About Our Fellowship Program
The Fellowship Program offers exceptional female graduate students from Middle Eastern colleges and universities opportunities to broaden their disciplinary horizons in collaboration with partners around the world.
Through partnerships with prominent institutions and medical centres in North America, the Daughters for Life Foundation has developed a world-class fellowship program to support the professional development of female students from the Middle East.
Fellowship placement recipients, like all recipients of DFL programs, must be able to demonstrate financial need while also having a track record of academic excellence in the face of personal hardship. Successful candidates will also have a documented history of contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of girls and young women through their personal and extracurricular endeavours.
The key objective of our fellowship program is to provide an impactful cultural exchange, deepening the understanding of our fellow’s host nation and the nuances of their professional craft, with the goal of equipping them for success once they return to their local communities.
There are some criteria you must meet to be eligible to apply for a DFL fellowship:
Eligibility Criteria
- female,
- a citizen and resident of the Middle East, and
- living in financial hardship
We will review all applications based on set selection criteria:
Selection Criteria
- Achieving success despite having to overcome significant hardship or adversity.
- Facing financial challenges/difficulty.
- Evidence of outstanding contribution to improving the lives of others, through extra-curricular activities, work or volunteer experiences at her university or in her community.
- Compassion and creativity assessed in the interview
Placement Details:
- Specialty – Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship
- Length of placement – 1 year
Requirements
Have completed her MD or equivalent degree in a medical school that is recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Applicants interested in the fellowships should apply directly to Daughters for Life. You will need to complete a Daughters for Life application form and email with the following documentation to apply@daughtersforlife.com:
- a CV which includes your date of birth, citizenship and e-mail address
- 3 letters of recommendation on letterhead, signed and dated within two years of the date of application
- a copy of the medical degree (with certified English translation, where necessary)
- a copy of the specialty certification (with certified English translation, where necessary)
- All documents must be sent to apply@daughtersforlife.com as detailed above.
Please note:
- Applications must be sent by email in PDF format to apply@daughtersforlife.com
- Incomplete applications will not be considered
- Only certified literal English translations of transcripts are accepted
Meet Our Fellows
Four Palestinian women students took part in the Daughters for Life Delegation to the 2013 EPIIC symposium on Global Health at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
The symposium was organized by the Tufts Initiative for International Leadership and Perspective (TILIP) Program from February 19-25, 2013.
Dr. Hiba Zaaroura
The first DFL Fellow, Dr. Hiba Zaaroura, finished her fellowship placement in September of 2020, having studied Advanced medical Dermatology at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. Following her successful graduation, she pursued a second fellowship specialising in Pediatric Dermatology at Sick Kids, The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Zaaroura discovered her interest in the area of dermatology during her senior year of medical school and preceded her fellowship with DFL by completing her residency requirements in the Department of Dermatology at Rambam Health Care Campus, Israel.
Dr. Saja Anabusi
Dr. Saja Anabusi began her year-long fellowship in 2021 and was placed concurrently in Mount Sinai Hospital’s Maternal-Foetal Unit and the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine over the course of her fellowship experience. Dr. Anabusi received her M.D. at Technion University in Israel and held a residency position with a specialised focus on maternal-foetal medicine and health. Due to the acute shortage of obstetricians and gynaecologists in Palestine, Dr. Anabusi has dedicated herself to filling that gap, ensuring that patients who may not have had reliable service in the past can be well-taken care of over the course of their and their families’ lives.
Asmaa Abumuamar
Asmaa worked at the Khan Younis UNRWA Clinic and volunteered her services to a number of projects including the Kids Cancer Project, Breast Cancer Awareness and First Aid Services. Asmaa plans to complete her postgraduate studies in Public Health.
Deema El Sousi
Deema El Sousi is a student in the Faculty of Business Administration at Al Azhar University in Gaza.
Deema’s interest in global health issues results from her volunteer activities with Mercy Corps. She participated as a youth leader in their emergency relief efforts in Gaza to help communities recover and build resilience for future challenges.
Majd Al Wahaidi
Majd Al Wahaidi is a student in the Faculty of Business Administration at Al Azhar University in Gaza.
The daughter of a practicing family doctor in Gaza, Majd volunteers her services to a number of community-based medical clinics in Gaza, where she witnesses the lived links between water pollution and the deterioration of public health.
Saja Abu Sultan
Saja Abu Sultan is a student in the Faculty of Dentistry at Al Azhar University in Gaza.
Saja volunteers her time in a number of schools in Gaza where she coordinates oral health awareness programs. For Saja, poverty is a risk factor related to nutrition, water, sanitation, and a healthy immune system and it has a clear impact on oral health.alth.
GET INVOLVED
Many factors in the Middle East can make education for young women very difficult. But with your donation, we can help many talented women, access the best education possible. We believe that investing in young women’s education is the key to long lasting peace and better future for all of us.