Success story: Yaman Helmi’s voice reaches thousands around the world from his refugee camp

Yaman’s iconic and distinguished singing voice is what made him get recognised by Africa Muslims Agency (AMA).

While visiting the teams one day, the AMA team heard Yaman chanting for Eid al-Adha, and spreading the joy around the camp with other children.

Originally Syrian from the city of Damascus, Yaman and his family were forced to come to Lebanon in 2012 after their home was demolished in the war.

The family were at one point well-off, with the father owning a small tailoring business. However, after bombing hit their home, their remaining belongings were stolen.

Upon arriving in Lebanon, they ended up Zehleh camp in the Bekaa region, where they were forced to face difficult conditions. Their tent was small, they could not afford adequate food, and their parents could not find jobs because of employment restrictions placed on people with refugee status.

In an effort to try and endure their difficult circumstances, Yaman’s mother, Abeer, would read verses from the Quran, to find a source of comfort and peace amidst the challenges the family were facing.

Soon, Yaman showed interest, and with an already powerful voice, was encouraged by his mother to also recite the Quran. By age 11, Yaman had memorised the entire Quran.

“When we first came to Lebanon, I was not able to enrol Yaman in school because no school busses would come to pick up the children from camps, so he was not able to get a proper education” says his mother.

After finding some old school books, Yaman’s mother would spend hours going through them with him, to try and make up for him missing out on an education and falling behind his friends.

“I didn’t want him to feel left out,” she says.

Now, Yaman and his family have moved out of the camps and he has enrolled in the Aman School of Excellence thanks to donations that have come in for him.

He spends a lot of his spare time singing Islamic songs and playing with his friends.

“God blessed me with a powerful voice so I want to use it to spread joy with others, because no child should be deprived from happiness,” he says.

According to Fatima Kaisi, project co-ordinator at AMA, being sponsored and through the support of AMA, Yaman’s talent has been managed and developed, helping bring him new opportunities.

“He is now a lot more open with people, and his personality is starting to show,” she says. “Now he has the chance of working on the talent that he has and improving it.”