Washington, DC | www.adc.org | December 12, 2016 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is proud to recognize Luma Mufleh as one of 2016’s Top Ten CNN Heroes!
In 2004, Jordanian American Luma Mufleh took a wrong turn while driving through the town of Clarkston, Georgia and noticed a group of boys playing soccer in the street. Luma soon learned that these children were refugees from war-torn countries, including Syria, Iraq, Bosnia, Burma, Somalia, and Sudan. That summer, she made fliers announcing tryouts for the Fugees soccer team. Serving as Coach, Luma initially started the Fugees soccer team to provide refugee boys with free access to organized soccer.
Since then she has dedicated her life to helping young survivors of war find their footing in Clarkston, Georgia through her nonprofit Fugees Family. The organization has grown to include year-round soccer for 86 boys and girls aged 10-18, after-school tutoring, soccer for 50 elementary-aged students, an academic enrichment summer camp, and the Fugees Academy, the nation’s only school dedicated to refugee education. Fuguees Academy fosters a curriculum that is tailored to refugees’ unique academic and emotional needs. This spring, Fugees Academy graduated its first class.
What started in 2004 has grown immensely, creating a critically needed community and support network for refugee children in the area. In the twelve years since the soccer program began, over 350 refugee children have engaged with the Fugees Family through soccer and after-school tutoring, dramatically accelerating their English Language skills. Currently 23 of the 29 alumni of the soccer and after-school program are attending college, and six are learning a trade through Job Corps.
Luma, we applaud your hard work and thank you for truly making our world a better place to live.
You can read more about Luma Here.
Read more about the Fugee Family Here.