Bassil Mssedy, a dedicated father in his 50s, worked as a blacksmith for 15 years in the industrial city of Aleppo. Unfortunately, the aftermath of the war made him jobless. The industrial area, once thriving, now lay in ruins.

Bassil and his wife used to reside in a rented house in Al Midan, an area that was heavily bombarded during the war. Tragedy struck one fateful day when a missile destroyed their home. Miraculously, they had left the house just an hour prior, escaping unharmed. Although relieved that their lives were spared, their house suffered significant damage, so they had to move in with their parents in 2014.

Despite their challenging circumstance and unemployment, Bassil managed to secure a position as a church keeper, working part-time. However, his income was barely sufficient to support his family. His wife worked at the airport to help her husband. Unfortunately, she also battled diabetes, adding further strain to their finances due to medical expenses.

Ensuring their basic needs became a daily challenge, as putting food on the table proved to be a constant struggle. They heavily relied on food baskets and cash aids to make ends meet. 

In the depths of despair, Bassil was filled with hope when he received assistance from the Hope Center. With the new taxi he received, he was able to increase his resilience and income, which brought stability to his life.

Aziz is a determined young man, recently married to Rasha and waiting for their first born child.

He worked as a driver since 2009 and continued working in this job during his ten-years military service in Damascus, Rasha works as a nurse in a hospital and they live in a modest rented house. 

During his service aziz was injured in the leg then he was discharged and he started looking for a job to secure his life and future. His parents decided to travel and leave the country but Aziz decided to stay and he started looking for a job to secure his life; he started working night shifts at a beverage shop in a local neighborhood but the salary was low and the job included many troubles so he kept his faith and determined to search for a solution to enhance his situation. 

After getting married, Aziz responsibilities got bigger and he found the micro program as the best opportunity to get back to his original career as a driver, with the support he got the taxi and he can now improve his income and provide a good life for his wife and awaited child. 

Antoine had a good life before the war working as a hairdresser with great skill and many customers, in 2013 he was called for military service and had to serve for nine long years in Aleppo's suburbs which affected his health greatly as he was subject to many injuries from explosions.

Antoine suffered from a neurological condition that caused trembling in his hands and he no longer was able to continue in his original career of hairstyling, even grabbing the scissors became the most difficult task for him.

However, he didn't surrender and was determined to find a way to secure his livelihood especially that he is the breadwinner of the household that he shares with his parents and he looks after them; the family had to sell their house in Midan area after the brother was called to service so they can afford the increasing livelihood expenses.

He started working in a blacksmithing workshop but the income was insufficient and it demanded a lot of physical effort. With the support of the Micro Projects program, Antoine got a taxi that would help him make a better living and at the same time it is the most suitable job for his health condition, hopefully it will be the start of a better days to come for him and his loved ones. 

Antoine is 28 years old, married and a father of a 1 year old lovely boy, he has served in the military for almost the last ten years of his life which has robbed him of any opportunity to pursue a career and build a future for his family.

with no experience and a very harsh economic situation of the country, Antoine put a lot of thinking of his next step in life, he looked for any job that would help him provide a decent life for his wife and newborn son, he started working in a soap factory but the salary is very low and not sufficient to make ends meet. 

The earthquake had a huge impact on this family, they lived in fear and were affected by the damages, the church helped them and continues to deliver a small monthly aid, unfortunately the situation is deteriorating with the inflation and the increasing living costs. 

Antoine found hope in the Micro Projects program when he applied for a taxi as it doesn't require a former experience and at the same time he can work long hours and make a better income to improve the livelihood of his loved ones. 

Elias Akhras lives with his parents in a modest house, his father is retired, making him the only one working and providing an income for his family’s expenses.

He used to work in sculpting statues and decorating with his father at a young age, then switched job to rubber molding in their shop near Al-kindi hospital. Things were working great in his life until the war occurred, making him lose all his possessions from work equipment to properties. 

Elias was devastated and decided to emigrate to start over in a new place, but he eventually came back to look over his elderly parents. He bought the basic equipment to get back on track but couldn’t afford much as the molds price were too expensive for his budget. That’s what made him stop working for a while.

Elias thought that his dream to improve his work and grow bigger in his project was nearly impossible until he heard about the Micro-projects. Now, with the help of Hope center, his dream came true and can finally achieve his goals.

