From Secretary to Public Relations and Media Officer… How has training affected Ehab S. Fadhl

The NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction in Yemen Project, Tadamon  (Yemen), which is conducted by Al Awn Foundation for Development, in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), is based in the city of Mukalla located in eastern Yemen. One of its goals is to provide NGOs with information and advise on ways to reduce poverty in Yemen.

Ehab S. Fadhl, who is the head of the Department of Public Relations and Advertising for Sanaaya Al Maaroof Humanitarian Foundation, was one of those who benefitted immensely from the project. A graduate from Alahqaaf University with a degree in English, he had worked for the foundation as a secretary for 5 years before being promoted to the position of office manager. When the foundation was unable to find anyone qualified enough to work as the Director of PR, Ehab was assigned to the job.

He said, “Previously, the PR Department was run by the chairman of the foundation and outsourced much of its work. Then last year I made the suggestion that I could run the department.”

When Ehab received the news that the foundation he was working for was one of 30 foundations chosen to take part in the forum, he was overwhelmed with joy. 

“They began to teach us where and how to raise funds,” he continued, “Yes, some of the concepts were vague at first. But working with those experienced in this area over the course of our two-week training period clarified many things for me.

“I was an active participant throughout the course. The information provided to us by those in charge was up to date and they offered excellent advice at the end of our training. 

“As a result of the advice we were given, the foundation recommended that the Department of Public Relations and the Department of Advertising be restructured and combined into a single department. 

“Using the skills that I acquired whilst attending the program, I developed a new strategic plan for the department, made occupational titles, wrote simple guidelines and presented them to the administrators of the foundation.

“Then I formed a team of four specialists who were interviewed and trained to work in the department and they have now been officially employed by the foundation.

“A while later we were contacted by consultants working in coordination with the Tadamon Project so that they could analyze the various plans we had formulated. By the grace of God, the plan that I had drawn up was chosen as the best out of the five that were presented.

“Once I was informed by the foundation that my plan was the one chosen, I accepted the challenge to run the Department of PR and Advertising. The performance of the department will be evaluated at the end of this year, but by all measures we are living up to the standards taught to us during the Tadamon Project. We were previously ranked first place and were awarded a plaque and had the highest ratings at the end of our training session.”