Shop for Success
42-year-old Sahar Al Byouk is the breadwinner for a family of 12 in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Together with her elderly husband, Salah and assistance of their sons, they own and manage a small grocery store.
Located on an even smaller street, in a highly populated and poor suburb, without proper infrastructure, the family runs the business, which is located in the same building they live in. A very disadvantaged area without proper infrastructure, the shop is visited by many school children due to its proximity to many schools.
Sahar is the mother of Mohammed, an Al Fakhoora scholar, who recently graduated with a degree in Educational Arabic from Al Aqsa University.
While Mahmoud was getting ready to enter the professional graduates program, a program developed by UNDP and Al Fakhoora to prepare graduates to move into the marketplace, he was helping his mother run the grocery store.
Established in 2009, the Deprived families Economic Empowerment Programme (DEEP) conducts a livelihood assessment to identify the families of scholarship students who lack the financial resources for a sustained and dignified livelihood with strong human capital. The family chose to start up a grocery store where they converted one room in their house into a shop to avoid paying rent.
Sahar commented “My husband, had no job for years and was not able to continue working any more, I had no resources to even sustain feeding our family bread, let alone pay university fees, I was so happy when Mohammed was awarded an Al Fakhoora Scholarship – He truly had no chance to go to university.”
Sahar further comments “This is a family business with my eldest two sons helping to run the store on a daily basis. During the last four years we have been able to meet the household demands, pay our utilities, and do it all without asking anyone for help.”
Mohammed noted that “…the suburb is very busy and we have to avoid selling on credit in order to manage our income and profit. Many shops have collapsed due to selling on credit.” According to the financial records, says Mohammed, the monthly income ranges from $300 to $400 a month after paying the house bills.
“The business is a gift from Allah, I really appreciate all those who have contributed in helping us.”
With big smile, Mohammed readies himself to leave and concludes “My father will come now to stay in the shop, while I go to the training center at the University College of Applied Sciences (UCAS)” to join the training that he described as “important and essential training that helps us in job hunting, interview performance, and work environment orientation which is totally different to university classes.”
