Rami Al Hafi, 18 years old, lives with his mother, Dalal, and his three brothers at a modest house in Gaza City. He dropped out of school in the 11th grade to support his family financially.
His grandfather was an experienced fisherman, and Rami had learned the ropes early on. While he worked as a fisherman, he wanted to also build on his passion of technology, in particularly mobile phones. After being contacted by Mustaqbali program on any vocational interests he might have, he expressed his desire to learn programming and maintenance of mobile phones.
Rami received a two-month on the job training at a local company for electronics, which holds a course on mobile programing and a one-month training course on mobile hardware. He was then enrolled in a vocational diploma specializing in mobile development.
As a result of his skillset, Rami landed a job at a mobile maintenance company: “My life has changed for the best after receiving those professional trainings. With this job, I can now depend on myself and skill set to support my family. I am a more confident person now and I seek to learn everything new in the mobile phones field to continue uplifting my skills in this area.”
Rami added: “I would like to extend my thanks to all those who helped and supported me to further my education and get a job opportunity; I hope they continue supporting me and others to overcome the difficult conditions we live in Gaza.”
Mustaqbali works towards empowering young people with the skills required to enter the labor market and/or to lead entrepreneurial lives.