UAE programme gives hope to women and children displaced by war

Charitable endeavours culminate in vocational training

Carla Bygrave, centre, is co-founder of Skills3, an organisation seeking to equip women from disadvantaged backgrounds with new skills and opportunities. Photo: UNHCR

Dozens of young people, many displaced by war, have been recognised in Abu Dhabi for completing vocational training programmes that have become a lifeline for low-income families across the Emirates.

The ceremony, held at Fatima College for Health Sciences on Friday, was the culmination of a project that began in response to the UAE’s 2018 amnesty for residents from war-affected countries such as Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Sudan.

At the time, the UN global refugee agency's office in the UAE registered 7,663 individuals as persons of concern and found that 80 per cent of children in the families were not going to school.

It saw the inception of the Basmat Amal initiative, which began referring the families with children who needed support for additional help. What began as an education programme for out-of-school children quickly grew into a community-wide support network.

“Every year, the Basmat Amal initiative supports between 85 and 185 students – children who have missed out on school,” May Kadkoy, director of the Lotus Holistic Retail Institute and a former UNHCR adviser, told The National. “But I didn’t want to just keep supporting them with charity. I wanted to create something sustainable.

“We helped mothers get licensed so they could sell their products and cover school fees,” she said. “Then we began vocational training for older siblings in digital marketing, graphic design and early childhood care. Out of 140 youth, 70 per cent are now working.”

Giving hope

Basmat Amal, which loosely translates to imprint of hope, is funded by the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund and implemented by the UNHCR and Lotus Holistic Retail Institute.

The Lotus Holistic Retail Institute, a registered training centre operating in Abu Dhabi, has now helped 455 people from war-torn countries access education and vocational training.

Of those, 175 children are now enrolled in school, 180 youths have completed vocational certifications, and 100 individuals are generating income through employment or microenterprise.

Young people displaced by conflict were honoured for completing vocational training programmes at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi. Photo: UNHCR

“We started by helping the children referred to us to access UAE schools, and this remains our goal,” said Maya Motlik, Head of Business Development at the Institute. “However, as the conflict continued, we have too many children who are eight year old, 12 years old with almost no education.”

The Ministry of Education of Syria collaborated with Unicef during the early years of the conflict to develop an online certified education system to help children displaced by war continue their education and catch up if they fell behind.

“We have been leveraging this system for remedial education and now are supporting 80 students in remedial education,” Ms Motlik said. “We work case by case. We assess paperwork, identify pathways – sometimes mainstream UAE schools, sometimes online Syrian curricula – and match students to available support.”

What the future holds

Among the long-time collaborators is Carla Bygrave, co-founder of Skills3, a social enterprise focused on women’s economic empowerment.

“We’re a profit-for-purpose organisation, and everything we do must have a social impact,” Ms Bygrave said. “Four years ago, we launched a sewing programme for the mothers of Amal students. We taught 20 women to sew using traditional skills like Sadu [a traditional Bedouin embroidery form], and helped them generate income.”

Skills3 now purchases their products outright and sells them through its own Social Souq platform. Items are available at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, Jumeirah Mosque’s gift shop, and Indigo Hotel in Dubai.

“I’ve seen these students grow up. I’ve seen their mothers gain confidence and financial independence,” said Ms Bygrave. “That’s why I’m here today – to keep supporting them.”