2006

We have a talented, enthusiastic team of teachers, all specialists in various fields, plus several young counselors, working with us this year, to create a fun, thematically integrated experience for our young campers. Let us introduce them to you. . . .

Nadia Barclay: Storytelling/Drama

Nadia, an Arab-American, will be a third year undergraduate student at Bryn Mawr College this fall. She is majoring in Growth and Structure of Cities, with a concentration in Urban Policy. She is interested in Middle East culture and politics. having traveled to Lebanon frequently and visited Jordan and Syria.She enjoys music, running, playing the piano, working with kids and spending time in the city. This is her second year at Al-Bustan Camp.

Joseph Tayoun: Music

Joseph, a Lebanese-American, is a music teacher, an accomplished Middle Eastern percussionist, and a certified elementary education teacher in New Jersey. He has taught music at a number of secondary schools in Philadelphia and New Jersey. He recently formed The MidEast Ensemble, offering a series of educational and performance programs for schools, universities and cultural centers. He has participated in several residencies with Zakir Hussain and with Simon Shaheen at Swarthmore University and The Painted Bride Art Center. He collaborates with various Philadelphia musicians, incorporating a wide range of styles and techniques of Middle Eastern music. Over the past ten years he has played in the U.S. and abroad at ŒConcerts for Peace¹ with the Arabic/Jewish ensemble Atzilut. This is his fifth year at Al-Bustan Camp.

Adeeb Samaan Refela: Music

Adeeb, an Egyptian, is an accomplished musician, a self-taught player of the oud, guitar and violin. For over 10 years, he was a full-time performer playing the oud with the National Arabic Music Orchestra at the Cairo Opera House, under the direction of renowned conductor Salim Sehab. He has also traveled in Europe and within the US playing the oud with various musical groups. For many years he has tutored adults and children in the oud and guitar. He participates in workshops on Middle Eastern music at various Philadelphia schools. This is his third year at Al-Bustan Camp, demonstrating melody on the oud and violin.

Hamdi Attia: Art

Hamdi, an Egyptian, is an artist who received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Since completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a focus on sculpture, in Cairo, he has exhibited his work in a number of cities, including Cairo, Rome, Venice, Paris, Vienna, New York City and Philadelphia. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the 1995 grand prize for best pavilion at the International Venice Biennial and the Maurice Lowe Award for outstanding performance at the University of Pennsylvania. While in Cairo and Rome he lead several art workshops for adults and children. This is his third year at Al-Bustan Camp.

Richard Staniec : Nature

Richard is a middle school science teacher at the Penn-Alexander School in Philadelphia where he has taught science for two years and kindergarten for three years. He has a Masters degree in Elementary Education from St. Josephs University and a Bachelors in Physical Education from Temple University. Richard is an outdoor enthusiast, spending much of his free time outdoors -- camping, backpacking, hiking, and gardening. He was formerly a Park Ranger in the Wissahickon Valley in Fairmount Park.

Dahna Abourahme: Video

Dahna is a New York based filmmaker who grew up in Abu Dhabi and Amman. She received her MA in Media Studies at the New School of Social Research in New York. She teaches video to youth and has been involved in several community art projects. Her credits include sound recording for 500 Dunam on the Moon and like twenty impossibles. Last year she completed her first feature documentary, until when... which follows four Palestinian families living in a refugee camp near Bethlehem, Palestine. She will be returning for the second year this summer working with Al-Bustan Camp counselors, teaching them video as a way to tell their stories -- to explore issues of culture and identity in the context of their camp experience.

Hazami Sayed: Director/Architecture

Hazami, an Arab-American and graduate of the Master of Architecture program at Columbia University, has worked in the fields of architecture and urban development in Philadelphia and New York City. Her current area of research is affordable urban housing in which she is a consultant and has taught a seminar at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a photographer and has exhibited her work in Philadelphia. Over the past few years she has been involved with school children in a number of educational initiatives related to understanding the cultural, religious and socio-political realities of the Arab/Muslim world. She is the founder and president of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture.

Camp Counselors:

We have a bright and energetic group of counselors this year, many of whom are returning counselors or past campers. They will be mentoring the young campers and assisting the teachers while also participating ina video program. Expanding upon our pilot video initiative last summer, Dahna Abourahme is returning to work with the counselors, who will meet before the start of camp and work in groups to tell their stories and produce a video to be screened at the end of camp.

Zehra Alsarraj, an Iraqi-American, will be a junior at Great Valley School in Malvern where she is a member of the National Honor Society. She plays the violin and piano and is an avid swimmer having participated in many swimming competitions. She is a Girl Scouts member and enjoys spending time with young children. This is her fourth year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

Millan AbiNader, eighteen years old, is graduating from Friend¹s Central School in Wynnewood and will be attending Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine this fall. She is an avid reader, and her favorites authors range from Jane Austen to Phillip Pullman and Naomi Shihab Nye. She also enjoys biology, cooking, photography and writing. Millan grew up in Washington, D.C., and her father¹s parents emigrated to the US from Lebanon in 1938, while her mother¹s family traces their American ancestry back to 1636. This is her third year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

Elijah Bliss, is a fifteen year old and will be a sophmoe at Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. He plays the classical guitar, enjoys creative writing, and hopes to get into filmmaking soon. He is interested in cultural diversity in his home and school communities, and is excited to be returning as a counselor volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp, where his younger sisters have participated the past couple years.

Layal Brown, a seventee-year old of Lebanese heritage, attends Conestoga High School in Berwyn, where she is an honor roll student. Her hobbies include singing, dance, and performing. She has been taking voice lessons since age 11 and has taken acting classes at People's Light Theater in Malvern. She also plays the violin and has participated in the National French Competition for the past two years. She takes a great interest in international cultures and loves working with children. This is her second year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

Nadia Elokdah , an Egyptian-American, will be a sophomore stuyding architecture at Temple University, Tyler School of Art. She has traveled a number of times to visit family in Egypt, where she engulfed herself in the Egyptian culture, from souks to masjids. Her interests include art, design, community service, and assistant-student teaching. She has worked with elementary schools in her school district as a foreign language, math, reading, and writing tutor for the past four years. This is her second year volunteering at Al-Bustan Camp.

Tala Worrell, an Arab-American, will be a tenth grader at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi where she is an honor role student. She is an avid equestrienne of many years. She enjoys sports and is a member of her school¹s JV soccer team and Varsity track team, while coaching soccer to younger children. Tala has been a camper and will volunteering for the second year at Al-Bustan Camp.