World Refugee Day, June 20, 2022, is a worldwide celebration of refugees who have demonstrated strength and courage during life’s most challenging times. For more than 20 years, the Western Union Foundation has invested in nonprofits that empower refugees with the resources needed to achieve inclusion, stability and economic opportunity during times of migration.
Re:Coded is one of the Western Union Foundation’s innovative partners that provides refugees with the skill building needed for successful careers in technology. In 2022, the Foundation was proud to invest in Re:Coded’s Workforce Training Bootcamp in Turkey to directly impact 100 refugees and vulnerable youth.
Career Building Opportunity: Moulham & Moumen’s Story
Moulham and Moumen are hardworking brothers who were born and raised in Syria. Before having to leave Syria due to the humanitarian crisis in their home country, Moulham and Moumen had career paths in engineering and computer science, respectively.
Seeking a fresh start in Turkey, Moulham and Moumen set their sights on learning how to code and gain the skills needed to start their own business. As the oldest brother, Moulham always seeks out opportunities to help his siblings achieve their goals, and was excited to learn about Re:Coded’s bootcamp. Hoping for the best, both brothers applied to the highly competitive program and beat out nearly 900 applicants.
“It was an extraordinary and special experience of 5 months of constant collaboration, support and teamwork,” Moumen says.
Since completing the course, both brothers are now working towards starting their own business, and plan to recruit their youngest brother to join them in their journey. Their ultimate goal is to leverage each of their strengths and have Moulham take the lead with front-end coding, Moumen overseeing design, and their youngest brother Ahmad Yahya building the back-end framework for sites.
The Western Union Foundation is proud to support aspiring young adults and refugees as they seek economic opportunity with programs like Re:Coded’s.
