stories
inspiring stories from inspiring people
Hamed Almandhari
Hello,
I am Hamed Almandhari, a member of Esmani team and a graduate of the fourth program in March 2022.
Before entering the program, I had tried all the methods I heard of to overcome my stuttering, but unfortunately, without much success.
After entering the program and graduating from it, I realized that I am not the only one who stutters, and my mindset changed. I became more social.
Currently, I am a First Assistant Trainer in Esmani team, or as we like to call it, Esmani family, because each one of us helps the other when needed, and we are always together.
One of the achievements I am most proud of is being one of the speakers on World Stuttering Day in 2022, in front of the Minister of Education. I was very happy with this achievement, and it was just the beginning.
In March or April of 2023, specifically in the blessed month of Ramadan, I appeared in one of the episodes of the "AlKhair Fina" program on the official Oman channel.
I am continuing, Thank you very much.
Namariq
Hello.. I'm Namariq, a member of Esmani initiative, and I am proud to say that I have overcome stuttering.
I started stuttering when I was 10 years old, and it was severe to the point that I couldn't even pronounce my own name. I relied on others to speak for me, and I never answered phone calls at all.
In the year 2020, I participated in my first program for controlling stuttering, which truly changed my perspective on stuttering and myself in general. I gained self-confidence and, in addition to controlling stuttering, the techniques I learned helped me rely on myself for speaking. Now, I am able to express my thoughts and share my opinions with others whenever I want.
After the program, I learned how to speak on phone calls, communicate with strangers, manage stress and fear, and even how to perform on stage in front of an audience. Following that, I noticed significant improvement in my performance at university, and my self-confidence increased.
As for Esmani initiative and family, it is a safe and supportive environment for me. I share my daily experiences and small achievements in stuttering control with them, and I find all the members listening to me with love and patience. This makes me feel the importance of my voice and my journey.
Salim Alamri
Hello. My name is Salim Alamri from Izki. I am a member of Esmani program for stutter control and a graduate of the third program in the month of February 2022.
Before I joined the program, I always thought about stuttering and tried all treatments without success. One day, my father told me about Esmani program. I was very tense before joining, but after becoming a part of the program and getting to know new stuttering friends, along with the exercises, my life started changing for the better. Now, thanks to Allah, I have begun to control stuttering and have become one of the trainers in Esmani initiative. Esmani initiative played a significant role in the radical change in my life. In each program of the initiative, new stutterers come, and we notice the difference between the first day and the last day. I hope every stutterer does not hesitate to join Esmani initiative because it will change your life for the better.
And thank you! 😇
Hamed Alyaqoubi
Hello, I am Hamed Alyaqoubi, a graduate of the 13th Esmani program. In the beginning, I experienced stuttering at the age of 10, and each year my level of stuttering increased. When I reached the age of 17, I reached a high level of stuttering. I first heard about Esmani initiative in the year 2022, and I was hesitant to participate in the program. After much contemplation that lasted for a whole year, I decided to participate in the 13th program in August 2023. Thanks to Allah, I was able to control stuttering in just two months, reaching a level I did not expect to achieve. I thank Allah for providing me with the opportunity to participate in the program and gain control over stuttering. After the program, I gave several presentations at the university without stuttering, and I am grateful to my family and friends who supported and helped me.
12th Esmani program graduate
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
I am a graduate of the 12th Esmani program. My story is that I suffered from stuttering since childhood, and I only discovered it after my brother mocked me by imitating my way of speaking, asking me (where is my mom?). From that day on, I wondered why he imitated my speech and why he hesitated in his response. After that incident, I realized that I was different and that I had a problem speaking at times, but I didn't pay much attention at that time because I was still young, not yet six years old.
Upon joining school and reaching preparatory grade, I began to notice that I couldn't speak smoothly and naturally. I would try to close my eyes to pronounce the word I wanted because I couldn't articulate it without this gesture, thinking it helped me pronounce the word and improve my speech problem.
As a person who stutters, personal questions frightened me the most, as it's challenging for any stutterer to answer something personal. Among these things was mentioning my name, and I struggled a lot in pronouncing my name due to speech blocks. I could only say my name after a full minute had passed to pronounce it, and I noticed the surprise of my classmates and teachers because it took me longer to say my name, causing embarrassment as everyone looked at me with astonishment.
As a stutterer, I was afraid from the first day of school because I knew the teacher would come and want each student to introduce themselves. This was my first struggle on the first day of school. After that, students would engage in bullying, laughter, and mockery of my way of speaking and stuttering. However, I don't blame them for this because, at that time, they lacked awareness and understanding of stuttering, and there wasn't much awareness about it.
Gradually, my psychological condition deteriorated, and my academic performance declined because I couldn't participate in class for fear of being bullied by my classmates. Even some teachers didn't know how to deal with me or mock me, as I couldn't read or answer a posed question. The struggle continued until I finished school.
As I grew older and became more aware of my problem, my stuttering increased, and I became attentive to everyone who mocked or ridiculed my way of speaking, whether directly or indirectly. Despite my moderate stutter, it could have been controlled or reduced if I were in a positive and understanding environment. Unfortunately, those closest to me were the main contributors to worsening my situation and destroying my self-esteem, not caring about what I had to say. Even during family gatherings, they wouldn't give me the opportunity to speak, interrupting me as if I didn't exist.
