Omran’s Journey
Published on 25/03/2024
“I’m now ready to take on bigger challenges” – Omran
Omran joined our CodeBrave Web Dev Programme back in 2022. He’s from a small town in Mount Lebanon and is currently in 12th Grade. When you first meet him, Omran comes off quite shy, as he’ll tell you. But as the conversation flows, you get to see who he truly is beneath his small smiles – a bright and determined young man who is overcoming his anxiety and carrying heavy responsibilities on his shoulders.
A Brighter Future
Omran’s family was deeply affected by the economic crisis in Lebanon. So at just 16, he already worries about having to secure a good job to provide for his family. To do that, he plans on leaving the country as soon as he graduates from school. “Nothing is consistent here… I stress over things that are still years ahead.” He knows he has a life ahead of supporting his family financially. “If everything works out well, it’s going to make a lot of people’s futures better. It’s not my end goal to leave. It’s my goal to be happy.”
The economic situation and its consequences (lack of decent job opportunities, impact on morale, …) keep exacerbating Lebanon’s brain drain. Last summer, Omran took on a full time job to earn $100 per month. The experience was horrible. He didn’t learn much but he couldn’t find a better option.
Enjoying learning with coding
Omran had always found learning boring – until he joined CodeBrave. One day, Omran’s sister came across CodeBrave’s Web Dev Programme on Instagram and told him about it. He applied and got accepted! “Unlike school, coding really makes learning very fun. You always feel like you’re learning new things, things that will be helpful for you in general, not just in coding.”
The first time Omran felt excited and capable of doing amazing things with coding was when he built a digital Tic Tac Toe game using Python (which we featured in our 2022 Impact Report). “This game was mine from start to finish – I decided on the idea and I made it. I was super proud of it. Looking back at it now, even though it’s really insignificant, it feels very significant to me.”
The path forward
Omran also found clarity in his career path forward. “I’ve always loved technology but I never really considered building my future around it until I joined CodeBrave. [CodeBrave] showed me the path I want to take.” Now, Omran knows he wants to study computer science at university and work in the tech industry.
After 8 months of learning, CodeBrave students are linked with an internship building a website for a real company. Omran is currently wrapping up that internship with a South African company and is excited to launch the website he has been building for his first professional client. It’s his first step on the career ladder.
Omran is still writing his story but his journey so far really shows how much young people in Lebanon need the power tech education has – the power of unlocking potential. Stay tuned for updates on his plans in the summer.
Visit our Get Involved page for more details of how to support students like Omran.
Have a look at his latest work here.
NB: This blog, like all our blogs, has been published with the final review and consent of the student in question.