Yazen Abu- Hosaani, 18, is working in a mobile phone shop in a refugee camp.

He works nine hours per day and gets paid 2-5 euros. The young man studies English and dreams about becoming a teacher.

Yazen Abu- Hosaani is a happy 18-year-old, because he has found his first job and now earns money. He has worked for more than a month in a small mobile phone and accessories shop in Za’atri refugee camp in northern Jordan.
” I did not know the owner of the shop beforehand. “I came here and asked for a job”, says Abu- Hosaani.
He thinks he was able to get this job because he has a certificate from the FCA mobile phone maintenance course.

War interrupted high-school studies

Finn Church Aid (FCA) and the Amman Academy trained 28 young Syrians towards the end of last year on how to fix mobile phones and update the software they run.
The youth asked if a mobile phone repair course could be organised, as they thought the skills might help them to earn a living.
Mobile phones are an important device for communicating in Za’atri. Most of the refugees have at least one mobile phone.
Yazen Abu-Hosaani has been living with her parents and three siblings in the Za’atri camp for a year. In Syria he was going to high school.
Za’atri refugee camp is home to around 90 000 Syrian refugees. FCA targets young people aged 15 to 24 in Za’atri, because many other organisations organise activities for younger children. FCA organises skills training and physical exercise for the youth.

Making money when customer requires services

Yazen Abu- Hosaani works every day for nine hours in a small shop set up in a small caravan. He earns money only when a customer wants to buy services requiring his uncle’s computer. That is, when a customer wants to download e-mails, new programmes, games, music or to update their software. His customers are other young people. Abu- Hosaani earns 2-5 euros per day
Although his earnings may sound very little from a Finnish perspective , the pay is not entirely meaningless in a refugee camp.

“I do not fix faulty phones. I do not have the equipment”, says Abu- Hosaani.
He is delighted when he is told FCA is considering purchasing some mobile phone maintenance equipment.
FCA plans to buy a few a mobile phone maintenance kits to enable the youth, who did the course, to utilise their skills and earn some money.

A repair kit cost about 500 euros and the young people cannot afford to buy them.
If Abu- Hosaani had 1 500 euros of extra money, he would purchase mobile phone maintenance tools and a small caravan, where he would set up a repair shop.
But for now he goes to the mobile phone shop every morning and leaves work at seven in the evening. In the afternoon he has a break for an hour. That is when he goes to English course.
” My dream is to become a teacher”, he says.

Text and foto: Terhi Kinnunen