IMPACT STORIES
Throughout history, Libyans have stepped up to teach, protect and lift up their communities. These are the stories of a few of them, and a reminder of what each of us can do for the people around us.
Omar Al-Mukhtar: teacher of a nation
Born in 1858 near Tobruk, Omar Al-Mukhtar spent much of his life as a Quran teacher, educating the children of his community in eastern Libya. When Italy invaded in 1911, he became the leader of the Libyan resistance, guiding it for nearly twenty years.
Known as the "Lion of the Desert", he remains Libya's national hero. His life is a reminder that serving your community can begin in a classroom. Photo: Omar Al-Mukhtar teaching young boys (public domain, Wikimedia Commons).
Dr Alaa Murabit: a voice for Libyan women
Raised in Canada, Alaa Murabit moved to Zawiya, Libya, at 15 and studied medicine there. During the 2011 revolution, aged just 21, she founded The Voice of Libyan Women. Its Noor Campaign worked with faith and community leaders in over 35 Libyan cities to champion women's rights and safety.
She went on to become a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate and was named in the TIME100 in 2024, proof that one young person's courage can change a whole community. Photo: Kuhlmann / MSC, CC BY 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.
Hajer Sharief: building peace together
Born in Libya in 1994, Hajer Sharief was only 19 when she co-founded Together We Build It in 2011, an organisation that helps young people and women take part in building peace. In 2013 she set up the 1325 Network, linking people in thirty Libyan cities to strengthen women's role in peacebuilding.
She received the Student Peace Prize in 2017 and works with the Kofi Annan Foundation's Extremely Together programme, showing how young Libyans can lead change. Photo: LNU Foto (Jarand Ullestad), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
