Being the sole provider for a family of five is a heavy burden, upon the shoulders of the 42-years-old, father of two Semaan who has always been a hard working machinist doing metal works and milling to secure his family’s livelihood.

Semaan started his career in the early nineties in Al-Arkoub working for a local workshop. The only time he was left jobless was twenty years later when the war reached Aleppo city and Al-Arkoub was one of the first areas to shut down due to the massive destruction. Semaan was devastated that the only work he could do was as a street vendor, he could not endure that situation for more than two years, eventually in 2014, he decided to go back to his original profession even if that meant to be an employee in someone else’s workshop. Specially that his losses were accumulating; in addition to losing his job and not having a good income from selling in the streets, Semaan’s house was hit with a mortar shell (2014) and he was forced to move-in with his mother. 

This project is a chance for this hardworking man to reclaim his independence, his ability to maintain a decent lifestyle for his family and it will give him the push he needs to put the efforts combined with the newly bought tools and machines to be the owner of a prosperous workshop.

A self-made man knows how to start from scratch, explore a new field of knowledge, and build a successful career. This hard and at the same time rewarding journey of Ghassan’s has started in 2006, when he lost his job in a retail company, it was a turning point. Ghassan started an internship in a filtration company with a dream of building his own business. It wasn’t easy, but for a man who has determination and perseverance, nothing was not impossible. Months later, Ghassan’s long visits to factories, hospitals and potential customers had finally paid off, his business was rolling, he was getting hired by local textile factories and olive mills in addition to detergent manufacturers. 

Unfortunately, what war have destroyed was way more that Ghassan could handle. He was exposed to life-threatening dangers while going on maintenance trips to factories outside the city. The facilities that he used to work with were closed or destroyed and eventually Ghassan’s company was closed. The need to provide the daily needs made Ghassan work as a janitor in a local church for long years just to be able to survive.

Despite the passing years, Ghassan has never forgot his old dream and never lost his enthusiasm to start over one more time with the support of Hope Center. He took the courageous step to buy filtration system parts and machines and spared no effort to make his second attempt a successful start for his new and thriving business. 

Despite his 30 years of experience in the metal discs manufacturing, the 58-years-old George shereiki had never owned his independent workshop. George entered this domain in 2002, in Al-Ramouseh industrial area where he used to work for a local workshop owner for more than 12 years, but when war came along, it brought destruction and loss to everyone’s life, George wasn’t an exception, his workplace was destroyed and for two years George became unemployed. After losing any hope of going back to Al-Ramouseh, George found another workshop near his house to work in, in order to provide for his family.

When George heard about the microprojects initiative, he found a new hope of independence has rekindled in his mind. The fund would mean that instead of working for someone, he would be able to purchase his own equipment, and his own lathing machine and create his independent business.

Rita’s family has suffered a lot during the war, their agony started in 2016, when she and her husband Hagop were injured by a mortar shell explosion. Rita’s healing process took more than four years to go back to normal again but the worse was Hagop’s situation, his injuries have caused permanent damage and he lost his leg and his hand was hurt too. 

Hagop, who used to be the main provider of the household, lost his ability to work. In order to survive, the family had to sell their house and invest in merchandise hoping to generate some income, not knowing that later on the warehouse where he stored the car body parts that he invested in, will be stolen completely. 

After these losses, Rita felt that it is her responsibility to think of a way to provide for her family, utilizing her old expertise in tailoring combined with the funds dedicated for her micro project. To minimize her costs, Rita decided to transform one of her house rooms into a small workshop by arranging the space and putting her purchased sewing machines there, so that she can make a decent living and have a flexible schedule. 

Bassil Faced all the harsh events in his life with great patience and resilience to make his long-deferred dreams come true.

In 2010, Bassil was called to serve his mandatory military service, but this period stretched for more than 5 years because of war. Due to his health condition, Bassil was discharged and was ready to go back to his life but unfortunately nothing remained the same after four years of war. Their house was damaged, and his job was lost.

Bassil had a fresh start with his brother in a laser cutting workshop, after two years of acquiring expertise, Bassil applied for his micro-project because he wanted to have independence in his livelihood. Eventually, Bassil purchased a laser cutting machine and put it in his brother’s workshop to minimize the renting costs. This way he was able to secure his family's income and in the future be able to move to his own workshop and have a good business. 

Al Raqqa is one of the cities in Syria that has gone through the worst conditions, many people were thinking of immigration and others were internally displaced across the country seeking safety and stability.

Razek, the father of Odile and Fattouh, sent his children to Aleppo and he stayed in Raqqa trying to protect his properties there, but because of the aggravation of the situation, he was forced to leave his home and his workshop and move to Aleppo without knowing whatever happened later.

In 2014, he started working again in the field of car maintenance and mechanics and he wanted to count on himself and be independent in his original career, in which he has more than 40 years of experience. With the Micro Projects support, Razek was able to bring all the tools and equipment needed to open a new workshop for cars mechanics.

