Omar Abdelaziz

Syria

All the success stories  that Omar Abdelaziz expected of himself in the beginning have been broken, except for one.

At university in 2014, Omar decided to walk away from the field of electrical engineering before he graduated. The security situation in Syria, bloody events in Aleppo and deteriorating financial conditions were all working against him.

Omar spent three years among the ruins of his university discipline and reality. There were few job opportunities that could be obtained without a degree or experience.

His determination to get a degree had him searching in all institutes, organizations and initiatives for a specialization that suited his ambitions, labour market requirements and didn’t cost a lot of money. The basic needs of his family, relatives and friends were more important to him than even his future.

In 2017, after a long wait, he felt he had found what he was looking for: the One Million Arab Coders initiative. “Is it a free initiative and gives certificates?! Was the universe responding?”

Omar recorded and pursued his lessons, hoping that fate would finally smile on him.

He obtained an accredited certificate, which allowed him to enter into the labour market with a wide door.

He chose one of the most popular and sought-after courses in coding at the time; Android applications. He also accumulated practical experience by participating with the trainer in the practical learnings. He became an independent freelancer and in more than one humanitarian organization in his city. He is no longer on the sidelines of his society nor on the sidelines of community progress. Today, Omar has made up for years of deprivation for himself and his family.