Thoughts were locked inside me, feeling scared was normal to me,” says 12-year-old
Ahmed Omar, a Standard Six pupil at Kisiwa Ndui Primary School in Unguja, Zanzibar. “I could see problems around me, even simple conflicts at home, but I kept quiet because I
didn’t believe my ideas were good enough.”
Ahmed lives with his parents, both retired but still working
hard through small entrepreneurship activities to support
their household. As the eldest boy, Ahmed helps with
chores and often cares for his younger siblings. Though
calm and observant, he carried a quiet fear of speaking in
front of others especially adults.
At school, he rarely contributed during lessons. At home, he
hesitated to intervene even when he could help resolve
arguments among his siblings.
His father explains, “We always knew Ahmed was
intelligent and thoughtful. He is that child who watches
everything carefully. But he was afraid of stepping forward.
He avoided making decisions, even small ones. We worried
that he would grow into a shy young man who hides his
abilities.”
At school Ahmed joined the ALiVE project Life Skills
program, that began to change. Over the course of ten
weeks, he learned problem solving skills which influenced
his communication techniques, confidence-building
approaches, conflict resolution styles, and responsible
digital habits.
These sessions gave him a new understanding of himself
and a structured way of approaching everyday challenges.
Ahmed still remembers the moment it clicked: “One day in
class, the facilitator said something that stayed with me:
‘Your ideas matter because they come from your
experience.’ That sentence made me realize that even as a
child, I can contribute. I just needed to learn how.”