Abdulmelik’s story of Codes and Hope

We met him last fall in Şanlıurfa, at the UNICEF-supported Vision Lab—a humming little hub for web design, coding, 3D modeling, and robotics atelier—funded by BMZ through KfW Development Bank.

Rocking on his heels, one hand tucked in his jacket pocket he said “Hi, I’m Abdulmelik,” voice steady but soft. “I’m fifteen.”

In his second year of vocational high school in Şanlıurfa, Abdulmelik studies ‘Refrigeration and Cooling Systems’. He attends web design and coding classes at the Vision Lab, to support his vocational school learnings. 

“One day we will return to Syria” he says. “The houses are all gone. Everything will start from zero. When the buildings are rebuilt, someone will need to do the cooling, the ventilation and the installations. That can be me.”

His story with the Vision Lab begins when his older sister saw an announcement on the Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality’s website. The Vision Lab—an initiative supported by UNICEF and funded by BMZ through KfW Development Bank.— was offering hands‑on workshops in technology and design for young people. The location was close to home, and the courses ran for six to eight weeks. His sister insisted he give it a try.

“At first I thought, my summer is going to disappear,” he laughs. “I thought it would be boring. But then I thought—staying home is more boring. So I went.”

He first tried the web design and 3D modeling workshop using Tinkercad. It felt unfamiliar at first, and he wasn’t sure if he was understanding. But then something clicked—partly thanks to his teacher, Muhammed, who noticed his shyness and encouraged him to move forward.

By the end of the summer, 3D modeling had become his favorite part of the lab.

The Vision Lab is built for students like Abdulmelik—young people between the ages of 14-24 who carry curiosity and a wish for improving digital skills inside them. In the lab’s bright rooms, children and young people build websites, model parts in 3D, think in algorithms, and see how theory ties to the real world. For Abdulmelik, the jump from coding logic to the “brain” of an air conditioner felt natural.

Abdulmelik knows he won’t be writing codes for Air Conditioner control boards in his technical high school. But understanding how logic works through the knowledge he acquires here—makes him feel more ready. It also makes him valuable. “If I can repair a main board and fix a control card, that makes me someone people seek out even more,” he says. “Vision Lab helped me a lot. It connected with what I’m learning at school.”

There is a particular kind of hope that grows in technical rooms—the kind lit by screens, by 3D printers and robotic diagrams. It’s the hope of solvable problems. At Vision Lab, supported by UNICEF and funded by funded by BMZ through KfW Development Bank, that hope becomes a practice.