Stories & testimonies

This musical DUO got off to a flying start, resulting in a dream job after just 3 months!

Rian & Selamawit had an immediate click from their first encounter. And what a lot they've experienced in their time together!

Frans & Muhannad had a difficult start. Even before the first encounter, Muhannad suffered a serious football injury, which meant he was unable to leave home. This meant that this DUO mainly met digitally.

At the age of 13, Syrian Kathafi flees to Turkey. He earns his money making clothes and he also works as a photographer. He prefers to make portraits of people on the street. This is where Kathafi develops his passion for photography.

A bachelor in urban planning, a master in urban management & development and more than 4 years of work experience as an urban planner. With such an impressive resume, you might think it's easy to find a job. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth for 28-year-old Samim.

Rabeh came to DUO for a JOB with a clear mission: to become a women's hairdresser 💇 He already started his education in his home country of Syria, but he was unable to complete it due to the war. Once in the Netherlands, he is determined to keep pursuing this dream.

The story of Ella & Süheyl is a duo fairy tale with a happy ending. In Turkey, Süheyl completed a bachelor's degree in advertising. With his diploma and all his work experience in advertising, Süheyl will move from Turkey to the Netherlands in 2022. Here he submits application after application, but he only gets rejections.

Getesmani fled Ethiopia with a Bachelor in Architectural Design and Urban Planning. In her home country, the young architect had already started a glorious career: she worked as an architect for 2.5 years, taught at the university for 4 years and started her own architecture firm at the same time.

Amani joined DUO for a JOB with a clear goal: to get an education that matches her skills and interests. Together with her mentor Lieke, she is enthusiastically going to work on her future plan.

Sharda and Nandini's duo journey wasn't just laughing, screaming, roaring. Something the two ladies were only too happy to do together, but they certainly also worked very hard.

When Mohammed Aleryani came to live in Rotterdam, he was ready to build a new future. Mohammed Aleryani graduated as a mechatronics engineer, but his real passion is programming.

When Shreya moved to Rotterdam, she was eager to start her career in the Netherlands. In her home country of India, 25-year-old Shreya obtained a masters degree in Doctoral Pharmacy, but in the Netherlands, this diploma was not valued as a master.

Abed Alrahman, like 3,000 other mentees, is a refugee. After receiving his accounting degree, he was unable to stay in his home country of Syria. Via Lebanon, Sudan and Turkey, he ended up in the Netherlands.

So many great ideas and many more interesting options. Where do you start when you have to make a choice in a completely new job market?

End of a duo, beginning of a friendship! In 6 months, Noor and Juhayna have become more than a duo.

With an MBA in Human Resources and a number of years of experience in the field, Purva comes to DUO for a JOB. Despite her diploma and experience, finding a job in the Netherlands is difficult.