Faeda Hamdan:  is a mother of three children from al Karas village, who came to the VBI pursuing an ambition to run a small enterprise. She had dreamt of producing detergents, shampoos, soap and washing liquids based on natural ingredients in order to satisfy her quest for nature’s beauty. She attended a business management course at VBI in which she studied to be a successful professional. She was supported also by the Agriculture Directorate of Latakia who appointed a trainer on soap manufacturing. Currently Faeda is marketing many kinds of natural soap mixed with pure olive oil, laurel, almond as well as other natural essences found in the region of Latakia.

The Village Business Incubator is a programme run by Firdos which is one of the Trust projects geared towards rural development.

During the summer of 2007, Mohammed Zaki Mohammad Ali- a year 12 student from Aleppo- contacted SHABAB asking if he could participate in one of the Business Experience Programme (BEX) visits to a local company. He had heard about the programme from his classmates and friends and was very keen to gain the same benefits they had. Allocated at Kouefati Company, Mohammed proved to be an outstanding participant and it was evident that he viewed the visit as a rare opportunity to be grabbed. 

Following BEX, Mohammed enrolled in the Youth Leaders’ Scheme which further enhanced his skills and gave him hands-on experience in running and implementing a project.

During the same summer, Mohammed started looking for a job as he had completed his secondary school education. Having been exposed to the business world, learned how to write a CV and accomplish a job interview from SHABAB, Mohammed had enough self-confidence and awareness to apply for a job at Harsho Advertising Group. “Having SHABAB experience on my CV ( which is something that I had heard about for the first time during BEX) boosted my image with Harsho and helped me get a SYP 20,000 per month job as Sales Representative” said Mohammad.

During the mid-year school break in January 2008, Harsho Company hosted the BEX programme for a week. Mohammed was very keen to act as the company’s coordinator with the students as he wanted to share his experience with them. “When I heard that BEX will be hosted at Harsho, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to tell my peers how SHABAB changed my life” Mohammed added. This highlights an important fact which is the strong sense of belonging that SHABAB beneficiaries feel towards the programme and their sense of loyalty. 

It is worth noting that when Harsho realised Mohammed was a SHABAB beneficiary, they contacted the local SHABAB team member, Basel Chaban, for a character reference. This illustrates the high level of credibility that SHABAB enjoys amongst the companies that it has worked with.

Alongside his new job, Mohammed is currently preparing to retake the year 12 baccalaureate exam as he plans on continuing his studies.