Yemeni Youth Overcomes Civil War Challenges To Serve Community

Yemen is a country in the midst of a civil war that has been ongoing since 2014. The war has caused a humanitarian crisis, with millions of people displaced from their homes and in need of food, water, and medical care. Despite all these challenges,  the people of Yemen are resilient and determined to build a better future for themselves and their country.

Ahmed Abdul Rahman Qassem Hassan is a Yemeni youth who has dedicated his life to giving back services to his community. A graduate of an English Business Program, Ahmed shares his inspirational story on YouTube.  “In my life, I have always aspired to work in an environment dedicated to serving society and its people,” said Ahmed in a recent YouTube interview. 

During a period while he was unemployed, he participated in the “Building the Future For Yemeni Youth” program launched by the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY). The program was launched in 2019 with the aim of empowering young Yemenis and equipping them with the skills and resources needed to build a better future for themselves and their country. The program targeted young men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 who were unemployed or underemployed. The SDRPY is a Saudi Arabian initiative launched in 2018 to provide economic and development support to Yemen. The program aims to improve infrastructure, basic services, and create job opportunities in the war-torn country.

After the program, Ahmed was lucky to be  invited for an interview at the hospital back at home where he was born in. “The job interview was an excellent opportunity for me and I was excited to start working immediately,” said Ahmed. “When I first started I dedicated myself wholeheartedly to the job as this hospital operates as a charitable institution providing free services to the entire Yemeni society across the country,” he added.

Some of the objectives of the program include to provide sustainable economic and development support for Yemen across various sectors. It also implements development projects and programs aimed at strengthening and developing essential services, develop the infrastructure and create job opportunities.

The SDRPY program has provided support to schools and universities, and has also funded scholarships for Yemeni students. The SDRPY has also supported the rehabilitation of hospitals and clinics, and has also provided medical supplies and equipment to hospitals including Aden General Hospital in 2021. The hospital was supplied with over 2187 medical devices to serve Aden’s residents.