Za'atari Refugee Camp, Mafraq - Alaa’ Al Haraki, 18-years-old young Syrian, tells us of his exciting and inspirational journey into his career in sewing, and the obstacles he had to overcome along the way.

Knowing what he wanted, Alaa’ was not the one to be held back by failure. “Not finishing my high school was not a setback for me”, he said, and added, “in fact, it was just the beginning of my adventure of becoming a professional tailor.” Though he encountered many naysayers and much resistance from his surroundings alike, if they could see things from his perspective, he told us; “my grandmother was my only inspiration, she taught me how to sew and further motivated me to realise my talent in the domain”.

Looking back at 2011 when the Syrian war erupted, Alaa’ and his family took their first steps toward Jordan, leaving their hometown behind knowing nothing but uncertainty. Years after living in Za’atari refugee camp; Alaa’ took initiative and applied for the Qudra 2 programme implemented by Enabel in partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). “Happily, it was my lucky day when I received a call saying that my application had been accepted”, said Alaa’. He applied for the semi-skilled first level of vocational education training in tailoring. Cherishing this opportunity, he continued to ace all his training classes and eagerly scored high marks than his classmates. That being the case, he was inspired to apply to the second level of the course provided by Qudra 2 programme, and got accepted.

The Qudra 2 programme scholarships are special as they are part of the Enabel “Developing skills for employability of Syrian refugees and vulnerable youth in Jordan” intervention.

The training Alaa’ applied to is known to be the second phase of a large multi-country, a multi-donor programme named: “Qudra– Resilience for Refugees, IDPs, Returnees and Host Communities in response to the protracted Syrian and Iraqi Crises”. Qudra 2 is implemented by five European development agencies; the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Expertise France, Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID), Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA), and Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) in programme partner countries of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The close partnership between Enabel and NRC provides support to aspiring young students to build their capacities in particular vocations. This intervention is fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Global Goals and, in particular, SDG4, which ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Regarding any other support Alaa’ had during this time, he had told us: “my grandmother was my backbone; she supported me the whole way, no matter what the obstacle was. She believed in me as much, if not more, as I believed in myself, and I will be eternally grateful to her”, shared Alaa’ and added, “I remember after graduating, I worked at her little tailor shop across the corner in the camp, she started assigning me with many technical tasks besides running errands and doing some chores around”.

Besides working at his grandmother’s shop, Alaa’ had to work and study simultaneously to earn some money for the house, otherwise, things would’ve been more challenging, as he was the young breadwinner of the family. “My brother started supporting the house just recently and is helping out with the day-to-day expenses. I am grateful for his support”, said Alaa’.

While Alaa’ grew to become a confident and competent tailor, he has plans to apply for advanced programmes to extend his knowledge and competencies in the domain. “I will apply for level three, to shift from the semi-skilled to skilled level of education. I am sure with the right skill set I’ve built, I’m ready now for the skilled training level”, Alaa’ said and continued, “during my free time I search for scholarships online and apply, to further my education".

Straightening up his back and taking a deep breath, Alaa’ told us as grateful as he is for all the support he received from the Qudra 2 programme and Enabel with emphasis if he had the chance to go back to his hometown and rebuild what has been torn down, he’d do it in a heartbeat, and added; “never give up on your dreams and always move forward regardless how hard things are, we have got to learn to enjoy where we are today, because what's meant to be will eventually find its way. That is the secret to a healthy life”.