Abd ALmasih lives in a rented house with his wife and three kids in Telephone Hawaii area, working as a minibus driver at Al-Farah school with the help of his wife. His elder son works as a salesman in a clothing shop to provide his educational expenses. In addition to that, Abd Almasih helps out some elderly people by delivering things to them in order to keep up with his family’s expenses in the middle of this economic crises.

He used to work as a Jeweler, but during war, life took another turn as he got injured by many shrapnel due to an explosion of a nearby bombing and had to take time to heal and rest to get better. That’s when he got frustrated and it made him lose hope. He tried working on a rented taxi afterwards but couldn’t carry on as the car’s rent price got increased.

When all the doors were closed and it felt like there was nothing he could’ve done, a glimpse of hope appeared as he heard about the micro projects. Now thanks to Hope center Abd Almasih has the Taxi and he can work in the afternoons and increase his income, providing a better life for his family.

Art has always played a huge role in Rakel’s life who is a gifted young lady that took her talent further by pursuing her passion and studying fine arts.

Rakel lives with her parents, sister and nephew, the father is a blacksmith, the mother is a housewife, her sister is a widow working as a hairdresser in a borrowed shop. The main source of income for the house is from the work of the father and sister.

She used to work in teaching drawing and psychological support fields. Currently, she is a trainee in the field of design and decoration at a contracting company. 

The concept of ​​her project is to make gifts by drawing on objects (plates - cups - cups...)Recently, she experimented with the mechanism of work by manufacturing and selling some product which resulted her understanding the market’s need and she identified the targeted group, in addition to creating a page on social media to display her products and there was a good demand for them; She will work at home and distribute items to gift shops.

With the help of the hope center the talented Rakel has become stronger, more confident and more capable of receiving big orders and help her family with taking care of the living expenses.

For Youssef, being a good provider is one of his goals, and he considers it a big achievement.

Living in a small house which consists of two rooms with 6 people is not easy specially with the increasing expenses.

His two brothers are both still students, his sister works in a clothes shop and his mother newly started working and his father was his supporter, but because of his illness he couldn’t work anymore.

"During my seven years in the work of sand blasting, I decided to travel to Lebanon in 2018 to work, using all my experience that I gained from my relative in Safita, then I served to the military for more than three years."

After being discharged from the military service, he started working on his career but with a low income, so he wanted to start his own business because his salary was barely enough for basic livelihood demands.

Now that Youssef bought the essential equipment thanks to this initiative, he will be able to improve his income and secure a better life for his lovely family.

 Shkri lives with his wife, two sons and his daughter. His wife works as a cook at Olacc, his daughter is a part-time teacher at the same place and his two sons are high school students.

During the war the family house got damaged, but the poor financial situation didn’t allow him to restore it so Olacc gave him a hand with restoring part of the damage.

Shkri has been a taxi driver since 1998. In 2018 he became an employee at the Karen Jeppe Armenian Collage and on Sundays he works as a driver for Yarmouk Club.

Finally, Shkri’s dream came true and he is now over the moon however, he will remain in his morning job and in the evening he will work on the taxi. Besides the fact that the taxi was his dream, his income became so much better and he can provide a good livelihood for his lovely family.

The skills and experience you gain from traveling abroad can give you life-long personal benefits as well as an advantage in the professional world.

Garabet,68-year-old man, father of two daughters, traveled to Canada in 1986 for more than 7 years where he worked in the same field on the brake lathing machine and then returned to Aleppo after gaining great experience.

He said: “travelling abroad is an amazing way to learn a lot of new things”. Before the war, he had his own rented factory with his partner in addition to owning all the necessary machines. Everything was going well before the war started, and he was the main provider for his family.

After losing all his machines, Garabet did not give up despite his 40 years of experience in his career. Day after day, the financial burdens were getting heavier and he did his best to guarantee his family a good life.

Now, Garabet is working in his workshop but still needs the lathing machine. This new machine will greatly develop his work and encourage him to accept bigger opportunities and, thus, increase his income.

Ghassan 55 years old has been working as a carpenter for more than 40 years, he learned this profession and worked in many workshops for more than twenty years, then he decided to become independent and work separately between homes and workshops upon request.

Today, Ghassan is the father of two sons who live in his grandmother’s house, after the loss of their own home, which he bought in 2012. As a result, the family moved to the city of Homs for 4 years to start over. He worked there again with his profession, and he was able to buy new equipment after his old equipment were stolen. 

