{"id":8349,"date":"2026-03-12T09:20:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/?page_id=8349"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:59:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:59:50","slug":"from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/","title":{"rendered":"From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row el_class=&#8221;tabRowHulf&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1773215635728{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}&#8221;]<strong><span style=\"color: #001a70; font-size: 18pt;\">Shahd Abduljawad<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #001a70;\">Shahd Abduljawad, a young woman from Gaza Camp, saw her dreams of higher education cut short by financial pressures. The future felt uncertain\u2014until she discovered the <strong>Vocational Training Center\u2019s Sues Chef diploma<\/strong>, offered through the <strong>Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #001a70;\">At the VTC, Shahd thrived in hands-on culinary training, mastering food safety, knife skills, and traditional Palestinian dishes. Her dedication and creativity quickly stood out, and upon graduation, she secured a position at a local restaurant, putting her skills into practice and gaining professional experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #001a70;\"><em>\u201cThe opportunity with Al Ghurair didn\u2019t just teach me how to cook; it gave me back my confidence. They believed in me when I didn\u2019t believe in myself. Now, I have a skill no one can take from me. Every day I am learning more and saving for my dream of opening my own restaurant.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Shahd<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #001a70;\">Shahd\u2019s story demonstrates how practical training, mentorship, and targeted support can transform challenges into opportunities, helping young women like her build careers, achieve independence, and plan for a brighter future.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;8351&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;right&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row el_class=&#8221;tabRowHulf&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1773215635728{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}&#8221;]Shahd Abduljawad Shahd Abduljawad, a young woman from Gaza Camp, saw her dreams of higher education cut short by financial pressures. The future felt uncertain\u2014until she discovered the Vocational Training Center\u2019s Sues Chef diploma, offered through the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund. At the VTC, Shahd thrived in hands-on culinary training, mastering food safety, knife skills, and traditional Palestinian dishes. Her dedication and creativity quickly stood out, and upon graduation, she secured a position at a local restaurant, putting her skills into practice and gaining professional experience. \u201cThe opportunity with Al Ghurair didn\u2019t just teach me how to cook; it gave me back my confidence. They believed in me when I didn\u2019t believe in myself. Now, I have a skill no one can take from me. Every day I am learning more and saving for my dream of opening my own restaurant.\u201d \u2014 Shahd Shahd\u2019s story demonstrates how practical training, mentorship, and targeted support can transform challenges into opportunities, helping young women like her build careers, achieve independence, and plan for a brighter future.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;8351&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;right&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8351,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[216],"class_list":["post-8349","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocational-education-stream","tag-anera"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future - Refugee Education Fund<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future - Refugee Education Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row el_class=&#8221;tabRowHulf&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1773215635728{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}&#8221;]Shahd Abduljawad Shahd Abduljawad, a young woman from Gaza Camp, saw her dreams of higher education cut short by financial pressures. The future felt uncertain\u2014until she discovered the Vocational Training Center\u2019s Sues Chef diploma, offered through the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund. At the VTC, Shahd thrived in hands-on culinary training, mastering food safety, knife skills, and traditional Palestinian dishes. Her dedication and creativity quickly stood out, and upon graduation, she secured a position at a local restaurant, putting her skills into practice and gaining professional experience. \u201cThe opportunity with Al Ghurair didn\u2019t just teach me how to cook; it gave me back my confidence. They believed in me when I didn\u2019t believe in myself. Now, I have a skill no one can take from me. Every day I am learning more and saving for my dream of opening my own restaurant.\u201d \u2014 Shahd Shahd\u2019s story demonstrates how practical training, mentorship, and targeted support can transform challenges into opportunities, helping young women like her build careers, achieve independence, and plan for a brighter future.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;8351&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;right&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Refugee Education Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T09:59:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/shahd.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"542\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"719\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/\",\"name\":\"From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future - Refugee Education Fund\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/shahd.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T05:20:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T09:59:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/shahd.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/shahd.jpg\",\"width\":542,\"height\":719},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Refugee Education Fund\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future - Refugee Education Fund","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/refugee-educationfund.org\/en\/from-setback-to-success-shahds-recipe-for-a-brighter-future\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Setback to Success: Shahd\u2019s Recipe for a Brighter Future - Refugee Education Fund","og_description":"[vc_row el_class=&#8221;tabRowHulf&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1773215635728{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}&#8221;]Shahd Abduljawad Shahd Abduljawad, a young woman from Gaza Camp, saw her dreams of higher education cut short by financial pressures. 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