By Daneen Khan
First aid courses, CPR demonstrations, vision screenings and blood pressure tests: these were just some of the free healthcare resources five UNC students organized for their local refugee community.
The services were part of a November health fair organized by MERA, or Middle East Refugee Aid. Five months later, the organization received a Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award from UNC for the event.
Each year, seven people and two groups – one being a student organization – are honored with the award for an effort exemplifying “outstanding engagement and service” in North Carolina, the award's website states. MERA’s board accepted the distinction on April 4.
UNC seniors Bilal Azzam and Tala Jazairi founded MERA in June of 2022, but Azzam said the last year has been significantly impactful for them. Their initiatives stretch far past The Triangle, with a heavy focus on aiding refugees in Palestine, Sudan and Jordan.
Azzam said that he founded MERA when looking for a way to merge his passions for health and business.
“I needed and wanted to do something in the realm of health disparity and creating equitable access,” he said.
Azzam is Palestinian and spent six years growing up in Egypt. He comes from a family who has experienced the global refugee crisis firsthand. His father, he said, grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon. He said hearing stories about the inequalities his family faced made him aware of the difference in resources he has at UNC.
The University has angel investors through the Carolina Network. Carolina Legal Services is free for students. And with venture capital and student government funding, Azzam said he realized how much can be accomplished by students.
“I realized that if I created some type of mechanism that can diffuse those resources to areas that would make it more equitable, such as the Middle East, then that would be a really strong agent of change,” he said.
With that, MERA was born.
Since then, MERA’s board has expanded from Azzam, their director of medical aid, and Jazairi, their director of dental aid, to include three more students.
UNC junior Salma Hakam was the first addition, joining the team as their director of public health. After her, sophomores Aabia Saeed and Adam Sherif joined. Saeed is MERA's treasurer, and Sherif is the partnerships and development lead.
Azzam said that because of the small board, everyone has a dynamic where they can communicate and help each other.
“It’s a very tight-knit board,” he said. “Everyone there has respect for each other, and it kind of became like a family.”
Organizing such a large-scale healthcare event with a team of five students was a very “all-hands-on-deck” situation, he said. First, the team had to meet to brainstorm what a refugee health fair could look like. Azzam said Jazairi suggested dental services, Hakam advocated for experts on-site, Saeed worked on the budget, and Sherif discussed how best to reach out to the refugee community.
Azzam said he and Sherif then contacted clinics, and Jazairi contacted dental services. Everyone collaborated on logistics until it was finally time for the event.
Over 130 people attended MERA's health fair. The organization partnered with multiple local groups, including the Zakat Foundation of America, the UNC Emergency Medical Services and Mobile Health, Carolina Nursing and MyEyeDr.
The event offered multiple services, including blood pressure checks, on-site professionals to discuss health concerns, COVID and influenza vaccines and language translators. Organizers served hot food and handed out groceries, toy bags and hygiene products. Everything was completely free.
Azzam described the event as a very comprehensive healthcare opportunity. He said MERA's team was really proud of its success.
“It proved to the whole board that we actually can create an agent of change,” he said.
When he looks to the future of MERA, Azzam said he sees an end goal of creating literacy in refugee camps by taking preventive measures. He said MERA wants to hold more healthcare fairs and is planning a dental bus event.
Although the health care was local, MERA’s efforts have a heavy international focus. As a senior, Azzam also plans to spend time abroad after graduating to directly connect with Middle Eastern refugee camps.
“Continuing to provide for the refugees in rural areas in North Carolina is really important for us, “ he said, “but also establishing an international presence, and continuing to do that because that was always the end goal for MERA.”
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