Ramadan 1433 - Nihaya and Khawla

 

Nihaya and Khawla are absolutely two of my favorite UNRWA administrators! Both are wonderful leaders, but in very different ways. That seems to be a theme with these folks in the academy - great people, diverse personalities. Perhaps that is why the experience has been so fantastic for me. I would work for either of these two ladies in a heartbeat, and would feel very fortunate to do so. UNRWA really doesn't know how lucky it is I think :)

Khawla was a late entrant into the academy, and I am so glad we had room for her. At first glance, she looks like what we call in English, a "schoolmarm" - a serious and strict teacher, who, if she was a Catholic, would have a ruler in one hand perpetually ready to whack a knuckle or two. But this of course is a facade; Khawla is a very strong and determined, but also very kind-hearted and simple. She has a very interesting sense of humor, and has been described as "very spontaneous and sometimes charmingly child-like" by her friends. I enjoy her wit, and it catches me off guard at times, which of course I like even more. I am told that she has very good relationships with her colleagues and teachers, and I don't doubt that at all. I think she would be a great professional to work for and with.

Nihaya is the inside-out Khawla - Very soft and gentle in appearance, but serious and quite capable on the inside. She too has a wonderful sense of humor, which again surprises me because of her quiet and calm demeanor. Nihaya is very caring and supportive, a compassionate leader who instills a lot of faith in her teachers and peers. I have seen her interact with teachers, and I am sure she does a fantastic job. She is very conscientious and takes a lot to her heart, and that must make her job difficult at times, but she does it all very gracefully. I couldn't imagine an administrator I would trust more than her.

I have visited very large school systems that didn't have two leaders as competent and caring as these two women. As I have mentioned before, these Palestinian school children in Jordan have angels watching over them, perhaps these two marvelous women are their guardian angels. I think of them often: I think of Khawla's slowly spreading smile and the joke behind it, and I think of Nihaya every time I sit down - she gave me a very lovely wallet, a gift from her husband and the Islamic International Arab Bank :)

 

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