It’s never easy to leave everything we have ever known for so long. However, sometimes, moving on is necessary to survive. When Fares left his home in 2014 because of the war, he left everything; their furniture, belongings and the family’s memories and fled abruptly carrying only the clothes they were wearing to settled in a friend’s home for some time.

Fares used to work in publishing and design since 2002. First, he practiced in a local printing house and as his experience grew, he managed to work independently. Fares was happy and content with life he was planning his life with his wife and together they were making their dreams come true while their family was growing too. Being displaced was a hard hit for Fares he had to sacrifice his business investment to buy his apartment the very same apartment he lost during the war. But the young man still had hope and resilience enough to, in 2018, transform his parents’ basement into a modest office with the minimum equipment to make a living out of it. 

In that basement Fares started with only a computer and lots of talent, selling book cover designs, posters and advertisement material. But to establish a proper business he needed a lot, for example printing his designs himself will increase his profit margin hugely, however, purchasing the necessary printers and plotters would require a large capital Fares unfortunately doesn’t have. 

No matter how hard the road, Fares never gave up, on the contrary he kept doing what he loves to maintain a successful career. When Fares applied to the Micro Projects Program, he had an important goal in his mind; improving his family’s living situation to be able to restore his house and we partnered with him in his journey of success.

Choosing a career is an extremely important decision that impacts an individual’s entire future. The father of George served as a major influence on his children’s career development and career decision-making.

George used to learn and work with his father in tailoring. He learned it at a young age and gained lots of experience in it to become his main job. Starting in 1994 and until 2001.

Later on, when he gained his experience, he opened his own workshop in several locations during the last 15 years.

When his father passed away, George had to fill his role as a provider for his widowed mother, trying to do the best for her because she depended on him now that the father has passed away.

even after Traveling to Lebanon in 2016 for four years to escape the war didn't make him give up his responsibilities towards his loved ones and he kept working as a laborer in a sewing workshop there and send them the money.

For George being a business owner rather than being an employee would be a drastic shift on every aspect, he knew that and worked hard to achieve that level of independency even though he still needed a lot of equipment. He says:  

“The new machine will help me a lot, it will save me much time and physical effort and also allow me to work with various materials and I’m blessed to apply in micro-project and get these new machines”.

His long years in the business have helped him gain a lot of acquaintances and great experience that he is willing to utilize in this new chapter of her career.

Bedros was living a comfortable life with his wife and 3 children until the war came, took everything from him, and Turned their lives upside down like any Syrian family. His life changed when they traveled to Armenia. he wanted to stay there for only a month. But unfortunately, his relatives in Aleppo asked him not to return because his workshop was destroyed while his away and the whole city was not safe, and indeed Bedros's on month stay in Armenia extended for 9 years.

When in Armenia, Bedros didn't leave the profession that he started in 1979 in an Auto body repair workshop. He utilized all the skills accumulated through the years to rent an workshop in Armenia jointly with his son.

However, life abroad wasn't easy at all, the high costs of living made Bedros consider coming back to Aleppo once the situation was safe again, hoping that together with his son they could revive and restore their old Workplace. 

Renovating the workshop consumed all of their saving and right now, they are left with no source of income and although their workplace is renovated, but they still needed to buy the essential machinery to make the work flowing. Bedros says: "if I could work again, my daughters would come back and live with us as we were before". 

This project is a chance for Bedros to maintain his career and a possibility to grow this career even more when the father and the son can together establish a solid family business, it's time for both of them to begin a new chapter in life. All he needs is a little support to repurchase the equipment to start working again, and then hopefully things will turn out for the better.

No matter when it happens, Losing a parent is never easy. the loss and grief could hit one's life hard and for other's like jack, it could made him face new responsibilities in life including taking care of his sisters, specially than was going through her own battle against cancer, the battle that ended tragically after long fatal struggle.

Jack, the  now 38 years old man, has always been close to his family not only supporting them in difficult times but also sharing with them their interests in sports specially in Swimming. 

He like many in his family have been athletes, it was something that made them bond. Jack was working as a swimming coach in swim pools and giving professional swimming lessons, but unfortunately when jack became a provider for three his income was not sufficient anymore and he had to find an additional source of income and this is how he transferred his passion from swimming into baking.

in 2014, Jack became a pastry chef from 2014 then as time passed by he started handling other tasks expanding his experiences. eventually when the situation has changed and his employers travelled he decided that it is time for him to become independent and start his own pastry production from the comfort of his home.