Currently, his wife helps him with the daily expenses through her work as a teacher in a private school, and he works between homes and workshops, where his specialty is detailing bedrooms and upholstering chairs with primitive carpentry tools.

Ghassan now has a chance of a new start with the new equipment that helps him save time, effort, and expenses.

Katia is married with two kids; she loves to take care of her family and pamper them along with prioritizing time for her hobbies and her work.

Katia discovered her passion which was making pastries and sweets, she took a course from a professional chef to gain more knowledge in her specialization.

She started evolving slowly, and her first few orders were from her close friends and her relatives, everyone who tried her sweets and pastries encouraged her to keep up her good work and take it a step forward, Katia chose to work at home just so she’ll be next to her family and take care of them.

Later on, She got well-known and decided to participate in exhibitions to increase her income along with marketing purposes. Katia had some primitive tools that helped her so far but now that she has many more clients it requires her to renew and expand the equipment.

Hope Center’s fund helped to turn her dreams into a reality, and now that she has all the essential tools, she’ll be able to gain more orders confidently and help her husband with their family’s livelihood expenses.

Starting from scratch is always difficult, especially during wartime, while being responsible for little kids, and not knowing how to keep them safe and secure.

That’s how Norma Elias 44, expressed her journey during the years of war. She is married to Ziad Alhomsi and they have three children Lady 2001, Elias 2004, and Larita 2009. 

Her husband used to have his own workshop in Aldekhanieh area, Damascus suburbs, and his income was good enough to provide the livelihood demands of the family.

However, Aldekhanieh was among the areas that were affected by the war calamities as it was hit daily by many shells, which forced Norma’s husband to flee leaving everything behind, and he never had the chance to restore any of his machines or equipment. That year in 2014, Norma and her husband lost their source of income. Her husband returned to be a worker and Norma didn’t hesitate to support him so she took some courses in handicrafts and cooking at the church and then started to work from home and help with the living expenses.

Soon after, she began to rent tables at the church exhibitions to display her products which were quite profitable at the time but during the last few years, the economic situation had a devastating impact on all people including Norma and her family as she became unable to buy the materials necessary for her work and at the same time her husband income couldn't meet the living demands so she decided to apply at the micro-project for support.

Now after having all the required tools and materials, Norma is preparing beautiful handicrafts for Christmas with all hope that her business will thrive and she will be able to help her family and improve their condition. 

While retiring can be a reward for years of hard work, Hussam Maroni 60 years old, found it very difficult for him after thirty years of working to be jobless with no proper income.

He is married to Mouna Qarrout and have adorable three daughters Zoya, Jessica, and Solin, and for most of his life, he was doing his best to secure a decent living for his family and provide them with love and care.

Hussam is an agriculture engineer who worked at a governmental agricultural institution from 1990 until his retirement in 2021. He tried to afford the living expenses and his daughters’ education because he wanted them to be independent and educated women to depend on themselves in the face of the difficult circumstances. 

Indeed, he gained what he sought, as his daughter Zoya has graduated from Pharmacy college and started working and his other daughters are also advanced in their studies. However, life isn’t always fair as the health of his wife Mouna, started to deteriorate and she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she went through chemotherapy and had to undergo surgery to remove the tumor.

Hussam and his daughters lived a great depression and were trying as much as possible to empower her to overcome her disease and were praying to God to cure her.

During that period, Hussam was seeking to work and cope with the living difficulties and challenges since he is responsible for his wife’s medication and his daughters’ education so he applied to the micro project program for an agriculture store where he could apply his strong experience, and at the same time have a sustainable and proper income for his family’s future.

Rana Nofal is a hardworking mother, who dedicated her entire life to keeping her family united and secured.

She is 40 years old, divorced, and a mother of four sons; Joseph born in 2003, Tony 2006, Johnny 2009 and Ward in 2014. 

Although Rana didn’t have a good marriage experience, she handled all the difficulties and abuse for the sake of her sons and didn’t hesitate to work and support herself and her husband with the living expenses but her husband kept pushing and forced her to take medicines that led to having a hysterectomy and many health issues so she decided to ask for a divorce and move to live alone.

After that, Rana rented a small room in Jaramana close to her parents and her eldest son Joseph moved to live with her. Together, Rana and Joseph started working and taking care of each other with the living expenses, but she wanted her son to continue his education so she was seeking a job that will enable her to handle all the living demands.

