(Photographer)
📍Yemen for @savethechildren
“My name is Falak and I am 16 years old. I am from a village near Taiz but now I live in Taiz city. When I was 4 months old my parents decided to divorce so left me to my grandparents. Now they both have their own families but I grew up with my grandparents. When I was in the 9th grade, I had to stop going to school due financial problems.
I had to support my grandparents financially. Since I was younger I wanted to work in the beauty sector but I thought that there is no hope for me. I didn’t have any dreams when I was young because I was feeling that I was in such a bad situation, as my grandparents were very poor. I used to come to Taiz city to get food assistance from some organizations. Then, I met someone from Save the Children and they informed me about the vocational trainings they offer to children [adolescents] like me. I was registered for these trainings and I chose to get trained in sewing.
I was very happy. I started to feel proud of myself as I could now pay for the house in Taiz. My father was unable to find a job in the village so he moved with us to Taiz city along with his new family.
I feel sad to see my father unemployed. Now I am the one supporting the whole family and I am happy because I keep the dignity of our family. This training that I got from Save the Children is not just about sewing. They helped us understand the importance of keeping our dignity, being independent, being resilient and gave us guidance on how protect ourselves.
Before the war everything was cheap but now everything became so expensive so we are struggling to make ends meet. When the war first started I was afraid of the shelling. Now I know that I cannot control the shelling so I learnt how to live with it.
I hope one day Yemen will be safe for everyone and I hope I will continue being independent so my family will not have to depend on anyone.”