YOUSEF

Resourceful tradesman with a passion for cooking

Sturdy hands, hardened by years of physical work, meticulously unpack olives from their crates and onto shelves. They give off an oily perfume that sticks on his apron. He will smell like fruit for the rest of the day.

His hands move on to the citrus fruits, unpacking and shelving until the box is empty; repeat. His hands reach up to his eyes, still crusted with sleep. An endless wave of people ask him to please weigh their olives, please weigh their oranges, and he does.

The main reason was because my father has an addiction to alcohol. Every day, he was coming home and fighting with us for no reason. This is why our mom escaped with us.

Yousef

Yousef was born in Zarqa, a large city just north of Amman. He was raised in a modest, rented home with his mother and father and, later, a younger brother and sister. But his clearest memories of his childhood are clouded by his parents’ constant bickering and fighting.

As a child, Yousef would often leave the house and take refuge with his relatives. It was his way of escaping reality for a little while.

After a lot of fighting, my parents separated. Our mother actually tried to go to the social development ministry to get some kind of support, but she couldn’t, because she was not divorced. The government wouldn’t provide support as long as my father was there.

Yousef

The owner of their house finally decided that enough was enough, and asked the family to take their loud conversations elsewhere. So, Yousef’s mother packed up and moved to Amman with her children. Yousef was 12 years old when his parents separated for good.

Yousef and his siblings went to school in Amman. Life gained a semblance of normality, for a while.

However, the following year, his mother discovered that she had lymphoma. After months of suffering and lots of pain, going from doctor to doctor, she couldn’t get the right diagnosis. When she was finally admitted to a private hospital, they found the cancer.

She stopped working. While his mother recovered in the hospital, Yousef and his siblings went to live with an aunt. But the family did not have enough money; with his mother in the hospital and his father out of the picture, Yousef dropped out of school to help support his family.

When she was suffering in the hospital, I was not feeling well, I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes, I just decided to go visit her, to be with her at night. I was just crying and crying.

Yousef

He lashed out at people, fighting with everyone, profound sadness manifesting as anger. For him and for his siblings, those were the hardest months.

Yousef was 14 years old when he got his first job. He worked in a supermarket, weighing fruits and vegetables on a scale. Since then, he’s held a wide variety of jobs: building houses, serving coffee, cooking food, fixing cars. He dispassionately describes his experiences of child labour: difficult, boring, unfulfilling.

“We have a proverb in Jordan,” he said. “I have seven jobs, but no money.”

Thank god it’s over. It feels like everything has passed away like a dream. In sha’Allah.

Yousef

Today, Yousef is 18 years old. He works to support his family, selling coffee in public places. His dropping out of school severely limited his job opportunities. A few months ago, his parents formalized their separation and got divorced.

Through Ruwwad, Yousef learned about a vocational training programme run and certified by the government. Ruwwad has been able to continue and expand its capacity building efforts for staff, volunteers, and children, thanks to MAP16 and official linking to the online child labour monitoring system (e-CLMS). This partnership has allowed the NGO to serve more children, as well as start and improve upon existing vocational training.

The vocational training programme changed Yousef’s outlook on life and improved his prospects for the future. He would like to enroll next year and train to become a chef. He has always loved experimenting in the kitchen. Laughing, he recalled the time when he tried to cook something at home and accidentally started a small fire in the house.

And, when he was working at a restaurant, the owner would allow him to make up new foods and even put them on the menu. They were open to letting Yousef experiment and try new things.

His mother, now cancer-free, is working again.

Yousef, meanwhile, is focusing on developing his skills for the future. He is constantly inspired by his mother, brother, and sister. He wants to help them and make life better for them, as well as for himself.

It’s my dream to open a restaurant and provide snacks, fast food, things like shawarma, sandwiches, and pizza. I’ll try again and again. If I get the opportunity, I’ll take it.

Yousef