MEET THE SEP ARTIST: Wafa A. A. E.
Posted on March 30 2016
Wafa's dream home imagined by Hani Abbas. All rights reserved, Hani Abbas for SEP, April 2016.
A section within someone else's house, made up of a bedroom, a small living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom is where Wafa, her husband, their four daughters and only son live.
“The size of a matchbox” says Wafa describing the place she calls home. “It’s quite small and about to get even smaller” she says as she points to her pregnant belly. When we ask her why she would like more children, given their space constraint, she laughs and answers ''I would like to give a brother to my only son!''.
If Wafa’s uncle was not kind enough to let them live in that section of his house, her family would be homeless. “I wish we could move somewhere bigger but my husband has been out of a job for seven months.” Given their current financial situation, Wafa and her husband are unable to rent a house or save enough to buy one.
Upon completing high school, Wafa got married and started a family. Her first experience with work outside the household started a year ago with SEP, at age 35. As she got the hang of it, Wafa started to earn more and more. Now she would like to learn working on a sewing machine so she can increase her chances of income generation.
“My dream is to have a house that my husband and I own, even if it’s very small” said Wafa. While she is aware that it might take years to save enough money to buy a small home, Wafa says she is more hopeful now than before, as she can now contribute financially to the family savings. “My husband needs to find a job before we can plan on our new home but still, it is a good feeling”.
What SEP says about Wafa: Wafa is a true artist who works with creativity, precision, and love. Rarely does she make any mistake and her embroidery is almost always on point. Since starting to work with SEP, Wafa has gradually become faster and more accurate and has never ceased to amaze us.
By Nada Aradeh and Shuhd Al Sharki
