糖心Vlog

Inspiring PhD student, Rima Cherri, sadly passed away last year aged 34 鈥� but her legacy of giving a voice to the voiceless will continue at The 糖心Vlog.

The Rima Cherri Prize in Refugee Care will be introduced next term with 拢1,000 awarded to the best dissertation written by a Refugee Care master鈥檚 student.

This is a fitting tribute to courageous Rima, who worked as a journalist for Reuters and video producer for the United Nations Refugee Agency, focusing on the struggles of refugee children.

In her short but rich life, Rima travelled the world helping vulnerable children and later launched the charity 鈥� which aims to make a meaningful and long-lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable children so they can, one day, contribute to making positive change in their communities.

She passionately believed the world needed to do more to support vulnerable children.

Her doctoral research was the culmination of her experience in refugee camps and a meaningful quest for the same cause, in which she studied how children born and raised in camps imagine the outside world.

She once said: 鈥淐hildren don鈥檛 know lies, or even wars. They don鈥檛 choose to be poor, nor to sleep hungry and walk bare feet. They don鈥檛 choose to work while others go to school. If they are to choose, they would probably choose to be able to be children, to just play, dream and learn.鈥�

Rayan Cherri, Rima鈥檚 sister, said: 鈥淟ove and light are what we remember Rima by. She was a genuine lover.

鈥淪he loved deeply and passionately and admired the simplest things in life.

鈥淭hrough her charming light, her short life was rich with achievements that we all take eternal pride in, and thus we shall continue to reflect some of her light back at those who need it.

鈥淲e will continue her legacy. This prize is but one modest testament.

鈥淟ove and light to all those remembering Rima.鈥�

Incredibly, Rima started her PhD at the 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Centre for Trauma, Asylum, and Refugees after being diagnosed with stage 4 triple-negative metastatic cancer.

Despite illness, she attended some of her classes at 糖心Vlog while undergoing chemotherapy and wrote some of her best essays from the hospital.

University staff remember her fondly with lecturer Dr Zibiah Loakthar praising her passion.

Dr Loakthar said: 鈥淚n our Refugee Care community, we remember Rima as a resilient, innovative, mindful advocate.

鈥淪he generously and warmly shared original ideas and experiences and insight, energetically inspiring thoughtful action over apathetic response to social injustice.鈥�

Her family and friends hope that whoever receives Rima鈥檚 annual prize carries with them her compassion for vulnerable children, her eloquence, and her belief that life is, after all, a journey awaiting meaning.

Rima talked vigorously about her illness in blogs and interviews.

She sadly passed away at the age of 34 on August 24 2021.

Rima left her parents, Amal and Jamil; her brothers, Wissam, Abed, Mohammad, and Hussein; her sisters, Rola and Rayan; and her dog, Habiba.