With screeching tires, leaving the welfare system

For seven years, the highly educated Aïsha lived on welfare. Through many ups and downs, she eventually successfully started her own business. As a freelancer, she now develops support programs for organizations that help people distanced from the labor market. To all those who are also temporarily struggling, she wants to say: "There is light at the end of the tunnel, don't give up."

Aïsha has a master's degree in Educational Sciences and worked at the NCOI training institute until 2013. "I was a training manager and developed study materials. It was my absolute dream job, but at one point, things weren't going well for me personally. I had just gotten divorced and moved. It became far too much, and I had to call in sick. Ultimately, that meant the end of my contract."

It was a difficult time finding a job again. “The whole country was in the midst of a crisis, and budget cuts were being made everywhere. There were no openings for training managers. I couldn't find anything within my profession, but it was also difficult outside of it. I even applied for jobs in a supermarket, but I wasn't hired there either. In 2015, I temporarily moved back in with my mother. There, on the bed in my old bedroom, I applied for social assistance and cried my eyes out. That was absolutely a low point.”

Tripping in Pipo the Clown shoes

Aïsha kept applying for jobs, but without success. “I finally found out I have autism. I received the diagnosis when I was 40, and that gave me a lot of clarity about who I am and why life was sometimes so difficult. I'd been walking around in giant Pipo the Clown shoes my whole life, so to speak, and I'd stumbled. Now I know I'm wearing them, and I can walk more carefully. That helps.”

After a few years, Aïsha moved to Delft, where she came into contact with the municipality through Werkse!. “I had just become pregnant, and reintegration therefore proved difficult. Werkse! gave me the space to be pregnant and give birth to a beautiful daughter. One day, I was breastfeeding during the first hectic months of motherhood. I looked around and saw my poorly maintained home, the cheap furniture, and the worn carpet, and decided things had to change. I was so done with poverty and dependency: I was going to start my own business.

Entrepreneurship while receiving social assistance

But how do you start your own business while receiving social assistance? Aïsha found several options online. After a failed attempt through a municipal program, she discovered Scope. "Scope is a truly fantastic organization, and very people-focused." Although her business plan failed twice there, she did feel like she belonged there. "A vacancy for a freelance coordinator opened up, and then I suddenly realized I had all the qualifications. I applied and, just like that, landed my first freelance assignment."

It felt incredibly cool to have my own income again. Of course, one client isn't enough, but things soon started moving and I started getting other assignments. I now have my goals clearly defined, a great website, and several good clients. I foresee my business only growing. I also keep developing new ideas. For example, I've created a wonderful, sheltered workspace for myself. Perhaps I can help others with that too.

Control over your own integration

Aïsha believes it's important to maintain self-confidence. "That's sometimes difficult when you're feeling down. I'd like to tell my younger self that everything will be okay. That I needed that miserable time to emerge stronger and better." Although she admits she spent far too long on welfare, it feels good that she's always been in control of her own integration. "The vacancy at Scope was a wonderful opportunity, which I grabbed with both hands. And so, after seven years, I tore off welfare at full speed, heading for a bright future."