Meet Tomorrow’s Youth: Salah

Salah Odeh, 22, from Qusra village, is a current volunteer in Homework Help at TYO. Salah is a current student at An-Najah National University and this is his first session as a volunteer at TYO.

What has been your favorite memory at TYO? 

When I started volunteering in Homework Help, I was aware of the big responsibility I had. The parents trust TYO and its volunteers to help their children who have no academic support at home. One day, a ten year old boy came to me saying he hated English because he couldn't understand the language. So I asked him to come to TYO a bit earlier so that I could give him private lessons in English - starting with the alphabet. A few weeks passed and one day I heard him say, “I love English!” That sentence made me realize just how much we can make a change in the lives of these children who need help.

Why is volunteering important and why did you decide to volunteer?

Besides of my love for volunteering and working with children. I found that the Homework Help classes at TYO are helping me prepare for a future career. After I graduate, I hope to be a teacher so I am trying to work on myself as a tutor before graduation. I'm working on becoming a qualified teacher and seeing whether or not I deserve to be responsible for raising a new generation.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Palestinian youth?

Barriers. The checkpoints we face on the roads stand between youth and their universities or their jobs. It's also those restrictions that prevent young people from leaving the country and working elsewhere. And above all, the bad financial situation Palestinians are facing is preventing some young people from continuing their education.

Where do you see yourself in five years? 

My dream may seem small but I want to be a teacher because I believe that a teacher, after a mother, is the second most important person in a child's life. A teacher can change a child's life completely. I hope I will be a role model as a teacher. I also love translation so working at an international organization like the United Nations or at a consulate would be another choice as a career.

How do you think what you’ve learned at TYO will benefit you in the long run?

TYO is a place where I can be evaluated as a person while I work with children. I will also improve my English and my skills with children.

This interview was translated by TYO's Outreach Coordinator, Futoon Qadri.