Last year, Girl Scout Troop 149 in St. Louis County sold friendship bracelets to raise money for the humanitarian nonprofit Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
“The girls decided that they would not participate in cookie season because they didn't feel comfortable doing so when children [in Gaza] were starving, being bombed, and tragically hurt and killed,” said former troop leader Nawal Abuhamdeh.
Days after the scouts began their fundraiser, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri requested they stop, or face legal action. The girls and their parents cut ties with the scouting organization, but they wanted to continue their mission of fostering leadership skills and friendship — and of being a voice for the oppressed.
The girls’ bracelet fundraiser raised more than $26,000. As their story gained national attention, people from across the country sent money meant to support the troop itself. Abuhamdeh invested the money in a nonprofit that she created with fellow former troop leader, Fazila Bobat: Salam Scouts.
With Salam Scouts, Abuhamdeh said, girls and boys “fit in so nicely in their values, what they stand for and their social responsibilities — not only as Muslims, but just as human beings.”
Soon after the organization was formed, former Girl Scout troops in California and Texas wanted in. “That's how we became a national organization overnight,” Abuhamdeh said.
Salam Scouts is less than a year old. Already, it has more than 200 members in 24 troops nationwide. The 11 Salam Scouts troops in the St. Louis region are at capacity, and Abuhamdeh said she fields calls every day from families on the organization’s waitlist.
Abuhamdeh understands why parents and kids are interested. She said she wishes she had a community like Salam Scouts when she was growing up.
“My parents didn't know how to navigate as Americans [and] as Muslims and as Palestinians in this country. I was always told by my father, ‘Always remember you're a Palestinian. Never forget your identity, but never forget you're also American, so never let them tell you you're not,” she said. “And hearing from my teachers, my professors or my friends in school … that I wasn't allowed to utter the word ‘Palestine’ or say that I was a Palestinian because it was threatening — it was honestly an identity crisis."
Abuhamdeh said Salam Scouts would have given her confidence and empowerment.
“That's what we're hoping for in these girls and these kids,” she added. “That it will empower them into being not only confident leaders, but compassionate, kind leaders who will always stand up for what's right — despite what other people are telling them to think or say.”
Salam Scouts’ bracelet fundraiser continues. In January, one year after the idea for the fundraiser was conceived, the original eight members of former Troop 149 had the opportunity to see their work in action. The girls met with Rahaf, a 3-year-old Palestinian girl who was evacuated from Gaza and brought to St. Louis for medical treatment. Her two legs were amputated after an Israeli bomb struck her home.
“It felt really good to know that the money we got from [the bracelets] went to a good organization and helped a good amount of people,” said Southwest Middle School seventh grader Marya Salam.
“For them to sit next to [Rahaf] and understand that that's what they were raising money for, and that's who they were fighting for — it just felt like a beautiful moment for the girls,” Abuhamdeh said.
Salam Scouts co-founders Nawal Abuhamdeh and Fazila Bobat joined St. Louis on the Air alongside St. Louis scouts Mariyah Abdelbaset and Marya Salam. Listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
