Emmendingen, 30 March 2021
“An optimistic war victim,” that is what 30-year-old Ameen Alsalmi called himself after his painful experience with the Yemeni civil war. Ameen has a family of nine members; his mother and sister, wife, and 6 children. In the beginning of 2015, he was injured by a missile fragment on his way back from his work in Haradh district, 422 Kilometers away from Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, where he worked in car maintenance. This injury has caused him a long-term physical disability, preventing him from ever walking again. He could no longer support his family of 9, who are fully dependent on him.
From the attack, he also lost his house, and his village was destroyed. Now handicapped and homeless, no one offered to help or support him and his family. He fled to several areas in search of stability, finally settling in the governorate centre of Hajjah. “I lost every beautiful thing in my life and became helpless” says Ameen, “but I did not lose hope, and determination. I persisted, to be able to secure the future of my six children.”
He found what he was looking for in Hajjah when he registered with Al-Amel Channels Association. In early 2020, he joined a sewing course organised by the Association, which aims to teach the profession and provide handicraft skills. The course was implemented thanks to the support of Vision Hope. Through it, Ameen and other participants have made a great professional experience, learning skills such as sewing, incense and perfume making, and housekeeping, to enable them to find jobs or start their own projects and thus generate incomes for their families.
Ameen dreams to open his own sewing shop to be able to feed and take care of his family, as a son, brother, husband, and father.
Vision Hope, and our local partners, are committed to supporting individuals like Ameen to overcome the barriers in their lives, to not only meet their basic needs, but to do so with dignity.
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