By Alice Evans
The Walk Productions
Little Amal is a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl who has traveled across 13 countries meeting more than a million people and been watched by tens of millions more online.
Little Amal will journey 6,000 miles across the United States in one of the largest free public festivals ever created. More than 300 artists, museums, local community organizations and cultural institutions are hosting welcome events in the 37+ towns and cities that Little Amal is visiting from Sept. 7 through Nov. 5.
Little Amal is has traveled through cities, towns and villages across Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the UK in 2021, and Ukraine, Poland and the Netherlands in 2022.
Most recently, in the fall of 2022 she completed a journey through the five boroughs of New York City. In New York, she participated in more than 50 events with cultural, political, spiritual and other leaders, as well as artists and immigrant groups.
Learning Through Art, Inc. gifts Amal a quilt. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Ciara Harper Trio sings “Wade in the Water” with dance accompaniment by Revolution Dance Theatre. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Cincinnati Youth Poet Laureate Gabrielle Walker reads to Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra Associate Conductor Daniel Parsley leads the orchestra. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Mayor Aftab Pureval walks with Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
The crowd was excited to see Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Amal investigates a model bridge. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
The crowd waits for Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Amal appears in the crowd. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Citizens welcomed Amal to Cincinnati. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Drums for Peace performed for Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Close up of Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval joined the crowd to welcome Amal. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat 
General crowd. Photo provided by Lyons Photography, Inc./Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Bryan Houston/City Beat
The walk is a celebration of art, hope and shared humanity that aims to unite communities and refocus attention on the urgent needs of refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers, and to highlight the rich cultures and contributions immigrants bring with them.
Amal walks for the hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people of all ages roaming the world in search of safety, half of whom are children. When she walks, Amal brings people together. She gives voice to marginalized people (although she does not speak) and is welcomed by ordinary people and people of power.
In addition to generating awareness about the challenges faced by refugees and migrants in the U.S. and around the world, the Little Amal team has established the Amal Fund with Choose Love to raise more than $5 million to support refugee children around the world by supporting organizations that provide education, food, shelter and medical services.
Donations The Amal Fund may be made at https://donate.chooselove.org/campaigns/walks-amal-fund/. For more information, visit: https://walkwithamal.org/the-amal-fund/.