Jin grew up in Raqqa, Syria. When the war started, she had no idea how bad things would get. When planes dropped a bomb on a building 200 metres from her house in 2013, she and her family were forced to evacuate within 10 minutes. They jumped in the car in their pyjamas and crossed the Turkish border, only to receive news that their house had been destroyed.
While Jin and her family were physically safe, the impact of what happened left a mark and Jin started to experience severe mental health issues. As she slowly recovered, she started to look for ways to reconnect with life and decided to continue her education. She went to university and studied computer engineering.
A first line of code
In 2018, she enrolled in Re:Coded’s inaugural bootcamp in Turkey, where she wrote her first line of code. Through the program she connected with mentors and gained the confidence to design and build her own platform, Peace Therapist, which matches psychologists with those who need psychological support.
“Many people tried to dissuade me. They said it wouldn’t be possible because I was a woman and a refugee. ‘You don’t even speak Turkish,’ they said. ‘You can’t do it.’ But I carried on with my plan and today Peace Therapist is an award-winning social enterprise.”
Breaking the stigma
“In this part of the world psychological therapy can be considered shameful. We put a lot of thought into how we approach people, so they are less fearful of reaching out for help.”
“My goal is to work for peace and create solutions to conflicts. We know that nearly 1 in 4 refugees worldwide who have experienced war have psychological problems. If we help them improve their lives and gain self-confidence, we will increase social cohesion between refugees and host communities.”
If we have the chance to change the life of even one person, then that is enough for me.
“When I look back at my 16-year-old self, a young refugee traumatized by the war in Syria, I know a platform like Peace Therapist could have helped me and that’s what motivates me now.”
Today Jin is also a One Young World European Commission Peace Ambassador and a member of the Board of Women Entrepreneurs at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye.
