YERO was the vision of a remarkable Yemeni woman. Her name is Nouria Nagi, but all the children call her “Mama Nouria.” They come from very poor and marginalized families and had previously been begging or working on the street selling water and tissues, or washing cars. None of these children were allowed to have a normal childhood because their families relied on them for financial support. When they arrived at YERO most of them had never gone to school and did not even know how to hold a pen.

The idea to create an organization to help these children came when Nuria met Faten, an eleven year old girl that had been arrested for begging on the street for her family. Faten confided in Nouria that her dream was to go to school. This simple dream had a tremendous effect on Nouria, and she decided she would do anything to help her. She took Faten out of the detention center and went to talk to her parents, both of whom were illiterate, and promised them that Faten would go to school.

Nouria then compensated the parents with food and health care while Faten spent her time in the classroom instead of begging on the street. Today, Faten is a smiling and educated sixteen year old. She has attended school, learned to read and write, and with Nouria’s help has learned that dreams can come true. Thanks to the influence of Mama Nouria, she is not afraid of dreaming to become a successful photographer. She is confident she will realize her new dream and no longer accepts poverty as a legitimate obstacle. Faten’s success and appreciation motivated Nouria to create a real organization, YERO, where poor children could get care and go to school while their family would also receive personal assistance.

Nouria spent all of her savings in order to start YERO, to create a place where the children could feel at home, safe and free from worry. She found a house to build her center and equipped it with a clinic, a computer room, and other materials necessary for the children to learn. Children are free to come when they want, before and after school, from seven in the morning until late in the evening. There, they have a place where they can stay as long as they want and where they can find someone to talk to if they need to. They are also provided with school materials and clothes when necessary. They find work assistance and are prepared for school thanks to the eight teachers that assist them every day in their studies. They can learn computer skills, as well as languages, history, and geography. They can also express their skills during the art class which includes painting as well as drama, and helps them develop their talents as well as giving them confidence and self-esteem.

Due to early successes of her efforts, she received financial assistance from different organizations such as the Islamic Relief, the International Woman Association (IWA), and she has accepted foreign donations from Iceland and Austria.

According to Nouria, education is not traditional schooling alone. Education also includes care and attention, and above all, trust and respect. That is why the main purpose of her actions is to teach the children how to be productive members of society, how to think for themselves, how to be self-confident, how to communicate, and how to be free in today’s world. “Being poor does not mean you are stupid,” she insists. Her center organizes formal discussions and children of both genders sit together. They talk and discuss, learn to listen to one another, and learn to defend their ideas. Through this method the children learn how to solve their problems through dialogue, considered to be one of the main achievements of YERO. To illustrate that they have perfectly assimilated the necessity of dialogue, twice a year, they organize elections. This moment is very important as they can debate, vote, and elect the one that would be the most suitable candidate to represent them. All of the children take part in these elections with seriousness and solemnity. With this exercise, they become aware of their responsibilities and duties as citizens of a democratic society, and it enables them to understand democratic procedures.

At the end of every year, Nouria organizes a big party. This is always a moment full of happiness as all of the children are rewarded for their educational efforts. To Nouria, this is the best way to encourage them in their studies. “To help them at school, it is not worth telling them off; these children need encouragement and support,” she notes. This cheerful party is also the occasion for the children to show what they have been learning during the year. Some exhibit their paintings and others show off their acting skills. Indeed, some of the children sometimes decide to write their own play and surprise Mama Nouria with it. This is their way of saying thank you to her for all that she does for them.

Nouria knows that looking after the children is not enough; she also has to take care of their families, because “to help the child, you have to start with the family,” she says. Parents, and especially the women, must also learn to be economically independent. They have to know that if you do something, you will get something. Most of the women have a skill to sell and some of them are involved in the sewing project of the association. Currently, twenty-four mothers come twice a week to YERO to sew accessories and clothes that will then be sold in Sana’a or abroad. They receive a salary at the end of every week, empowering them to be economically independent. YERO is also associated with the IWA for microloan projects dedicated to women. Four mothers of YERO students have already started their own businesses in the fields of hair dressing, cloth selling, sweets, and incense. Nouria is happy with the results thus far and hopes that the two organizations will be able to help more women next year. This is one of the ways that allows the children to go to school as their family is not so financially dependent on them.

In October, Hanaj was the first YERO graduate to go to University. All the employees as well as all the other children are very proud of her. She is studying political science and would like to be employed by the Foreign Office. For Nouria, the example of Hanaj is definitely what she calls “a success story.” She hopes that many of the other children from the center will follow her example, and says that this is one concrete example of YERO’s success.

Of course, not all of the children aim at going to University. Some of them find good jobs as is the case with Otman. This seventeen year old boy is in charge of his two sisters and of his mother who suffers from a mental disease. His father died some years ago. Nouria helped him to go to school as much as he could while he worked in the street to support his family. The young man perservered and he managed to juggle both studying and working. Then the center helped him write his resume, with which he secured a real job as a security guard. Now when he comes to see Nouria he always wears his uniform, as he is really proud of it. At the same time, he knows he can get an even better job in the future, so he continues to study English and computer at the center.

When Nouria talks and listens to these young adults that she first met when they where marginalized children begging or working in the streets, and when she sees how they have changed, how they believe in life and how they are making plans for their future, she knows that her actions helping the underprivileged families is a really worthy endeavour. Her devotion and determination have allowed a lot of children and women to look at their future with trust and hope.

Mama Nouria has always seen the potential of these children when most of society doesn’t, and she has single handedly made Sana’a a better place. In her opinion, education is the first step to giving people an independent life. If children do not receive this critical first step, it will be extremely difficult for them to overcome the burdens of poverty. She says, “Education is like a parachute. If you do not open it, you will fall.”