Building Confidence: The key to this Breadwinners’ success!

Mahmoud, 17, hard at work at Victoria Park Market

“My name is Mahmoud, I am 17 years old, I came from Sudan a year ago and I study ESOL at Redbridge college. I work with Breadwinners as a Store Manager in Victoria Park Market.

In 2017, I found myself leaving my homeland. 

When I first got to London, I knew that I am here and I feel safe, but I didn’t know anything about the life here yet, and was not confident at all. I always wanted to keep myself in my room.

 Breadwinners Experience 

I found the Breadwinners programme very accidentally. Marian [Director of Dost Centre], told me there is a work programme called Breadwinners and that I should go. At that time I didn’t want to, because I couldn’t speak English and I didn’t want to be in front of people. I really thought it was going to be very difficult because I had never been in places where there are so many strangers and people you do not know. I was not feeling confident.

On the first day, when I met Martin [The Breadwinners’ Project Director]  in the training I was like, wow, this place and people are nice! In the market, I felt so good and people tried to understand me even by sign language or any other way.

The activities that Breadwinners organize for us like Running Marathon and Picnics have really changed my life. Now I know what I want to do in my life.

I did Health & Safety training, a CV workshop and other trainings. Now I have my own CV and a couple of days ago, I did my first job interview. Now with the customers in the market, even more than 400 people I can talk to them and feel comfortable. Before I was living on £50 per week, but now I have extra money I can buy nice shoes and clothes.  But most important, is my family here, Breadwinners family!

Importance of Mentors

At first, I didn’t even know what a mentor means. I used google translate and I thought it is a screen (I searched for monitor!) But now, my mentor helps me with everything, For example, I don’t know how to cook, and she sends me the recipe and tells me how to cook it. From February to now, even though her responsibility was finished after two months, we are still in touch and she helps me with anything I need! 

If you are an asylum seeker or a refugee, you really need to get in to Breadwinners and Risers programme. Me and my friends were lucky, and now we know what to do with our life, we have goals and we think about the future.