Mohammed Hussein worked as an agricultural engineer in the Agriculture Directorate in Aleppo. He obtained a master’s degree in the field of Renewable Resources from Aleppo University, upon the war reaching his home town of rural southern Aleppo where he and his family live.
Mohammed and his family were forced to leave their homes and move to the city of Azaz. In the light of difficult circumstances surrounding the displaced in particular, and the community in general; he said that:
‘When I heard that The Local Development Organization was conducting an initiative entitled “Development Creativity Competition”; I felt that I was being given another chance in life. I know then that I should not give up and should pursue my path in research and should considerate on projects that contribute to alleviating the suffering and provide assistance to the community, especially as I had been waiting for such an opportunity to help me and my family integrate into the host community and prove that displaced people are not a burden, but can be productive and an asset to the community in the right conditions’.
‘After research, I chose the title of the project I was going to submit for the competition; “Sterilization of Drinking Water in Ultraviolet Light”. I knew that the competition consisted of 80 participants, which added flavour of the challenge to work’.
‘Following the evaluation stage of the competition, the results were announced and to my surprise my project got first place and won the grand prize of one million Syrian pounds. My joy was not the prize money, but the sense of achievement over-rid all emotions. It moved me from the pessimistic surroundings of my life as a displaced person and the head of a household who cannot support his family, to the new level of satisfaction and optimism. I had forgotten how it felt to be a productive individual in society who can live a decent life with his family and provide for the benefit for society’.
‘The reward money obtained from the ‘Development Creativity Competition’ that the Local Development Organization did, will help me get back on my feet and provide much needed support for my family and I. My winning project, I hope someday soon will become a reality and now I am more eager than ever to provide more project ideas that will help restore normality to my country as it was previously entrusted’.
