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

Louie Barnett is Amala's Education Lead, based in Singapore. Louie got involved with Amala as the course leader for 'Peace-building in your community' in 2018. As Education Lead, he is responsible for leading the development and delivery of Amala’s educational work and improving the impact Amala programmes have on student outcomes. Louie is an experienced chemistry teacher and Theory of Knowledge teacher and helped facilitate the Initiative for Peace programme at UWCSEA for several years. As a graduate of the Teach First programme in the UK, Louie has also worked on projects with Teach for Malaysia and Teach for Cambodia, part of the Teach for All network.

Motasim is 18 years old, from Sudan and currently living in Jordan. Motasim is a member of Amala's forth diploma programme cohort. Christine is from Uganda and currently living in Kakuma, Kenya. She is in the second cohort of the Amala diploma programme.