Beneficiary Testimonials: Roukaya Al-Hammada
Roukaya Al-Hammada is 29 years old and comes from Syria. Since 2014, she has been living in Lebanon. In Syria, she studied Pharmacy, and after having to move to safety due to the war in Syria, she continued her education in Medical Lab Technology.
Roukaya’s journey in data annotation began in January 2022 through the Digital Corridor program – a partnership between Techfugees and Humans in the Loop. Over the three months of the program, she gained her first experience in the field, which inspired her to apply for HITL’s Beneficiary Advisory Board (BAB). She was accepted and took the role of the representative of the annotation team in Lebanon.
Last autumn, she was selected as the Supervisor of the annotation team following a rigorous process, including a trial annotation project. Though challenging, it motivated her to prove her ability to lead a team.
“This was a very important transition in my career in data annotation. I was responsible for a team and for securing work for them”
Her involvement in BAB, along with close contact with HITL’s team and managers, opened doors to new opportunities. The monthly missions with the board enriched her work experience, which she leveraged on her LinkedIn profile to enhance her job prospects. Additionally, the supportive environment at HITL helped her improve her confidence, English, digital, and soft skills.
“Now I am not afraid of meetings, interviews, and talking in English with different people from various countries. I gained a lot of skills through being a BAB member”
This winter, she secured a Quality Assurance position with one of HITL’s long-term partners – Subul Impact Outsourcing. Her prior experience as a supervisor prepared her well for the role, as she was already adept at managing projects, reviewing annotation work, organizing her time, and using various annotation platforms.
This full-time job with a stable salary marked a significant milestone in her career, improving her quality of life in Lebanon. Looking ahead, she hopes to return to the medical field, though restrictions as a Syrian refugee limit her current options leaving the digital work market as one of the few stable and suitable opportunities for her.