The economic crisis made it even more difficult, jack's brother that lives abroad was helping him now and then, but Jack wanted  to rely on himself and make a decent living from his pastry project.

With the presence of many customers to distribute his products upon, his work will be flourishing. All he needs are the equipment such as ovens mixers and utensils to produce a variety of delicious tasting sweets and pastry.

His seven years long experience will be a good base for starting his project from home and who know maybe in the future he could open his own pastry shop.

Being forced to flee your home is a life-changing event like Hanna who escaped with his family into another area to live in a rented house. Hanna said: "When we fled from our house, which was located in the Sheikh Maqsoud area, we lost all the furniture and all our house belongings, in addition to the damage to the house structure as a result of the shelling”.

The 31-year-old young man got in charge of his family earlier, took care of his uncle and aunt who suffers insanity, he left his education early to support his family with livelihood expenses, so he began working as a waiter in several restaurants since 2006 before the war. He gained enough experience in addition to his work as a barman for two years until 2017, and because of the bad economic situation, he couldn’t pay the rent for their house so he decided to move to Tartous and work there for 3 years until 2020.

Hanna came back and for a bit worked in a restaurant, but then with the increasing financial obligations of his mother's medical treatments, Hanna knew that he should do something more efficient to make ends meet, Something like opening a project of his own.

Since rents are fairly affordable in Sheikh Maksoud, the idea of opening a small coffee shop there was swerling in Hanna's mind. coffee grounding machines and some snacks to serve with, will be his way to start over and try his chances as a business owner.

Now with the sufficient funding, Hanna will be able to help his mother with the treatment costs and improve his family's income.

Nerses’s journey of agony and turmoil started in 2011 when he and his family, fled their homes and lives in Al-Raqqa, carrying only the clothes they were wearing. The city of Latakia became their refuge, it was safer than their hometown which had been bombed and targeted with every kind of bombshells. Due to those bombshells Nerses heard the devastating news, his house and workshop in Al-Raqqa were demolished completely leaving no hope for nerses to go back to his previous life. 

Facing the harsh reality, started with settling in Latakia and finding a livelihood there. All that Nerses had at this point was his decade long experience, no tools no money, no machinery or acquaintances but that was enough to start.

Nerses soon started working in a local car body repair workshop splitting his profits with the owner.

Years passed by, and when Nerses’s life was finally stable, he met his life partner; an Aleppian woman and together they decided to make Aleppo their last stop and settle in.

Although it is hard to start over from scratch, but for Nerses it’s never been impossible. He did it once in Latakia nine years ago and he is so determined to do it again in Aleppo, but this time he has our support.

The loan will be his way of obtaining the essential tools and gadgets for his workshop to take off and the rest is up to his skills and good reputation in the field. 

What makes Nabil’s story unique is his innovation, resourcefulness, eco-friendly approach to what may seem a normal and typical process. 

Nabil has been producing cloth’s, bags and shoes related metal accessories for so long now, that he mastered the profession and if it wasn’t for the war, his business was expanding quickly, but good things wouldn’t last in the shadows of the crucial war. In a blink of an eye Nabil’s workshop was confiscated and his tools were stolen and Nabil found himself losing everything.

The start over was not easy at all, Nabil had to sell fuel for a living and when he saved enough, he partnered with a clothes' workshop with high hopes to recover from the hard hit he was exposed to due to war.

To overcome every obstacle, the father of two is innovating solutions for each problem, he altered some of the machinery he bought second hand to give him a wider variety of range of functions, he also designed his molds to save extra bucks, but the most out of the box thinking of his manifested through the recycling of used fuel tanks that would otherwise be thrown away. The metal tanks enter a long process of chemical cleaning, melting and reshaping and finally when they are ready for usage Nabil uses his skills to transform them into different accessories and grommets. 

After all the efforts and creativity Nabil has put in his business, he deserved our support to help him buy an essential part of his process, the molding of the products. They are expensive and Nabil was not able to purchase them without the support. 

Today Nabil is sure of his future more than ever, nothing can stop in his way of prosperity and excellence.    

After their house was destroyed by the shells, all Boghos' efforts to migrate with his family to a safer place failed. His only choice was to separate from his family which stayed in Aleppo and move to Lebanon and work in a car suspension workshop, a domain he is well experienced in. 

The Lebanese regulations for Syrian residents made it hard for Boghos to stay, he was obliged to come back to Syria with nothing but his 25 years worth experience in car maintenance.

Although Boghos left his job and reunited with his family, he still had to take care of them financially, specially his younger son is still at school and only  his eldest one works part-time in a metal lathing workshop along with his university degree pursue in economics.

