There are few people able to bring education, entertainment, and moments of stability to children amid Yemen’s ongoing civil war. But Mohammed, an English teacher and local resident, is one of them. Through his internet café, Power Net, he provides children in his community with access to games, learning resources, and a rare space for connection in a country facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises in recent history.
Keeping Power Net open has been a continual challenge. Rising fuel costs, unreliable internet access, and frequent power outages often threaten the café’s operations. Despite these obstacles, Mohammed continues to run Power Net alongside his work as an English teacher, providing children in his community a space to escape from the hardships of daily life.
Speaking with Mohammed, he said that the café was a long-term ambition of his and that he had been planning it for 7 years, saving up funds from teaching and other jobs. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed one of his businesses, which Mohammed says motivated him to go ahead with Power Net.
“I love gaming and gaming brings something great to the community,” he said. “We have internet cafes already, but the problem is that they use very old computers. They barely work or can’t run games properly.”
To get Power Net off the ground, Mohammed spent four to five months negotiating with locals for old computer parts and peripherals, something he says in hindsight was a mistake because of the poor quality of the second-hand parts and their constant breaking. Still, where he can, Mohammed fixes everything that breaks to keep the café running.
“It’s a place where people can come together and forget about the struggles, to forget about the war, the civil war, you know, just be a kid. Play games, come together. They love playing multiplayer games, or just watching a movie or a TV show. Because we don’t have much internet, I download a lot of TikTok videos, so the kids watch them to escape reality. It’s fun, it doesn’t even feel like a job.”
But running Power Net comes with its struggles; notably, electricity has proven to be a constant issue, one that Mohammed says nearly made him give up.
“When I opened the café, there was no electricity, so I had to buy a big cable that runs 300 meters to an electric pole. It’s connected to like 200 other cables, so every other week it breaks or even explodes. Sometimes it’s 18 hours off, 2 hours on, because electricity isn’t stable. I also bought a generator, which was a big headache because it kept breaking every two weeks.”
“After my first anniversary, the café was empty because there was no electricity, and my generator kept breaking down all the time. I took a picture to show people that, despite all the stress, I still made it happen. Everything was going up in price by five to ten times, so it was really stressful. So I randomly uploaded the photo to Reddit, and it blew up and went viral.”
Mohammad’s viral post garnered three million views and 80,000 upvotes on Reddit, prompting offers from around the world on how people could help. But there was one catch with sending items in the middle of a warzone: it was expensive. Of the hundreds of people who reached out to Mohammed to send over PC parts and peripherals, only a select few actually sent items. Because, as it turns out, sending items into Yemen sometimes costs more than the items themselves.
Among the many offers Mohammed received, one in particular sparked a new chapter for Power Net: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) classes.
“At first, I wasn’t sure, but after looking into it, I realized it was an amazing opportunity,” Mohammed said. “This person actually sent us materials from Britain, and we started these long STEM classes where the kids made a lot of cool things. We gave them notepads, pens, and so on. I still see these kids a few years on, and they are always asking me, with open eyes, when we are going to do the next STEM classes. Some of them have grown up, but you can tell you’ve made a real impact in their lives.”
Mohammed’s viral post still sees him occasionally get outreach from people all over the world today, offering keyboards, mice, headsets, and sometimes a graphics card or two. Shipment costs make such offers difficult, and without banking support from the likes of PayPal, donations are tricky, too.
So, with the help of a friend, Mohammed setup a GoFuundMe to keep Power Net alive. First set up in 2022, the GoFundMe raised just over $15,000, which helps Mohammed maintain the cafe as well as buy new equipment.
“This doesn’t even feel like a job; it’s very fulfilling, and I feel like I am making an impact. I feel like I am helping people, I am trying to get them off the streets, and I am trying to give them good skills. We have a lot of courses, too. Because I am also an English teacher, I always tell them to bring their notebooks because I help teach them English, and we sometimes do Spanish, German, and so on. But we also teach them how to use Adobe, Blender, and other programs.”
Mohammed says that there isn’t really a long-term goal for Power Net, but that he just wants to keep the cafe going. “It’s stressful but very fulfilling. I always wanted to do something that matters, and I feel like I am doing something that matters. I don’t have a long-term goal, and I don’t know when this will end, but we achieved, not only me, but Reddit, we did this. I am very happy. So many people around the world, South Africa, India, Australia, UK have helped, it’s been amazing, and I am very happy.”
In a country ravaged by conflict and uncertainty, Power Net and Mohammed’s dedication are a small beacon of light for many children. For those who wish to support his ongoing work, Power Net’s GoFundMe campaign continues to help keep the café and its programs alive.
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Tom Henderson is Insider Gaming's Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief. When he's not running one of the industry's leading independent video game websites, he's probably playing an FPS like Call of Duty,…
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