However, in 2015, I changed my personality and became critical of everything, mocking anything to speak and participate even if with just one word. After a long time of them accepting the change in my new personality, they began to anticipate my comments and criticisms. When I look at them, they tell me to criticize or mock if I want, and if I want to stutter, don't look at us like that. Even when I sit with them and don't speak, they initiate conversation with me or ask why I'm not talking to them, wondering if I'm sad or sick.
Thank God, with His grace, I managed to be better in my home environment. However, there are still challenges in speaking with strangers or going anywhere to accomplish tasks. This struggle continued for many years until I accidentally discovered Esmani initiative on Instagram. After that, I joined the 12th Esmani program, and it was the beginning of change in my life. I learned many things in the initiative that helped me control my stuttering and face my fears in many aspects that I found challenging.
Thanks to Allah and the efforts of the initiative's members and leaders, today I am an assistant trainer in Esmani program, or as we like to call it, "Esmani Family."
Khalid AlAmri
Peace be upon you, and may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you. I am Khaled AlAmri, a member of Esmani team, a stutter controller from the 3rd Esmani program. I began stuttering at a very young age, possibly even in the early stages of learning to pronounce letters. Due to stuttering, I faced many negative situations, enough to shatter one at that age. Some of these situations remain etched in memory forever.
On the first day of eighth-grade school, specifically, the teacher was asking students for their names. I was the last one in the row, and throughout that time, I was thinking about how I could pronounce my name. As the turn approached, I struggled with my inner thoughts until it reached me. When the teacher asked for my name, I tried to pronounce it, but unfortunately, I couldn't. I repeated the attempt several times, but to no avail. Eventually, after a significant internal struggle and multiple attempts, when I pronounced my name, I pronounced it with repeated "kh" sounds.
Unfortunately, what I expected to happen did occur. The teacher asked, "Is your name Kh Kh Kh Kh Khaled?" The entire class laughed, and the day ended on a sour note. On the second day, I discovered that the entire class was calling me by repeating the "kh" sounds. In less than a week, everyone I knew was calling me the same way, and the year passed with its worries and problems.
Many negative situations confronted me in my life. Every day, I had the same question on my mind: "Why me? Why can't I speak properly? Why am I like this? Why did Allah afflict me with this?" At 18 years old, I pondered these questions without having any answers.
Until one day, I came across Esmani initiative on June 15, 2020. That day marked the beginning of change, a new start with stuttering. After that day, I learned more and more about stuttering. I became proud of it, seeing stuttering from a different perspective. I realized that my stuttering is not a curse but a unique quality. I discovered that Allah distinguished me through it, and He had written goodness for me. I found it beautiful.
Of course, Esmani initiative taught me how to control stuttering and become a different person. From shy to proud, from a weak personality to a strong one, from a person who had been silent all his life to a speaker. Here, I loved the initiative even more and got to know my second family, the Esmani family—a family with people like me, positive and motivating individuals who understand your feelings.
I was just a member, but I worked on myself and wanted to improve. Thank God, I went from being just a member to becoming a trainer. I began sharing my achievements on social media platforms, and people who used to laugh at me now praise me. I was able to prove to them that stuttering is not a hindrance. I discovered the goodness that Allah had written for me, found that I have a talent for photography, and became the one documenting events.
In the end, I want to tell you that everything that comes from Allah is good for you. It took me 18 years to discover the goodness in stuttering. Perhaps it will take you less or more time, but be sure that everything is for the best, and you will realize it as the days pass.
Zainab
Hello and peace be upon you, I am Zainab Al-Siyabi.
A member of Esmani initiative and a graduate of the 12th program.
I experienced stuttering when I was in elementary school. I went through many situations with teachers that affected me at the time. I used to cry constantly and complain to Allah about why He afflicted me with it. I put in a great effort when speaking, dealing with the repetition of letters, and the heaviness of my tongue. I became isolated, not preferring to mingle with people much. When I did interact with them, I felt a return of the weight and fatigue, as if I had fought with myself until the day ended so I could retreat within myself. At that time, I did not realize its uniqueness and its advantage.
After ten years of the internal war I waged with myself and stuttering, I entered Esmani program, hoping for a better state and to find a solution. It was one of the most beautiful and significant decisions I made in my life. Four days were enough to transform me from a reserved, quiet person lacking confidence into someone who loves to speak and progress.
After that, this war transformed into a friendship between me and it. It distinguished me and led me to high paths of success by breaking numerous barriers, such as fear, tension, and low self-confidence.
And here I am embracing it with all my love since June 2023.
Raed Alshukaili
I'm Raed. I suffered from stuttering in many situations, and I found difficulty even in the simplest things that are easy and normal for many people. The struggle persisted from school to college to work until, thanks to Allah and the grace of those who found Esmani initiative, I learned various techniques that helped me control stuttering and face people. Thanks to the initiative, I began to love speaking, even if I stuttered. I am not ashamed of stuttering; on the contrary, I am proud to be a stutterer and capable of facing people.
The issue became a challenge that I enjoy, and I live it every day. I am grateful that I can speak and enjoy every moment, despite being a stutterer.
I also say thank you to the people who wait for me and give me the appropriate time to speak, listening to me with all patience. Thank you all for your time and patience.
And a simple request, please do not look at us, the stutterers, with pity. We are strong; look at us with pride.
Thank you to those who read until the end.
