Rayan Sleiman is a 12-year-old Syrian refugee who has a dream: “I would like to be a world champion. I want people to wonder how a little girl was able to discover taekwondo and defend herself,” she says.
Sleiman lives in Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp with her sister Zeinab, and is among dozens of Syrian children taking Taekwondo classes as part of an initiative launched last year by UNHCR and the World Taekwondo Federation.
Learning the martial art teaches them self-defence and builds long-lasting self-confidence.