Hamadan Amhaz is a 20 year-old Lebanese student in the eleventh grade, from a family of five members, living in Shawaghir, Hermel. Hamadan is a hard worker that dreamt so long to be an engineer, so she participated in the AutoCAD course which is being provided by the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) as part of the Empowering Vulnerable Communities through Livelihood initiative, funded by International Medical Crops (IMC). The project aims at training vulnerable individuals on certain skills, in order to link them to the labor market.
Hamadan stated, “the rich get richer while the poor always get stuck at the same level in Lebanon. This has given me the urge to pursue my goals and be successful and independent. I believe now that hope and anguish can coexist and still create something truly amazing. Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don’t feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep accumulating results. People in general are used to give up too soon because they have wrong expectations of themselves and the outcome. They expect the way to be easy, and they are surprised when they find the reality to be the opposite. I am one of them and I have reached a moment where my enthusiasm quickly melted until I lost my heart”.
After several AutoCAD classes, Hamadan started drawing maps alone on AutoCAD, as she also downloaded the program on her friend’s computer in order to practice daily after classes. Persistence and determination pushed Hamadan forward to work on new maps and ask the coach various questions outside the class and on WhatsApp. Hamadan made several building plans and then worked with an engineer from her region where she started practicing and increasing her income gradually. Sharing her income with her parents allowed them to partially pay a few debts, as well as increased their purchasing power. Being born in a vulnerable family made her become aware of everything her parents did during her childhood to offer her a dignified life. “I’d do anything to help them during their time of need. That’s the main reason to achieve my goals and start working even with a lower expected salary, just to support them financially and psychologically”, Hamadan explained.
Hamadan is one among many participants who have greatly benefited from IMC sessions in hope for a brighter future. “Persistence in the service of a higher goal calls out many other virtues in you. You will push yourself to beyond what is comfortable to achieve your chosen goal. You should know ‘why’ you want your goal in the first place and your answer must be bigger than the obstacles”. Hamadan stated this statement with tears after this experience helped her learn that the bigger her answer is, the better the journey, because ambition is the path to success, while persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
