Yehya, 15 years
Student in technician in maintenance of heating and air-conditioning equipment.
Syria, Jaramana Youth Center
Designed to help Iraqi refugees when it was created in 2008, the Shahab Center (meaning the “center for young people”) in Jaramana mainly welcomes internally displaced Syrians from childhood through to adulthood, namely from 5 to 24 years. The young people have access to several types of services: a varied training offering, personal development workshops and psychological support. In 2017, two new centers opened their doors, one in Sweida, in the south of the country. A 4th center is being studied in Aleppo in the north of the country.
Yehya is 15 years old. He is the youngest in a family of seven children. His father, a construction worker, lost his job about six years ago following an explosion which destroyed their neighborhood. Since then, he has struggled to meet the needs of his family. Yehya stopped attending school in the 4th year of secondary, but his family convinced him that it was important to have a minimum of education.
One of Yehya’s sisters was enrolled at the “I Can” IECD center in order to follow the course in “help for the elderly and other patients”. It was here that she heard about the IECD center in Jaramana for young people from 14 to 24 years and suggested that her brother sign up. Yehya listened to his sister’s advice and is currently training as a technician in heating and air-conditioning equipment maintenance. One of his brother-in-laws work in this field and explained the advantages of this profession to Yehya, which could allow him to earn a living. Very enthusiastic, he is always the first to arrive:
“I take full advantage of this class. The tutor is fascinating and teaches us lots of interesting things. I try to put into practice what we learn and that way I hope to have a trade at my fingertips”, explains Yehya.
