The doctor did not think that Afef would live for long. Born with a severe health condition, she was expected to die within a few days, so Afef’s parents left the newborn with a friend, an old woman in the Tunisian city of Kairouan.

But Afef hung on. She lived a week, and then a month, and then a year, with the old woman in Kairouan caring for Afef as she grew into a young girl. Ultimately, Afef outlived her protector.

“When she died, I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak for a few days,” Afef said. “She was like a grandmother to me and took care of me until her last breath.”

The death marked a turning point, as Afef’s father came to the funeral and moved the teenager to Tunis, the capital and largest city in Tunisia. Afef found herself in a new environment, forced to rebuild her life from scratch.

“It was difficult for me to start a new life in a big city,” Afef said. “Students in my new high school didn’t accept me. I felt like a stranger.”

Afef found solace in activities at school, developing a passion for photography and videos. She worked hard in the classroom and joined the school’s art club.

One day, she encountered a Search for Common Ground project focused on elevating young people at the margins of Tunisian society. She signed on, partnering with a group called the Youth and Skills Organization in Bizerte—the northern-most city in Africa, roughly 40 miles north of Tunis.

Afef was experiencing new challenges in her personal life, as her best friend’s brother had fallen under the sway of violent extremist groups and fled Tunisia to fight in Syria. He left behind two ailing parents—and a mess of nagging questions in Afef.

As part of the Search project, she decided to reach out to the foreign fighter.

“He told me that he was desperate, that he wanted to wake up and find that this was all just a dream,” Afef said. “I tried to convey his sense of remorse through film, so that young people would think twice about making the same mistake he did.”

The short film, called “Who am I?”, explored the struggles of a suicidal young man as he decides whether to join up with violent extremists. The premier took place in Bizerte.

For Afef, “Who am I?” launched a longer journey. Even after the Search for Common Ground project ended, she decided to stay at the organization, willing to make the 40-mile trek to continue her work.

Then again, 40 miles paled compared to the distance that Afef had traveled already. From Kairouan to Bizerte, she had experienced so much—and she was committed to help others along their way.