Hanna, 35-years-old father of two has a long experience in heavy machinery maintenance. back in 2002, he met his employer and started learning about repairing machinery which requires knowledge of its working mechanism and at the same time how to fix and assemble any broken pieces. After nine years the war hit Syria, Hanna lost his job, and to be able to financially survive he started working in a local mall. After a while he decided to go to Lebanon to find a better chance at practicing his original job. Indeed, Hanna spent five years in Lebanon between (2014-2019). During that time Hanna got married and had two beautiful daughters and worked in metal lathing workshops like he used to in Aleppo.

The coronavirus spread and the port explosion were the main reason that Hanna wanted to come back to Aleppo, specially that he and his old employer were hoping to reunite and reopen their old business.

This time Hanna wanted to expand his role in the workshop. Besides being an employee, he planned to utilize the fund to purchase a lathing machine. This way in addition to his maintenance duties, he will be able to manufacture the needed pieces (instead of ordering these pieces from other workshops). This new machine will have a huge impact on Hanna’s career on the long term and at the same time will ensure a better income and lifestyle for his family. 

When Fadi’s house was hit with a destructive weapon, the 43-years-old man took his mother Dalal and moved to Tartous city, to escape the death and horror that was everywhere in Aleppo. 

Fadi has always worked in the clothes manufacturing business in one way or another, first in 2004, he entered the domain as a salesman then when he gained good experience in it and moved to Tartous where he opened his own retail shop. Slowly his work grew and he started shipping to other cities. His business required mobility, Fadi used to travel a lot, but one of his road trips became a nightmare when armed people attacked him and confiscated his car then took him hostage for a month, Fadi was set free after paying a ransom to his kidnappers. 

Fadi put his bad memories behind and started over in Aleppo in 2018, but since his only property that could be utilized for work needed a lot of rehabilitation, Fadi couldn't handle such a huge financial burden alone, he was very grateful for the Micro Project support that enabled him to purchase the sewing machines and all the tools needed to eventually be capable of producing his own fashion line “Julie” and this way his business will prosper in manufacturing and creating a thriving brand.   

The war couldn’t stop in front of the ambitious young Elias, who was working with his father in their silver crafting workshop, in their hometown; Idleb. He learned all about this profession from his father in addition to studying English literature and playing basketball, which unfortunately he had to quit due to a leg injury. 

After ten years in the silver crafting domain, Elias and his family were forced to flee their extremely dangerous city; which meant losing all their properties including their workshop. The family went to Hama, but Elias was trapped in Idleb and got kidnapped there. Eventually he was reunited with his family after a lot of agony and they settled in Aleppo.

Elias started working as a salesperson for silver Jewelry. When his father passed away, Elias felt responsible of his family and he wanted to change his financial status for the better. Thus, he decided to return to his old profession and open a new silver crafting workshop and use his skills again, specially that he has made good acquaintances from his job in sales. this support will be a second chance in reviving the skill he loves.

Besides the devastating direct effects of war, there are other collateral damages that the war caused not many of people are aware of, like losing several crafts. This is what happened to Pierre. 

Pierre used to work in heating systems installation and maintenance, he and his brother shared a shop and each of them was specialized in different services, Pierre was specialized in radiators, while his brother was a plumber. But by 2011 their shop’s location became under heavy fires, and due to the lack of fuel and the hard living circumstances, the demand on radiator-based heating systems became less and less. Pierre found himself without a job or equipment (after their shop was robbed off) and without any future plans.

To stay safe, Pierre took his wife and went to Mashta al Helou for several months and he came back when things got better, to face the cruel reality of being unemployed. 

Since then, he started working in plumbing whenever he had the opportunity, depending on his friends to borrow the equipment from them. With the funding Pierre was relieved; he now have his equipment and tools and doesn’t have to borrow anymore. This step was crucial for Pierre to be able to provide a better income for his family.   

When it came to choosing his profession, Aboud made his decision a long time ago when he started working in several beauty salons while still young. Aboud was enthusiastic, ready to learn and eager to be a well-known hairdresser. His dreams were big and his ambitions were high but, unfortunately, the war had put him still. In 2015, to escape the dangers of Aleppo, Aboud and his parents went to Marmarita for couple of weeks only to extend their stay there for more than two years (until Aleppo was safe again in 2017). 

Aboud returned to Aleppo empty handed, the harsh financial circumstances prevented him from saving some money or building a career. He worked as an employee in beauty salons, he had to borrow tools from his employer or his friends to maintain his overtime work. This was all changed when Aboud was able to purchase his own tools and kit. It allowed him to have a chance to prove himself in the business, and keep his costumers satisfied, taking the first steps on the road of success.  

After his father’s illness, Nazaret had to carry great responsibilities such as caring for his father’s treatment costs, caring for his elderly mother, as well as repairing his house, which was severely damaged by the falling shells. Unfortunately, Nazaret’s father passed away, leaving his wife and son face the unknown future in times of war. 

Although Nazaret outlived the hardest days of war with minimal damage, but the financial difficulties prevented him from upgrading his business as he has long experience in dental prosthetics manufacturing. Having a laboratory of his own, is a dream that always remained in Nazaret’s mind. Today Nazaret is finally accomplishing what he always wanted, his years of experience will ensure him a good customer-flow and the fund he got will enable him to obtain important machinery and serve his customers with the best products and service.