Luma Mufleh

"The Fugees is a perfect example of what this nation is supposed to be about, which is to provide a refuge for the refugees." —Tom Brokaw

Luma Mufleh is the dedicated coach of a soccer team known as the Fugees—short for refugees. The players hail from 28 war-torn countries, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Congo, Somalia, and Sudan. Each player has faced severe adversities; for instance, one young boy was coerced by soldiers to shoot his own best friend, while another witnessed his father being killed. These young individuals have lost much of their childhood to conflict.

The challenging journey of these players, alongside Mufleh, who guides them to overcome cultural divides and local resistance, is captured in the New York Times Bestseller "Outcasts United." Authored by Warren St. John, the book not only narrates the empowering story of Mufleh and the refugees but also sheds light on how communities can be built where commonalities seem scarce. Additionally, Mufleh's narrative is set to be adapted into a major motion picture by Universal Studios.

Originally from Jordan, Mufleh moved to Atlanta shortly after graduating from Smith College. Her journey with the Fugees began when she spotted a group of boys playing soccer in Clarkston, Georgia. Despite lacking basic sporting equipment, their joy and enthusiasm for the game resonated with her, reminding her of her own roots. In the summer of 2004, she distributed multilingual flyers in Arabic, English, French, and Vietnamese across local apartment complexes, calling for soccer team tryouts.

Mufleh soon recognized the unique challenges faced by this team. Beyond typical adolescent struggles, these players were grappling with post-traumatic stress, language barriers, cultural differences, and severe economic hardships.

As a social entrepreneur, Mufleh has founded several ventures to provide employment to refugees and immigrants in her community. In 2004, she launched Fresh Start, a cleaning service that offers fair wages to refugee and immigrant workers for cleaning residential and commercial properties. In 2010, she initiated Queen Food Company, a food truck business that employs parents and alumni to serve authentic ethnic street food.

Mufleh's most recent project is the establishment of the Fugees Academy, the first school in the US specifically designed for refugee boys and girls. Serving grades six through twelve, the Fugees Academy offers an intensive college-prep curriculum tailored to the students' needs. This innovative educational environment not only merges diverse cultures and traditions but also prepares students to build prosperous futures in their new homeland.

Advocating for transformative education, she provides insights into the educational reforms needed to address diverse learning needs. As she realizes her dream of creating a specialized school for refugees, Mufleh also engages in broader discussions about educational innovation across the nation.

The story of the Fugees and their coach encapsulates ideals often associated with America: creating opportunities for self-advancement, harnessing individual talents for collective benefits, and the ethos that success is a team effort, reflected not in individual scores but in the team's collective achievements.