Growing up, 21-year-old Maher, a Syrian refugee currently residing in Jordan, always dreamed of becoming a doctor. All of that changed when one day he was offered the chance to take his brother’s place as a wedding photographer.

At the young age of 15, a family friend visited Maher’s house in search of his older brother in the hopes of training him in the art of photography. Maher’s brother was to be trained in order to pursue a job in photography, specifically for weddings. But when Maher’s brother was nowhere to be found, Maher volunteered to take his place.

“I had no idea what to expect, I did not even know how to hold a camera. All I was told was where to click to take a picture and how to turn a camera off, then I was left on my own to figure the rest out.”

Shortly after this surprising chain of events, Maher suddenly grew curious and fell in love with photography. While he still hoped to pursue a medical career, he now developed a love and passion for photography.

When Maher entered his final year of school, he ran into a major obstacle – Math.

Due to not doing so well in the subject, Maher failed his general secondary education certificate (Tawjihi), leading him to drop out of school. For the time being, Maher decided to dedicate his time and efforts to pursue photography.

Unbeknownst to the young man, his career as a photographer took off, and countless bookings began rolling in. Amazed, Maher began listing bookings on his agenda, with events varying from weddings to parties and graduations. Maher began to feel accomplished.

Soon thereafter, a wrench was thrown into the works, with Maher becoming blindsided due to the coronavirus crisis. His career came to a halt due to government-enforced lockdowns and associated restrictions. Maher found himself lost and feeling as though his career had ended due to unforeseen circumstances, causing him to return to school.

It was during this period that Maher decided to join Plan International Jordan’s (PIJO) Talents Unlimited (TU) project. The project targets the most vulnerable Syrian and Jordanian youth aged 7-24 to continue and further their education or develop skills through vocational training contributing to sustainable livelihoods.

Through the project, Maher took part in the photography sessions as well as financial, social and employability skills.

“We conducted a lot of mock interviews during the sessions, which came in handy when it was time for a real interview. I was taught to be concise with my words and leave room for the interviewer to speak as well.”

Once the project wrapped up, Maher decided it was time to retake his exams and officially graduate from school. Following a long period of studying and dedication, Maher was able to pass his math test and become a high school graduate.

Armed with a high school diploma and newfound knowledge from the TU project, Maher was on the hunt for a job, and through his search he was given an opportunity to work on a film through a collaboration with the REEL foundation, which that supports education in film, by funding the production and post-production of films that tell important stories and promote powerful change both onscreen and behind the scenes.

‘Refugee’ is a short Oscar-nominated film by renowned Hollywood producer, Brandt Andersen. Following the short film’s success, Brandt decided to shoot the movie into a feature length film and pledged to hire Syrian refugees to help make the movie.

Maher joined the film crew as a lighting intern, something he knew nothing about prior to this opportunity.

“I was so confused and questioned why they put me in the lighting department as I had no experience in that field. I assumed they would place me in a videography-related field. After the first few days I found out it was because they wanted me to learn new things and not just stick to what I already know, I left this experience with so much new knowledge.”

After production wrapped, the director decided to surprise Maher with a few new opportunities.

“He gathered everyone around and announced that he would be offering me a scholarship to the School of Audio Engineering for the filmmaking programme and an English course”.

And it didn’t stop there, Maher also announced that Brent will be providing a paid internship opportunity on a film set in Jordan during his winter break from university.

“This opportunity gave me so much more than I ever thought possible.”

Pondering over memories from his past, Maher wondered how his life might have turned out if his brother hadn’t been absent six years ago and the opportunity to join the photography training had passed him by.

“Who knows where I would be today if my brother showed up, I probably would not have found a career I had a passion for.”