Ameera leads Christian Aid's humanitarian, development and advocacy work across the Middle East. But to understand what drives her in the role, you have to go back to where she started.
Some years ago, in the Al-Wehdat Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, a young physiotherapy graduate made a home visit she would never forget. Inside a small, almost empty house, an elderly woman lay bedridden, cared for around the clock by her husband, who was elderly himself. They were not asking for much. All they wanted was a wheelchair, something to make their days a little easier and to help her move beyond her bed.
That volunteer was Ameera Khamis. And that visit has stayed with her ever since.
There were no wheelchairs at the centre at the time. Determined to help, Ameera organised a small fundraiser among family and friends and gathered enough to buy several, including one for this couple. Then she picked up the phone.
I was excited to call her husband and tell him that we would be bringing the wheelchair. Sadly, he told me that his wife had passed away only days earlier.
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The journey so far
Throughout her journey, one thing has held firm: ‘a belief in the strength, resilience and potential of local communities.’
When the chance came to join Christian Aid, she was drawn not just to the mission statement but the relationships behind it. ‘What attracted me to Christian Aid was its strong commitment to locally led development and humanitarian action,’ she said.
Across her career she had seen that sustainable change comes when local organisations lead it, and what stood out at Christian Aid was the depth of those partnerships.
These are not short-term project-based relationships, but long-term partnerships built on trust, mutual respect and a shared commitment to serving communities.
The first to respond… and the last to leave
[Local organisations] are often the first to respond when a crisis happens and the last to leave when international attention moves elsewhere.
‘Christian Aid's role is not to replace that local leadership, but to support and strengthen it,’ she added. The best partnerships, in her view, are the ones where each side brings something the other cannot, and neither could achieve the same alone.
She points to Syria as the place this comes together most clearly. Through years of conflict, displacement, economic hardship, the devastating 2023 earthquake and the political transition that followed, emergency aid helped people meet their immediate needs.
‘At the same time, it quickly became clear that emergency support alone was not enough,’ Ameera reflected. ‘Communities also needed support to restore livelihoods, strengthen local services, rebuild community networks and create opportunities for recovery and self-reliance. This is where development approaches become equally important, helping people move beyond survival and begin rebuilding their lives.’
More than meetings and strategy
What might surprise people is how much of the role is about connecting people, ideas and opportunities.
So much of the work, she says, is listening, building relationships and ‘creating the conditions for others to succeed’. A few months in, what’s stood out most is a combination she didn’t always find elsewhere: a strong faith-based identity alongside a genuinely global outlook, and an organisation openly willing to reflect, learn and change.
Having worked with both faith-based and secular organisations, she values how Christian Aid's values show up in practice, not just on paper.
‘Resilience should not be mistaken for the absence of need’
The occupied Palestinian territory has been part of Christian Aid's work for many years. After the escalation in Gaza in 2023, the organisation expanded its support while continuing to advocate for the protection of civilians and for greater international attention to the realities people face. For Ameera, that mix of immediate response and long-term commitment reflects Christian Aid's wider approach right across the region.
If there’s one thing she would want supporters in the UK to understand, it’s this: ‘the Middle East is far more than the conflicts and crises that often dominate the headlines.’
She’s been inspired again and again, she said, by the generosity and determination of the people she works alongside. But she adds a careful caution that resilience should not be mistaken for the absence of need.
People show remarkable strength, but that does not mean they can or should face these challenges alone.
What keeps Ameera going
After years of working in contexts marked by conflict, displacement and loss, what gives Ameera hope is the same thing that first drew her in as a volunteer: people. The communities who keep caring for one another. The local leaders and young people who step forward. And especially those who have known hardship themselves and chosen to help others through it.
'Some of the most inspiring people I have met are those who have experienced hardship themselves and then chosen to support others facing similar challenges.’
It’s a hope, built on a lesson she learned long ago and still carries, that ‘even small actions can have a lasting impact.’
