Displacement of Jamila Kakar from the war zone to the Herat city and finding of a job with the assistance of Help Organization:

I’m Jamila Kakar 27 years old. I lived in a poor family. Our house was in Shindand district of Herat province. It was not a safe place, but we had a simple life and I was doing embroidery there. Embroidery is one of the traditional crafts of Afghan women and girls. I had a monthly income of about 1,500 Afghanis and was providing financial support to my family with this less amount of money. Apart from that, I had no other source of income to support my family. A girl who lives in an insecure area and does not have the right to get out of the house and has no vocation or literacy, what more can she do?

I wished I could help my old father but I didn’t know that my dream would take another color.

I lost my father by a rocket that hit our living area. After that our life became more difficult and harder for us. The intensity of the war was increasing day by day until it forced us to leave our home and our main living area. Then we migrated to Herat. During our immigration, we faced many challenges due to lack of shelter, market knowledge and environment and without any job and income. On the other hand, I was the eldest child of the family and everyone was expecting me to do something for them. Here I was alone and wondering how to support my mother and my two younger siblings.

With these difficulties and wanderings, I did not have any idea what to do. I was completely disappointed and frustrated in my life. The anxiety of how finding bread for my family and job for myself had taken the sleep of my eyes.

I knew that with disappointment, nothing will be gained. Hhowever, I didn’t know any profession, I started searching a place to work. I did search even for very hard jobs. I was going out to find any job for myself every day, but it was very difficult for a girl with no skills and no vocation to find a job.

One day, on a bus I met some women. I told them about myself. Then they told me about Help Ansari vocational training center. In fact, they were pervious beneficiaries of Help Ansari VTC. They told me about the changes have come to their lives by learning vocations in Ansari VTC.

I became interested and went to the Ansari Vocational Training Center. Luckily I met the criteria of the training program and got registered in six-month training course of advanced tailoring.

By coming to this center, my anxieties were decreasing and my hopefulness were increasing day by day. The training environment of the center was safe and friendly.

During the training course, I started my internship period with a tailoring workshop. I have learned many things from it and it was good experience for myself.

I have to say, learning in Help Ansari VTC and the supportive programs of the Help encouraged me to think about a future work plan with several of my classmates; our goal is to work together and succeed in the market and support our families financially. We no longer have fear of the market. Because now we are professional and there are good job opportunities for professionals in the market.

I am happy and satisfied with the impact of this program on my job and life. I with two of my classmates; Jamila and Khatera, have created a working group for ourselves. By doing tailoring, we earn about 3000-4,000 Afghanis per month. Now, with this income, I can support my family. My family has also forgotten the pains of the past, and now they have been encouraged to work.

With my motivation, my two younger sisters have become interested in this vocation. We want to expand our working group and launch a tailoring workshop in the near future.

In the past, I didn’t even think I could improve my family’s financial situation, get a good job, earn money and be useful to my family and in the community in such a short time. Now I can help other girls like myself. All of these achievements have been gained since I came to the Help Ansari VTC.

The Help organization has a significant positive impact on the life of people like me with the help of its partners during and after the training. I am grateful for the opportunities that have been provided to me and my classmates.

I thank Help organization, its partners and the donors for provision of this opportunities to me and my other classmates

Source: Help’s IT & Public Relations Department