Hilal: A journey from vulnerability to empowerment

SANAA (ILO News) - Deep in the mountains of Taiz Governorate in central Yemen, 22-year-old Hilal Ghaleb led a simple life marked by hardship. Although he was an ambitious young man, his dreams were thwarted by chronic conflict and poverty.

Hilal belongs to the “Muhamasheen” marginalized ethnic group in Yemen. He lives in a family of 10 in a small village in the Al-Ma'afir District of Taiz. Both his parents are disabled, and his family had no steady income, leaving them struggling with food insecurity and lacking even the most basic necessities.

Hilal consistently topped his class at school, but the burden of supporting his family forced him to abandon his educational aspirations and drop out from school prematurely. He worked on a farm for three years and then bought a motorbike to work in passenger transportation for another four years, until his health deteriorated due to the strenuous work. For several months, he was unemployed and had no means of supporting his siblings.

For a time, Hilal's future seemed bleak. Yet, a glimmer of hope appeared when he heard of the Vocational Apprenticeship, a vocational training programme aimed at empowering youth economically, implemented by the Social Fund for Development in partnership with the ILO.

As soon as Hilal heard about the programme, he applied. Upon acceptance into the programme after passing the registration process and interview, he stated: "I didn't expect to be accepted because of my vulnerability as a member of the Muhamasheen group, but I did it. I chose the profession of repairing household appliances because there is a great demand for it from the villagers. I realized this demand during my previous work as a motorbike delivery driver."

Discovering a passion

The Vocational Apprenticeship programme provided foundational skills, technical skills and apprenticeship in a workshop with a master craftsman for two months. During this time, Hilal developed a deep passion for this work. He said he felt immense joy learning new skills, and enjoyed the satisfaction of fixing things and bringing them back to life.

In the midst of his training, Hilal heard that the programme would provide a toolkit to anyone who opened their own workshop. Hilal and his family had no money to start a workshop, but he had a wealth of passion and dreams that made him think differently. Using pieces of used plastic sheets, large bags, and dry tree trunks, he managed to build a simple workshop next to his house. He had no tools, but the toolkit he received from the programme was enough to start his business.

It didn't take long before people in the village started coming to Hilal's workshop to repair their electrical appliances instead of traveling to the city. News of his workshop and the completion of his training quickly spread in his village and the neighbouring village, and customers began to flock to him with their malfunctioning devices.

He said: "I am now a home appliance maintenance technician, and I market my work on social media, through direct communication, and by meeting with people in the area. I now dream of expanding my workshop."

Through his passion and hard work, Hilal was able to start generating a steady income for his family and use his earnings to buy some of their most basic needs, especially food.

More than just an income

Hilal's project not only started to improve his financial situation but also had a positive impact on the community. He became a role model for young people in his village after becoming the first to establish a workshop there. He inspired many of them with his story of perseverance in pursuing learning opportunities, establishing his small workshop, and connecting the two to create a better future for himself and his family through hard work.

Vocational training and supporting it with a series of links to enable trainees to start their work has been an effective tool of the Vocational Apprenticeship project to empower youth in combating the effects of the major humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Through this initiative, several young trainees have been able to achieve a decent life for their families in some of the country’s poorest areas, with the support of their communities and families.

The ILO Vocational Apprenticeship programme was implemented by the ILO under the framework of the Supporting Resilient Livelihoods, Food Security and Climate Adaptation in Yemen Joint Programme (ERRY III), which is co-funded by the European Union and the Swedish government.