The BYU Arab Student Association hosted their Care Week fundraiser event on Nov. 20, where students and faculty gathered to raise money for victims of war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Guests paid seven dollars to enter the event. All funds were donated to The Gaza Soup Kitchen and Hope Humanitarian's Urgent Response in Lebanon, relief organizations the association chose to donate to for the event.
Students of the association set a goal to raise $1,500 by the end of the evening, surpassing it with over $2,300 donated.
Attendees participated in the event by making bracelets, applying henna and trying different Arab foods and snacks.
Noreen Salah, BYU student and Co-Vice President of the BYU Arab Student Association, used the online learning platform Kahoot to create a quiz game for attendees. It contained questions about geography, national dishes and historical sites related to Arab countries.
BYU sophomore Lamar Salama said that aside from the association's main goal being to raise more money than their previous Care Week fundraiser event, another objective was to share their culture and show how their community functions through various activities offered at the event.
"Henna, for example; a lot of people don't know that is a part of our culture, especially during weddings or special ceremonies," Salama said.
Being far from her home in Palestine, Salama felt the support of her peers throughout the event as she watched them participate in learning about Arab culture and history.
"It's very beautiful to see people actually caring and showing up to be a part of this. They are wanting to help us feel more supported, especially when we are here on our own without our families," Salama said.
For BYU freshman Sofia Larson, growing up abroad and moving to Utah for college was different, she said.
"Coming here was kind of whiplash, so finding a community of international people that I am familiar with just felt really comforting," Larson said.
BYU's international community was one of the reasons Larson was excited to attend.
Larson's family currently lives in Jordan. The Arab community at BYU has instilled a sense of home and familiarity for her, she said.
"Arab people are such loving, passionate people. I miss that energy," Larson said.
Larson expressed the importance of attending the event.
"Whoever is right or wrong politically, there are still lives being taken and it is really important to help the humanitarian side of the crisis, and that's what this is for. We are raising money for the people that are in the result of the conflict," Larson said.
As the event came to a close, students joined hands as BYU Arab Student Association president, Sama Salah, and BYU Muslim Student Union president, Mohammad Hamed, taught them the dabke.
The dabke is a traditional dance originating from the Levant region that expresses cultural identity and symbolizes togetherness and cohesion of gathering.
Joshua Gubler, a political psychologist and Associate Professor of Political Science at BYU, loved the sense of community that was demonstrated at the event.
"We have a big-hearted community, and that is something we have known for a long time," Gubler said. "Individuals are willing to help and support the human flourishing of another group of people. I think that's impressive."
Gubler expressed that he has ties to individuals who live in the regions experiencing suffering. These connections influenced his decision to attend the event.
"This is not a political issue; this is just an issue of meeting a humanitarian need, and I'm grateful we can do that here," Gubler said.