Becoming a man
Ziyadh has grown into an amazing man with good values and respect for others. When I think of an anecdote that would best describe him, one of my favorite YMOH (Young Men Of Honor), many stories and memories come to mind. On one of our programmes on gender based violence and how to prevent this, Ziyadh was very moved by the lengths YMOH go to in order to reach out to impoverished communities in order to further stop the spread of gender based violence. This furthermore illustrates the nature of the man Ziyadh is about to become.
Ziyadh is a fun loving and warm person who lights up the atmosphere. He is very determined, hard-working, and popular. He never shies away from the opportunity to improve the lives of the less fortunate. He has a high work ethic which is much appreciated by myself and the team. Ziyadh’s first encounter with the YMOH initiative was with the holiday club at a very young age. Seeing him grow throughout the years and the impact that holiday club had on his life is just amazing. Ziyadh had gone from just being a helper to now leading his very own team. From being a troubled young lad who made us frown he has really grown, never shying away from extra work. Ziyadh is forever grateful for the guidance and influence of the YMOH programme. Ziyadh is always on the ball thinking of better ways in which we as a team can achieve our goals by working as he puts it “work smarter not harder”.
Ziyadh has developed both his intrinsic and people skills whilst developing a good sense of what is right and wrong. Personally I have seen him make a difference in everyone’s lives around him, always pushing them to be their best selves. Ziyadh is a person who naturally brings out the good in people, always does the right thing no matter what and puts others first. Ziyadh shows respect to each and everyone in the programme. He possesses high moral values and shows compassion and solidarity towards other human beings.
Moreover, Ziyadh has shown tremendous self growth as he now is very responsible and trustworthy. As I have personally seen Ziyadh grow up from a young child, I can remember how he used to cause such chaos in holiday club, but little did I know the potential waiting inside him. If I am to speak truthfully I believe that there is no one single person who can be accredited for his development as I feel that Ziyadh has taken a chapter out of everyone’s story and developed his own with the guidance and help of the YMOH programme.
The lessons learnt by Ziyadh is one of respect, honesty, good will and patience as he has learnt to deal within any given circumstance which is vital as his role as a leader. Ziyadh growing up within a community of gangsterism and drugs sort out the lavish lifestyle but with the help of YMOH he now understands what it means to be a good young man.
The changes at an individual level has been seen through his development over the years. Ziyadh has become someone who is always loving and supportive of his peers. His peers say “He is extremely helpful and pleasant to be around”. As well as, “Ziyadh has impacted my life and influenced me to be a better human being and a respecter of females”. Ziyadh is very mindful of those around him and respects every individual. This shows in the way he treats both males and females.
Ziyadh has impacted the lives of many children who attend our kids clubs. He maintains relationships that he has with children in the community and makes sure they are on the right path. This has led many of our children to develop a similar behavior, enabling them to focus on their person goals and become children who respect themselves and others, regardless of gender.
Ziyadh’s actions and encouragement has changed the mannerisms of his peers, especially in respect of how men should treat women. He himself made major changes to his own behavior with regards to women and has certainly brought about changed behavior in other young men around him. He is a great role model to other young men and a good tool in our fight against gender based violence.