We are super proud of our very own Mohammed Chadili who just recently published his first book, a fantasy novel titled “The Blink”.
Prior to joining Progression as a learner in October 2022, Mohammed spent many years feeling overwhelmed and struggling with his mental health. His attempts at getting help within the public health system led to him being misdiagnosed, with his condition continuing to deteriorate. He initially tried his hand at studying by enrolling for a BSc in Sound Engineering in 2018, however he was forced to drop out after just 6 months due to his worsening condition. When recalling his situation at that time, Mohammed reveals, “My life was miserable and scary”.
But in spite of the enormous challenges, Mohammed did not give up and continued in his efforts to find work in order to improve his life and participate in society. For a time, he did some volunteer work at the SPCA as well as a feeding scheme and he also managed to secure a number of paying jobs including working at a pet shop, providing tutoring services and a brief stint at an accounting firm. However, all these jobs were short lived due to his erratic condition coupled with the extremely strong medication he was on, which rendered him completely unable to function in the workplace.
It was only in 2021, after consulting with a private doctor, that Mohammed was finally accurately diagnosed with schizophrenia, prescribed the correct medication and his condition finally began to stabilize. He was later referred to Progression and began his first learnership in October 2022. During his earlier Sound Engineering studies, Mohammed was introduced to coding and discovered his passion for IT. He has now advanced onto his second learnership, doing an IT Technical Support qualification and earning his practical experience in Progression’s IT department. “I assist the team with coding, looking for bugs and finding ways around errors and ways to improve the system, as well as learning on my own to advance my IT knowledge and I am even learning some design,” he explains.
Mohammed feels like his life has changed completely since getting his condition under control and embarking on learnership training. He says, “I was able to move out of my mom’s flat and I have a place of my own now with just my cat and me. I am able to live off the stipend and my sister helps me out when I run out of cash. Besides the monetary side of it, I also am doing what I love and enjoy the company of the people I work with.”
Mohammed was inspired to write a book when he realised that a lot of people are interested in his condition and knowing what its like to have schizophrenia and hear voices. The Blink is Mohammed’s first book, in what he hopes will progress into a series, and deals with issues of family problems, mental health, addiction and love.
Mohammed now has big dreams and the future is looking bright. He hopes to one day design an operating system like Windows, but until then there are a few “mini projects” he’d like to focus on. His plans include becoming a pro gamer, coding his own range of video games, learning how to fix the programming in computerised cars and, of course, writing more books. Reflecting on his journey over the last few years, Mohammed concludes, “I have gained confidence in myself and I don’t feel like my disability is the end of my dreams anymore.”
