Mohamad is a part of the first cohort of graduates from Karam House Reyhanli. 

Today in 2020, seven years after arriving in Turkey, he’s a poster boy for what is possible for refugees to achieve. Through our dynamic and responsive approach to teaching and mentorship, Mohamad has been able to reconnect with a childhood passion and is now pursuing a college degree.

His story began in Afrin, a town in northwestern Syria. Growing up there, Mohamad had one thing on his mind: computers. It wasn’t unusual for Mohamad to spend days on end meticulously disassembling and reassembling his computer, learning about its hardware and software as he went.

When he was just 13 years old, the Syrian war made Afrin unsafe. His family was forced to flee, eventually making it across the Turkish border and into Reyhanli. Life for Mohamad and his family was turned upside down. 

His parents struggling to make ends meet, Mohamad was forced to give up his schooling and find work – low-paid and physically taxing. Mohamad would sometimes put in 15-hour days, working at the local bakery, supermarket, or as a busboy. With time, his passion for technology and the dream of pursuing a higher education faded away.

This is when we found Mohamad. 

Karam sponsored Mohamad’s family, providing him and his siblings the opportunity to leave their menial work and dive back into school.

We encouraged Mohamad to join Karam House. There, he would complement his schooling with innovative, dynamic programming that reignited his interests in computers. 

Mohamad became a regular at Karam House, having vowed never to miss a studio. It’s not just the learning that has helped Mohamad to find himself again —some of his fondest memories at Karam House include a field trip to the local zoo with friends. “It was the first time hanging out with my friends outside of school. We saw the animals and had a really great time together!” He tells us about his mentors, how they are patient and encourage him to pursue his own interests. “Nothing,” says Mohamad, “like the old-school ways of teaching.” 

In 2019, Mohamad graduated from Karam House Reyhanli with 32 of his friends. Now 19, he’s a full-time college student, pursuing computer engineering at Akef University. 

The greatest thing Karam House has given to Mohamad has been hope. Once his greatest aspiration was to open a local hardware shop. Now his dreams are bigger. He hopes to return to a safe Syria and use his education and newfound skills to help rebuild the country for future generations.