However, despite all that she had been through and her deteriorating health,Rana kept a strong faith that tomorrow will be better, so she gathered her strength and visited our office to apply for a mini-market project and didn’t hesitate to attend a business management course that we offered to empower herself and her project.

After being funded with the mini market project, Rana is full of hope that this project is the first step to having a good income and improve her situation and reunite her children again.

Nuha Noah is married to Mersel Atta, and has three children Elias 22, Sharbel 20, and Taqla 17.

Before the war, they were lived in Shaqra village in Daraa governorate, Nuha worked as an assistant midwife, her husband was a government employee and their situation was stable.

However, after the start of the war, the village was surrounded by armed groups who terrified the people and spread violence, then they entered Nuha’s house and took her husband and son as hostages where they were exposed to beating and humiliation and then released after taking their car in 2013. After this incident, Nuha and her family fled from the village and lived at her in-laws house in Dwalaa trying to get over what they've been through and start from scratch to restore what the war took from them.

Nuha started to work as a teacher at a kindergarten and supported her children to continue their education but unfortunately in 2019, she was diagnosed with spinal cord cancer and had to undergo surgery and radiology sessions which weakened her body and forced her to quit her job at the kindergarten.

Thanks to God, Nuha got better and she never hesitated with her strong will to help her family as their financial situation was deteriorating quickly. she was unable to return to her previous job and needed to have a project of her own where she can manage her work without affecting her health, so she applied to the Micro project program for the mini-market project and took a business management course to improve her knowledge.

Funding Nuha with the mini-market will not just help in providing the family with better income, but it will also help in proving that nothing can stop in the way of this fighting mother who is willing to defy all difficulties for the sake of her family.

Hussam Jarrouj is 30 years old, married to Abeer Mesherqi and they have a toddler daughter called Joule born in 2021, they live at his in-laws’ house in Kashkoul, Damascus suburbs.

Hussam graduated from the faculty of agriculture engineering and started working in the city of Homs until the year 2015 when the situation deteriorated in the city and it was not safe to stay and work there, so he moved to the city of Damascus where he worked in a restaurant for about a year and decided to travel to Lebanon in 2017 where he worked as a salesman in an electronic device store, and stayed there for three years.

Hussam  returned to Syria and was hired as a salesman in a company but after about two years he decided to quit because the income was low so he rented a pick-up car and began to tour between stores and areas selling goods and products. His income was getting better and he started to build a strong base of relationships between traders and buyers, but the car rent was rising and soon he found himself paying half of his income to the car owner.

Hussam’s financial situation was deteriorating, so he applied for the pickup car at the Micro-project program and didn’t hesitate to take a business management course.

After being funded, Hussam is enthusiastic about the upcoming days and planning to increase his customers and get the best benefits from his project, which will definitely improve his living conditions.

It is a great blessing to reach your sixties and still have the determination of youth to work with great confidence and belief that the Lord supports you in all your life circumstances.

This is what you feel after meeting with Alice Khoury, with her deep wrinkles and crutch that never leaves her. She always was full of strength to work and rely on herself to support her family.

In 2000, Alice and her husband Antoun started a small grocery shop from their savings, and they worked hand to hand in order to secure their expenses and raise their only daughter in good living conditions. Even in difficult times, the couple did not give up on their project and did their best to continue working and living. 

However, in the years of war, they suffered a lot from mortar shells that were raining on them in Bab Sharqi area as their house and shop were damaged many times but they never lost hope and kept fighting against the obstacles.

Unfortunately, two years ago, her husband was diagnosed with leukemia, and he began the long and painful treatment journey, which cost the couple twenty years of savings, in addition to selling most of the goods to pay for chemotherapy sessions and long-term treatment.

Alice stood by her husband in his illness and when he started to recover, she wanted to keep working but their mini-market was empty so she applied to the Micro projects to support her small grocery shop with goods and other products so that she could secure the daily food and a decent life.

Rami Yacoub, his mother, and three sisters accumulated courage by surviving difficult times and challenging conditions.

When he was only thirteen, Rami’s father passed away, which didn’t just affect the family and made them live in sorrow and grief, but also forced Rami to leave his school, abandon his childhood, and start working to afford the daily living demands.

He took a job as a worker in a medical shoe workshop to support his mother who was also working long hours at a shoe-making workshop trying as much as possible to secure a decent living for her kids. Together, Rami and his mother were fighting against the life hardships and the difficult living circumstances especially since his elder sister became a widow and returned along with her son to live with them.

