The Vocational Training and Job Creation Course for Youth with Hearing Disabilities in the Gaza Strip has succeeded in improving the lives of over 20 young men and women, and their families, by opening up new horizons and providing new opportunities.

One trainee, 24-year old Roweida, lives with her family and suffers from difficult economic circumstances. She had this to say about her experience in the program: “Being a woman with a disability in Gaza, and in the absence of any opportunity for self-fulfillment, desperation and despair were all I ever felt in the past. I have participated in a culinary training program that is specifically tailored to people with hearing impairments. Not only did I gain, and perfect, a new skill, but I also became employable. I got a job at the Atfaluna restaurant, I can now confidently say that I my chances of living a fulfilled life are much higher now.”

Roweida’s trainer had this to say about her: “Roweida has proven her ability to learn and work hard. She is skilled at a number of different dishes, and she has a good level of professionalism. She’s a quick learner, efficient and committed”.