Samar Al-Shafie is a young woman from Assiut and a graduate from the Faculty of Arts, English department, in 2018. Before graduation, Samar planned to start her own private business in the field of Education where she wanted to teach English courses. However, she quickly discovered that her lack of hands-on experience -due to non-participation in the student activities- would hinder her from reaching her dream. As a result, Samar focused on finding a job instead of starting her own business. Unfortunately, Samar found neither teaching vacancies nor training opportunities in Assiut. Later on, Samar worked as a Legal Translator for one month and again she had to leave the job due to the night shifts. She lost her hope and was suffering in this dilemma till she heard about the Tomooh program.
Samar joined Tomooh in 2018, in which she attended a 4-days training that made her gradually regain her hope after being depressed for a long time. For the first time, Samar got to know more about C.Vs, Resumes, Cover Letters and the difference between them are in addition to what makes a good C.V. Besides, Samar was trained on Interview and Networking skills. With the continuous mentoring and support of the local coordinator, Samar was recommended to a local association in Assuit. Which opened her eyes on the field of Development. Then, she started her journey with volunteering in the Bity association with the SEED project and USAID. During this experience, Samar had the opportunity to attend various training on different topics such as Marketing and Financial Sustainability. So, it was the first time for Samar to know about the SDGs, Development, and civil society. Following her experience in Bity association, Samar volunteered with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in many initiatives such as Meshwary and Ambassadors of Change initiatives as well. In addition, Samar had one-on-one coaching sessions in Tomooh, which in turn assisted her in developing a change of Mindset, and cultivating a positive one as she said: “if it weren’t for Tomooh, I would never have known my potential”.
Being a Tomooh participant, Samar got the opportunity to join one of Etijah’s project, namely Daleel Project. As a result of her participation in Daleel project, Samar got the chance to attend a conference on Proposal Writing for associations for Reproductive Health with USAID. During participating in Etijah’s flagship project, Samar has developed a sense of interest in the Development field and succeeded to work in Tamkeen project with Plan International Egypt as a Project Coordinator from May 2019 to September 2020. Samar saw that such a change that happened to her wasn’t expected at the beginning and she said that: “This was one of the most important things that have ever happened to me.” The program had its fruits and left its impact on Samar, to the extent that made she say “I am grateful to Tomooh and to the moment when I found the application to the project. Through this enriching experience, I got to know who Samar is. Before that, I lacked self-awareness.”
Finally, she started her YouTube channel aiming at giving back to the community by transferring what she has learned in Tomooh. As a result of her effort in the channel, Samar was asked to give a soft skills Training in a private company. Besides, she was reviewing CVs and resumes for job applicants through her Facebook page. Samar’s future plan is to continue working on her YouTube channel. Additionally, she is thinking about a career in the field of Marketing. Last but not least, Samar has been thinking of opening an English Café as a sustainable project where all people can practice and improve their English language skills. Samar wishes to help the people who are in the same situation that she was in 2 years ago and is hoping to provide others around her with similar support and guidance to that she has received from Tomooh.