For more than seven years, Oussama, 13, originally from Syria, has been living in Bar Elias, Lebanon, where he studies to become an inventor.

After fleeing Syria because of the conflict and the unstable situation in the country, Oussama enrolled in the JRS Telyani school and developed his passion for engineering and innovation.

As one of the best students in his class, one of his teachers offered him the opportunity to participate in a computer programming course, “I was the youngest among the other students, who were all at university or had recently graduated. But that didn’t stop me from succeeding,” he commented.

Although he learned to configure many mechanised things from the course, he initially struggled to find the necessary equipment and materials to create them, as they were very expensive. So, Oussama started to craft inventions using the objects he found around him, such as empty cans, lighters, batteries, LED lights, cardboard, wire, etc.

“I developed a multiplication table that improves comprehension in maths lessons by showing the correct answers to equations. Another invention is a water tank monitor that shows the amount of water remaining. I use it at home to save the time of going up on the roof when we have to check the water level,” he explained.

The skills and knowledge acquired during the course contributed to making Oussama’s dream more concrete. “In the future, I dream of building a bridge for ships,” he said. In the meantime, however, he uses his newly acquired experience to come up with inventions and disseminate his knowledge to help improve the lives of his peers and his community.