As the fiscal crisis took its toll of the family, Boghos's wife decided to help and ease the financial obligations. because Boghos was also the sole provider of his parents, and for those reasons, he wasn't able to purchase the necessary equipment he needed to establish his car maintenance workshop.

Today Boghos's goal is to begin his project and settle in a place of his own, which will become the family business in the future, and earn a good income with his large experience.

Hope Center decided to help him start his micro project, by purchasing the needed equipment and giving this hardworking man the opportunity he deserves.

“Although you are in your own country, you feel like a displaced person, when you have to leave your house and city”.

With these words the 35 years old Lucy described her family’s struggle, when she, her husband, and her three lovely kids found themselves forced to leave their city of Al-Raqqa and seek refuge in Aleppo, leaving behind their home, work, school, and their memories.

Since they arrived, They have been living at a friend’s house, and Lucy’s husband has been working at a metal molding workshop, while Lucy was working as an accountant for five years, but unfortunately, her employer emigrated and the office closed. 

Due to the hard financial situation, Lucy had to find another job to support her husband with their livelihood, and secure the children's needs.

So, she attended several make up and nail care courses, and started working at home with little equipment she could afford their costs, now she has some customers, but she still needs some other kit, so she can expand her work and advance her experience.

With the support of the Hope Center, Lucy can now work in the beauty domain and provide an additional income next to her husband.

Pain is part of life, Suffering is an option. When suffering happens, it forces us to confront life in a different way. We have to learn how to adapt to difficulties so the most stressful parts of our lives are no longer the most significant parts of our lives.

this are wise words Jirayr lives by every day. He is an ambitious young man, who adapted to all the circumstances he faced and turned them into opportunities.

Living on the verge of poverty, even Jirayr's mother couldn't afford living a quiet life of retirement, but rather she has to work as a cleaner in a hospital, and prepare meal and groceries from home for Jirayr to distribute.

Jirayr started working when he was only thirteen, he was a blue-color worker in a rubber molding workshop until he became 20, when he had to join the military service for two years. Later he got back to the same profession and stayed in this domain till now as a worker.

Life became so hard, and as his mother is getting older she will eventually retire, and Jirayr will be the lonely provider for this family, and with his modest salary he knows that it will be struggle.

So, he applied to the Hope Center, hoping to use his great experience to initiate his own business, become an owner of an independent rubber molding workshop, it won't only enhance his livelihood and income but also will allow his  mother to finally retire after all the years of hard work.  

in His life and career, Salem always saw a remodel in his father. and that reflected on his life from an early age as he Starting his career at young age, he helped his father who used to drive a forklift truck and learned from him how the machine worked to later become an employee for the same business owner for many years.

Salem started officially working in 1993, earning 25% for each transportation payment, and during the war and the deteriorating economic situation and the high prices, he was struggling to survive, especially that the neighborhood where he lived was damaged due to the shells, and an organization had to help him do the repairs. their financial situation was tight and the even his wife started taking orders and cooking food at home to help support her husband. 

years passed by and the business owner passed away, but it wasn't until the owner's family decided to sell this forklift that Salem's livelihood was jeopardized.

 And since Salem has gained enough experience and has many customers, private companies and factories he didn't want to give up all of that just because he didn't own a forklift and couldn't purchase one of his own due to its high price.

Salem needed help, his appplication for a project was his last chance for keeping his livelihood, for this forklift truck driver not a lot of options were left fto keep his job, unless someone help him buy his own truck.

Through the support he had, he was able to save his career by purchasing the same forklift he used to work on for years. 

In timers of crisis, families bond together, support each other to overcome the darkest times. When the war began, most families were displaced from their homes, many stayed at their relative’s homes escaping from shells, just like  Enad who took his pregnant wife and daughter Mira and moved from their rented apartment into their relatives'.

To be able to support his family, Enad deviated a little from his university major in Commercial Institute, and headed towards mobile retail and maintenance in 2008. Enad gained lots of experience in mobile maintenance, specially after attending several trainings in China and UAE.

Through the years, not only he became skilled in his work, but also the former business student successfully was able to run his business and a well-known name for his self raised business.

What Enad lacked was the possibility to keep his business up to date. With the rapidly developing technology, he has to stay at the top of this game by upgrading his gadgets and stay distinguished from its competitors. 

Using the tools, he bought with the support from the Micro Project, he will provide maintenance services to the clients and make his way in this profitable business with steady steps towards success.