Smiles Foundation is a Non-Profit Organization founded in 2016 by Tamara Yaghi, at the age of 11. In early 2016, the Syrian civil war started, displacing thousands of innocent civilians. Tamara was devastated by the disturbing news all over TV about the ongoing wars in the Middle East. She was specifically concerned about the innocent children who were either wrongfully murdered or lost their homes. Tamara, a child herself at that time, felt guilty for not using the resources she was privileged to have, in order to aid the refugee community. At that age, Tamara could not imagine that anyone would ever inflict harm against such pure and young souls, for no mistake of their own.

Therefore, Tamara  decided to do something to contribute to putting an end to that tragedy. Her parents, neighbors, and community at school were very supportive of her goals. As a united community, they collectively contributed to a large donation drive, by providing Tamara with clothes, books, school supplies, and toys.  In less than 1 month, Smiles Foundation was able to raise donations worth about 10 large boxes, which were all shipped to various refugee sites. Most donation boxes were distributed through the well established Ruwwad Organization, an NGO supporting refugees across 4 MENA countries.  Today, Smiles Foundation provides most of its donation drive boxes to Ruwwad, which then distributes the donations fairly amongst refugee families.

Smiles Foundation did not stop there. Beyond material help, we implemented tutoring programs with refugee schools, through Zoom, to teach children refugees fundamental concepts, such as maths, science, and English. Additionally, over summer vacations, the Smiles Foundation team hosts training workshops at refugee sites for drawing/painting, reading, soccer, yoga, chess, and more.

Smiles Foundation places smiles on the faces of frowning children.