The ‘Beautiful Game,’ Pomegranate Molasses, and Why There’s Hope for America

A conversation with soccer coach and educator Luma Mufleh, the trailblazing founder of Fugees Academy schools for refugees and a Top 10 CNN Hero.

Coach Mufleh, center, with Fugee Academy students (credit: Dustin Chambers).

At TFP this week we’re celebrating our 100th post and the FIFA Women's World Cup final by returning to where it all started—our Feb. 1, 2022, inaugural interview with soccer coach, educator, and refugee advocate Luma Mufleh. In just 18 months we’ve grown from a handful of subscribers to thousands, thanks to readers like you. In appreciation, we’re offering 20% off on annual paid subscriptions (less than $5 a month), without which the lights here at TFP would go out. Here’s to 100 more posts, and many more years of TFP. Cheers, MJ

By Michael Judge

When I left mainstream journalism to launch The First Person, I knew the first person I wanted to have a conversation with was Luma Mufleh, the 42-year-old founder and CEO of Fugees Family, Inc., the nation’s only school network dedicated to educating and empowering child survivors of war. That might sound like a terribly small market. Sadly, it’s not. According to the …