Aaliyah's
Story®
The World Opens Up: How Aaliyah learned that she can go anywhere—and started planning her adventures.
A Simple Skill,
A World of Possibility
Aaliyah is nine years old. She's been coming to BYO's Level Up Sunday Club for six months, and she loves it—especially the sports. But there's one session she talks about more than any other: the afternoon Hassan taught them how to use Google Maps.
It sounds simple. Almost too simple. But for Aaliyah, learning to search for places, read bus routes, and understand directions on a map changed everything.
Image generated by AI for safeguarding purposes. The real Aaliyah's identity is protected, but her story is genuine.
The First Trip
Alone
Hassan's Real World Readiness sessions cover practical life skills—things schools often don't teach. How to use public transport. How to budget. How to navigate your city. For adults, these skills are second nature. For young people who've never been shown, they're mysterious barriers.
After the Google Maps session, Aaliyah went home and asked her mum if she could borrow her phone. She typed "Cannon Hill Park" into Google Maps. The park was only a few miles away, but Aaliyah had never been there. She didn't know how to get there. Until now.
She showed her mum the route: a 10-minute walk to the bus stop, the number 35 bus, get off at Cannon Hill Park Road. Her mum was surprised but impressed. The following Saturday, Aaliyah took that trip—her first time planning and navigating a journey by herself.
“I felt like a grown-up. I knew exactly where I was going. I wasn’t scared or lost. I just… went.”— Aaliyah, age 9
Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham—Aaliyah's first independent journey after learning to use Google Maps.
Planning More
Adventures
That first trip unlocked something. Suddenly, Birmingham wasn't just the streets near her house—it was a whole city full of places she could explore.
Aaliyah started planning more trips. The Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Thinktank Science Museum. Sea Life Centre. Each time, she'd pull up Google Maps, figure out the bus route, and show her mum. Sometimes they'd go together. Sometimes her older sister would take her. But Aaliyah was the navigator.
Then she got really ambitious. She looked up Paris.
One simple skill opened up a world of possibility—from Birmingham's parks to dreaming about Paris.
Geography Lessons
Make Sense
"Did you know there's a train that goes under the sea to France?" Aaliyah asked Hassan the next Sunday, eyes wide. She'd been researching the Eurostar. She wanted to know how long it takes, how much it costs, what Paris looks like.
Hassan sat with her and they looked at maps together—not just bus routes now, but countries, cities, continents. Aaliyah started connecting what she was learning at school in geography lessons to the real places she could see on Google Maps.
Her teacher noticed the change. Aaliyah started volunteering answers in class, pointing out cities on the map, explaining routes. She even taught a few classmates how to use Google Maps during break time.
“Hassan taught us that if you know how to get places, you can go anywhere. Now I’m planning all these trips in my head. One day I’m going to Paris. And maybe New York. I just need to save up money first.”— Aaliyah, age 9
Aaliyah attends Level Up Sunday Club every week—where practical skills meet fun and friendship.
Confidence in
Small Steps
Aaliyah's story might seem small. It's not about getting into university or discovering a career path. She's nine years old. But what Hassan gave her was something just as important: confidence. The belief that the world is accessible to her. That she doesn't need to wait for permission or for someone else to take her—she can figure things out herself.
That's what Real World Readiness is about. Not abstract lessons, but practical skills that immediately change how young people navigate their lives. Using public transport. Reading maps. Understanding money. Knowing how systems work.
These skills are invisible to people who grew up learning them naturally. But for young people who haven't had access to that knowledge, they're barriers—invisible walls between them and opportunity.
Real World
Readiness
Hassan's Real World Readiness sessions are a core part of BYO's programming. These aren't traditional classroom lessons—they're practical, hands-on sessions teaching the skills young people need to navigate the world confidently.
Navigation
Using Google Maps and public transport
Money skills
Understanding bank accounts and budgeting
Official documents
Reading contracts and official paperwork
Rights & duties
Knowing your rights and responsibilities as a citizen
Planning
Planning trips and managing time
Digital tools
Using email, calendars, and productivity tools
The Ripple Effect
Aaliyah still comes to BYO every Sunday. She still loves sports, arts and crafts, and hanging out with her friends. But now she's also the kid who knows how to get places. The one her classmates ask for help. The one planning trips to Paris.
One skill. One afternoon. One lesson on Google Maps. And now Aaliyah believes the world is hers to explore.
Hassan's Real World Readiness sessions teach practical skills that schools often don't cover—empowering young people to navigate their world confidently.
What You Can Do
Aaliyah's story shows how small interventions create big ripples. Teaching practical skills, answering questions, and believing in young people's ability to learn—these simple acts change lives.