Start with why

All Movements Are Personal
It started on September 11, 2001. Like so many of us, Bruder turned his attention
to the Middle East after the attacks to ask why something like that could happen.
He understood that if such an event could happen once, it could happen again,
and for the lives of his own daughters he wanted to find a way to prevent that.
In the course of trying to figure out what he could do, he made a remarkable
discovery that went much deeper than protecting his daughters or even the
prevention of terrorism in the United States. In America, he realized, the vast
majority of young people wake up in the morning with a feeling that there is
opportunity for them in the future. Regardless of the economy, most young boys
and girls who grow up in the United States have an inherent sense of optimism
that they can achieve something if they want to—to live the American Dream. A
young boy growing up in Gaza or a young girl living in Yemen does not wake
up every day with the same feeling. Even if they have the desire, the same
optimism is not there. It is too easy to point and say that the culture is different.
That is not actionable. The real reason is that there is a distinct lack of
institutions to give young people in the region a sense of optimism for their
future. A college education in Jordan, for example, may offer some social status,
but it doesn’t necessarily prepare a young adult for what lies ahead. The
education system, in cases like this, perpetuates a systemic cultural pessimism.
Bruder realized the problems we face with terrorism in the West have less to
do with what young boys and girls in the Middle East think about America and
more to do with what they think about themselves and their own vision of the
future. Through the EFE Foundation, Bruder is setting up programs across the
Middle East to teach young adults the hard and soft skills that will help them feel
like they have opportunity in life. To feel like they can be in control of their own
destinies. Bruder is using the EFE Foundation to share his WHY on a global
scale—to teach people that there is always an alternative to the path they think
they are on.
The Education for Employment Foundation is not an American charity hoping
to do good in faraway lands. It is a global movement. Each EFE operation runs
independently, with locals making up the majority of their local boards. Local
leaders take personal responsibility to give young men and women that feeling
of opportunity by giving them the skills, knowledge and, most importantly, the
confidence to choose an alternative path for themselves. Mayyada Abu-Jaber is

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leading the movement in Jordan. Mohammad Naja is spreading the cause in
Gaza and the West Bank. And Maeen Aleryani is proving that a cause can even
change a culture in Yemen.
In Yemen, children can expect to receive nine years of education. This is one
of the lowest rates in the world. In the United States, children can expect sixteen
years. Inspired by Bruder, Aleryani sees such an amazing opportunity for young
men and women to change their perspective and take greater control of their own
future. He set out to find capital to jump-start his EFE operation in Sana’a,
Yemen’s capital, and in one week was able to raise $50,000. The speed at which
he raised that amount is pretty good even by our philanthropic standards. But
this is Yemen, and Yemen has no culture of philanthropy, making his
achievement that much more remarkable. Yemen is also one of the poorest
nations in the region. But when you tell people WHY you’re doing what you’re
doing, remarkable things happen.
Across the region, everyone involved in EFE believes that they can help teach
their brothers and sisters and sons and daughters the skills that will help them
change path that they 
think
they are on. They are working to help the youth
across the region believe that their future is bright and full of opportunity. And
they don’t do it for Bruder, they do it for themselves. That’s the reason EFE will
change the world.
Sitting at the top of the megaphone, at the point of WHY, Bruder’s role is to
inspire, to start the movement. But it is those who believe who will effect the
real change and keep the movement going. Anyone, regardless where they live,
what they do or their nationality, can participate in this movement. It’s about
feeling like we belong. If you believe that there is an alternative path to the one
we’re on, and all we have to do is point to it, then visit the Web site
efefoundation.org
and join the movement. To change the world takes the support
of all those who believe.

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