National Prayer Breakfast 2010

The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual gathering in Washington D.C which draws 3,500 people from all over the world. During this event, the President of the United States, representatives from more than 120 nations, leaders from all areas of the U.S. government, and individuals from various walks of life come together. Among those attending this year were 3 young people from Jordan.

 
The event was founded in 1953 by Abraham Vereide, during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, and has been hosted by members of the United States Congress every year since then. It is a series of meetings, lunches and dinners designed to be a forum for political, social and business leaders of the world to assemble together and build relationships which might not otherwise be possible, to build peace, and to stand together on the common ground of their faith in God.
                                                                                                          
As part of its efforts to bridge the gap between the Arab world and the West, East West Initiatives sent 3 young people to represent Jordan in this Forum. These young leaders spent three days interacting with leaders from around the world, dialoguing with young people from other countries, and visiting the Middle East suite where they met prominent political, business and religious leaders from the region.
The opportunity to rub shoulders with these leaders and other dynamic young people had a huge impact on both the Jordanians and those they met. 

Alaa Rayyan:
"It was a really amazing experience for me, to attend this event and represent Jordan. I learned a lot from this experience, and I enjoyed unforgettable moments with my friends and people from more than 120 countries. I spoke a lot about my faith ,my country, my work, my life so I felt that I represented not  just  Jordan, but  I represented my home country, my religion, my language.
I want to thank EWI for  giving me this opportunity, and also thank the guys who joined me in this experience and shared all these nice moments."

Tawfiq Jarrar : 
"After attending the National Prayer Breakfast and seeing the impact created by simply connecting people together, I have come to realize that such initiatives really contribute to creating change in the world. This experience also made me more aware of myself and of my skills, giving me a determination to focus upon those strengths to invest in the future."
Mahmoud Nabulsi: 
"This event was an outstanding experience, and the thing that really stood out was the opportunity to meet policy makers, authors, and people of influence face-to-face. We got to see them as normal human beings, and not through the lens of the media that often manipulates them. That was really special!"