Hoda Youssef: Her siblings were able to continue their education thanks to her project

Hoda is a 23-year-old. She has a License in Arts, and lives in Markaz Makada – one of the poor villages in Qena. Her father works in one of the public institutions and earns 500 EGP per month, while her four younger siblings are still in university or in primary school. Hoda felt responsibility toward her family, as her father’s salary was not enough to cover the basic consumption and education costs of her siblings. She tried to search for employment opportunity in Qena, but she failed.

In 2010, Alashanek ya Balady launched its employment projects in Upper Egypt. Alashanek ya Balady studied the market in Qena and found it is known for hand-made carpets. Those carpets are sold in Luxor and Aswan with very good prices to tourists. Accordingly, Alashanek ya Balady Vocational Training Program and Employment Program launched a comprehensive training program on looms through a professional vocational training center in Qena.

Hoda heard about the program and applied for it. Alashanek ya Balady offered Hoda a 750 EGP loan to get the training, which included training on twenty types of looms. After two months, Hoda bought a small loom at home and started to make hand-made carpets and sell to shops that sell to tourists in Luxor and Aswan. Through this, she used to earn 750 EGP per month.

Being known for her high quality hand-made carpets, the Employment Office of Alashanek ya Balady got Hoda an employment opportunity as a loom trainer in one of the workshops in Qena, where she earns 800 EGP per month. Now, Hoda earns 1,500 EGP per month from her carpet-making business, as well as from her work as a loom trainer.

“Through my business and my work, I help my father in spending on the house. My siblings have to continue their education, and I am very happy that I am making their dreams come true,”