"Al-Shabab Awalan" Presents: Najah Diaries: Rashed's Story
9 Jun 2008 in Education, Employment
"Al-Shabab Awalan" ("Youth First") series will share five Najah success stories in Point of View. The second in the series is about Rashed Yassin, a young man who must convince his parents that work in the private sector is as honorable as in the public sector.
I was 18 years old when I completed my secondary education as an electrical technician. My ambition was limitless, while my capabilities and experience were so little if not non-existing at all. I lacked the ability to communicate. I was imprisoned by my shyness and feeling of fragility inside a harsh community. My family had a preset mind about what I should be doing in my life! I was hesitant, resource-less and inexperienced to the extent that it made feel so powerless…
I heard about the Najah Program and I sought to join it… I was two months younger than the age set for it … The interview was my chance to leave a convincing affect on the selection committee to accept me … I surprised myself with my ability to persuade others! It was the day before starting the training when I truly began to learn. To learn what? To learn that I did have something inside me …skills that I never thought I could dream of having… The selection committee recognized this and helped me see it… yes, every single one of us has something special to offer! I was selected, and I was about to face many challenges and subsequent successes … I was the youngest, but I found my own personal space, which enabled me to grow bigger with every new experience.
I wrestled a lot with myself… I was handcuffed by my fear of failure, restricted by my parents and the community, which judged the person without a university degree as being a loser. But I kept going on and on … Amazingly, I was the most persistent and committed participant … I encountered many challenges, but was crowned with success!
I learned how to become independent, and how to express my ideas and thoughts … I challenged myself into doing what I could not do, with endless encouragement from the training team of course! I was convinced that working was an honor, and that if I worked I would make a respectable income to support myself and confirm my identity, but I had yet to persuade my parents that whatever job I decide to do would not be degrading for myself or my family.
The Najah program gave me the expressive tools and capacity to listen, argue and convince others, and to present my ideas without rejecting the others’. I experienced the real work environment, with all its challenges and difficulties. I discovered that hidden capabilities need time and space to come out, and only then they can assist a person to realize his destiny. I am now realizing my self and my destiny…
I am 19 years old and working for a respectable company in the field of my specialization and I am on the way to distinguishing myself with a profession that is a thousand times better than sitting at home feeling sorry for myself and making an extra burden on my parents and my community.
As a young man, who once got lost before retracing his steps to success, I urge my fellow country men and women to challenge themselves into crossing the imaginary fears of the unknown, to challenge themselves against the fear from failure, to develop their skills, and to enrich their experience with what no one could ever take from them.
Rashed Yassin
Najah - Amman
Continue Reading Najah Success Stories: >> 1 2 3 4 5 <<
