Omar Abu Rahma: From an athlete to a carpenter

Omar Abu Rahma stands inside his small workshop, which he built on a part of his home garden. Amidst carpentry equipment and machines, he cuts large timber into small certain-sized pieces he needs to make frames and wooden boxes containing local embroidery.

As soon as he finishes cutting the pieces he needs, he sits on a large wooden table to assemble the final product, and then does the paint job so the products are ready to market and sell to his customers.

Abu Rahma is a 25-year-old man, living in Nusseirat, in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. He is married and has a child. He was a footballer at the beginning of his life, but an accident almost 10 years ago changed the path of his life, turning him from a footballer to a carpenter.

When Abu Rahma was in the ninth grade, while playing football, he felt a pain in the joint of his right leg. This pain led to severe inflammation in the joint. He went to many doctors and tried to treat the joint, but it was useless. After a while, his symptoms developed and gangrene began to spread, forcing doctors to remove his leg from the top of the knee. He found himself with one leg and crutches.

At first, he grew isolated and withdrawn. The psychological pain and the sense of helplessness that he thought of at the time was not easy, according to Abu Rahma. “How will I ever play football? How will I go to school and complete my studies? How will I play with my friends and go out with them?”, he thought.

However, with the encouragement of his family, he tried to overcome some of the obstacles and resumed his education up until finishing high school. He went back to his hobby of playing football in sports club and later completed a university degree in social service.

Years went by but Abu Rahma was more determined to overcome his situation especially after he developed his athletic hobbies and participated in several courses in diving and athletics. He even represented his country Palestine in more than one sporting event abroad. “All I’ve been through after my disability made me stronger and more determined to improve myself in many fields.”

He completed his university education and began looking for work to build his future. He undertook training on finishing wooden embroidered pieces within a project that aims at capacity building for people with disabilities. The project gave him the start he needed but didn’t provide all his needs.

Abu Rahma also learned embroidery about a year ago. He could make complete embroidered wooden pieces on his own. He began working in a simple shop with minimum tools until he established a client base that require his services on a regular basis. That’s why he began thinking of ways to buy new equipment that would help expand his small carpentry workshop.

He kept looking for a long time until he found the announcement for a project while strolling down Facebook. Abu Rahma did apply for the project and was chosen among 100 beneficiaries with disability. He received managerial and financial skills and E-marketing training over two weeks. He then took part in the “Step for Future” boot camp to later be chosen among the 13 small businesses that received fund.  

“I received a fund and I began expanding my workshop and buying equipment and a new wood cutting machine. I’m now thinking of taking a furniture making course to develop my business”, Abu Rahma says.  

When talking about the importance of his business, Omar says, “Today, I can secure my needs and my family. I can also stay busy and develop my business and skills”  

It is noted that the project ” Support PWDs efforts to contribute to positive socio-economic empowerment in the Gaza Strip ” which is funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and is implemented by the Social Developmental Forum.