Mohammad - YCI Jordan Graduate

Mohammad Batikha is the oldest of four children. The only source of income for the entire family was his father’s wage, which was insufficient to cover the their basic needs.

When Mohammad joined YCI, he had been applying for jobs at hotels but had not been able to reach the interview stage due to his lack of experience and skills. He was not able to study either owing to a lack of financial support.

Mohamed - YCI Jordan Graduate

Mohamed was raised in a small village in central Amman and is the seventh of twelve children. Mohamed's whole family had to be supported by his father’s army pension. Mohamed always dreamt of becoming a chef and someday to own his own restaurant. However, due to his family’s financial situation, he never thought that his dream would come true. Mohamed learned of the YCI programme through a local community organization and was accepted into the programme.

Inspired by his mentors at the hotel, and based on his own experience, Mohamed now talks to other young people in his local community in order to advise them on how to face up to difficult, challenging circumstances and personal situations. He encourages them to have dreams and hopes for the future.

Yalemzewd - YCI Ethiopia Graduate

Yalemzewd grew up in Golam Mikael, an underprivileged area of Addis Ababa. After her father’s death, the family moved to Higher Tena, which is another village far away from the city centre. In order to afford to support her family, Yalemzewd’s mother had to partition their small house and rent out the four small rooms.

During Yalemzewd’s participation in the programme, she showed great interest in the Finance Department, where she spent more time learning skills in the different areas, from accounting and purchasing to cost control. After graduating from the programme, Yalemzewd worked for a water company before being accepted into a graduate programme of a bank where she is now a permanent employee.