The Egypt-based renowned Tunisian actress Hend Sabry visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh in her first mission outside MENA region since her appointment by World Food Programme's (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador in 2010.

The star's visit continues until 16 November and covers refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh, inhabited by one million Rohingya refugees who two years ago fled from ethnic and religious persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

Following the first visits to Rohingya families, the WFP quoted Sabry saying "I wanted to show [through my visit] that suffering has no borders and humanity has no boundaries. Today I met inspiring women who have become heads of their households and are doing their best for their children in one of humanity’s most difficult circumstances. They have lost so much but remain hopeful and looking forward to their future. Their stories are heart-breaking, and their resilience inspiring.”

WFP supports the food needs of 80 percent of the camp's population by providing direct food assistance, nutrition support for schools among other care.

During her visit, Hend Sabry, who has been interested in supporting humanitarian issues, especially hunger around the world, will meet with some Rohingya families and examin the WFP and its partners work in the area.

Cox's Bazar district is Sabry's first humanitarian visit outside the MENA region; her previous visits included WFP operations Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

(Photo: Hend Sabry Official Facebook page)

Sabry’s career began in 1994 at the age of 14 when she debuted in the Tunisian production Silence of the Palaces (Samt Al-Qosoor) by director Moufida Tlatli. Her first appearance in Egyptian cinema was in the 2002 production A Teenager's Diary (Muzakirat Murahiqua), a role that paved her way to stardom.

Her later roles include starring in films such as A Citizen, a Detective, and a Thief (Mowaten we Mokhber we Haramy) in 2002, Downtown Girls (Banat West El-Balad) in 2005, and Ibrahim El-Abyad in 2009.

She also appeared in The Yacoubian Building (Oumaret Yacoubian, 2006), alongside an extensive cast of Egypt's biggest stars.

Her embodiment of an HIV positive woman in Asmaa (2011) brought her several awards.

Sabry's more recent roles include films such as The Parrot (short, 2016), Life is Beautiful (2017), The Treasure (2017) The Passage (2017), Noura's Dream (2019), The Blue Elephant (2019)

Apart from her many achievements in cinema, Sabry is active in social and humanitarian work.

She has been working closely with the UN World Food Programme on raising awareness about hunger in the region since 2010.

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