Mohamed Radwan Sorani

Syria

Mohamed writes the chapters of his story like this.

As a child and even in adolescence, Mohamed barely faced any difficulty completing his studies and getting a university degree with excellence.

He devoted himself to science and was amazed at how technology was developing. He was learning with a home computer that his father surprised him with one day.

He chose to specialize in the field of information technology. His mind was full of competing dreams which he held onto tightly, ready to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.

But as the years passed, his opportunities narrowed, until Mohamed found a glimmer of hope.

It was 2017, when he heard about an initiative called One Million Arab Coders that teaches coding for free to support every Arab’s future.

He says: “I wanted to learn more about the initiative to advise unemployed youth around me, hoping that they may find hope for themselves in this cold and solemn war. I searched for more information especially because it gives accredited certificates. Surprisingly, I found it was what I needed too, being unemployed at the time”.

In the course on Data Analysis, Mohamed found a progressive take on all he had learned in his field at the university years ago. He found additional courses that enriched his career and returned him to the place that war had deprived him of.

Mohamed speaks at length about his personal experience before talking about the success he is achieving today in his prestigious job. He remembers all the technical difficulties he faced, including power and internet outages. “It was an invaluable opportunity though,” he says.

Today, he is the technical administrator responsible for data at the UNRWA organization in Aleppo. Mohamed talks about his colleagues whom he met at the initiative, they all come from different Arab countries and yet he is able to maintain good relationships with them. A loud laugh mixed with a tear of joy interrupts him when he talks about his job.