Rafeef, 15, and her family fled to Jordan from Aleppo, Syria in 2014 after armed men invaded her home. Her eldest sister was shot and her father committed suicide.

“I was born in Syria and I stayed there until grade two. We left when the war broke out. We were living alone and felt like it wasn’t safe for us to stay there. We came to Jordan in 2014 so I’ve been living here for five years. It’s better than living in Syria with the current situation. It’s my second country, of course it feels like home. I have two married sisters, one is divorced. One of them got married at 15 and the other 16.

“I live in the East Side of Sweileh in a house with my mum, my five sisters, and my divorced sister’s son. I like it here, Alhamdulillah (thank God). I have a lot of friends. I don’t play outside but I like to sing in my free time. I would say shawarma [a sliced meat kebab] is my favourite food.

“When I first came to Jordan I was cut off from school for two years because my family wasn’t able to send me to school. I had to work to help my mum with the house expenses so I was selling socks next to a mosque.

“When I was working I’d leave work at 10am and come back at 4pm. It was a very bad feeling to be working while all the other girls were in their uniforms walking to and from school. I used to be very embarrassed being seen on the street selling socks, because I wanted to be with them at school.

“I now go to Caesaria school in Sweileh [a district of Jordan’s capital city Amman]. My mom walks me and my sisters there and picks us up at the end of the day. It takes 10 minutes. When I went back to school it was really nice. I was so happy to see my teachers and friends again! There were also a couple of new girls at my class who seemed to be really nice. I love my friends and my school. My favourite subject is maths. I’m very grateful to CARE and the program that CARE offers because otherwise I would have been also forced to get married, and lost all my hopes and dreams.

“Some girls leave school because of early marriage. I think early marriage is wrong because the girl is still young, she’s still a child at that age. She should wait till she’s at least 18. My sister got married when she was 16, but she was unable to maintain a home because she was young herself. She got a divorce and is not living with us along with her son. Girls should continue their education because education is woman’s weapon. Sitting at home will not benefit them.”

What’s your dream? I want to be an architect so I can build homes for other refugees like me.

CARE International supplement Rakeef’s family income, meaning Rafeef doesn’t have to contribute to their budget and can stay in education. CARE International works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. To find out more about CARE’s work, or to make a donation please visit careinternational.org.uk

What it's like to be a girl around the world