Rami became responsible for three sisters, a young nephew, and a sick mother whose job was very difficult and affected her health. He tried to start a shoe workshops but it cost was very high and the demand for medical shoes declined due to the increases in the prices of the materials that prevented normal people to purchase them which made him quit this profession.

Yet, Rami didn’t hesitate to learn another profession so he took a men's barbering course and worked at many salons but the low wages he took made it impossible which led him to apply at the micro projects program to become independent and have his own salon.

"During all those tough years, I always felt God lighting my way and leading me to a better place”

this is how Rami expressed his feelings after his project was funded, now he is able to work, have a proper income and provide his mother and sisters with decent living conditions.

Shafy Bashour is 38 years old, married to Nadine Maqsoud and they have two adorable kids, George born in 2012, and Rimon in 2016.

Before the war in Syria, Shafy was working as a tiling worker in Qatar and he returned to Syria in 2011 to get married and start his own family but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned; his marriage coincided with the start of the crisis in Syria which prevented him from returning to Qatar and he found himself suddenly in a critical situation without any source of income.

Yet his determination never faded, and he decided to take any job to secure his living; he worked as a taxi driver between Syria and Lebanon and his situation started to enhance. He didn’t care about the bad security situation or any dangers he might face on the road, because his main concern was about providing his family with decent living. Until one day, in 2016, he went to Lebanon and couldn’t get back as he was called for the reserve military service for more than two years.

He stayed unemployed until his brother decided to serve instead of him so Shafy could be released and return to his house and family. However, Shafi couldn’t go back to his job due to the corona virus and the borders restrictions so he started to work locally and had to pay most of his income to the taxi owner, but he had no other choice during the giving circumstances.

Supporting Shafy to have his own taxi, had a great impact on his life, as he became independent and started to have his own source of income which enabled him to improve his conditions. 

sometimes, all a person needs to regain his balance in life is to turn the page of the past and start over.

This is what Rashid Al-Abdoun, 55 years old, has been trying to do for the past nine years, but unfortunately, life obstacles and the difficult conditions he was going through, have always blocked his way.

Rashid is married and has three children, Lina, Musa, and Issa. His main concern is to give his children the best possible care and get them to university, which was achieved despite all his troubles, as the three of them are now university students and achieving one of their father's greatest wishes.

Rashid’s situation was not always bad; before the war, Rashid had his own mini-market in Al-Dukhaniya area in the countryside of Damascus. His work was very good and for more than 13 years, he was able to provide his family with a good living, but unfortunately, two years after the start of the war, specifically in 2013, the militants entered Al-Dukhaniya area and wreaked terror, violence, and devastation which left Rashid with no choice but to flee out of the region leaving everything behind.

Despite his survival, he lost everything he owned and worked for in the past years and suddenly found himself jobless without any source of income to meet his expenses and obligations, that's when the journey of loss and misery started; Rashid wanted to do any kind of work but due to the dangerous conditions, he wasn't able to secure any good income, until he finally started working as an employee in a real estate office, but his low salary affected the family's situation.

He was trying hard to change this reality, but unfortunately, bad circumstances prevented him. Even after the end of the war, everything began to deteriorate more than before, and with the rise in prices, he found himself unable to fulfill his obligations and was praying for any glimmer of hope that would enable him to change his reality and start over.

Now, after supporting him with the mini-market project, Rashid finally found himself restoring his life balance and starting a new chart in his life with hope that this project will make a difference in this family's life.

Khalil Mikhail is 51 years old, married, and has three children, Antoun, Nicolas, and Marian. he was living with his family in Hineh village and working as a driver and worker in the municipality of Hineh. 

During his duty, he fell on his head from 6 meters high and needed 35 stitches to close his wound but as soon as he recovered, he returned to his hard work where he used to carry 150kg jute sacks of anise daily which affected him on the long-term and led to severe pains in his back and neck as he had to undergo Disk surgery at the expense of charities due to his bad financial situation.

however, during wartime, he moved with his family to live in Al-Dwallaa neighborhood in Damascus due to the difficult security situation in his village and the lack of services and transportation means but his bad health condition prevented him from doing hard jobs so his wife started to work as elderly’s caregiver in order to support him with the house rent and the living expenses until her health started to deteriorate and she had to undergo nerve operation with her both hands and couldn’t continue working which affected their financial situation.

In addition to all of that, Khalil had to support his elder son Antoun, who was called to the military service and is still serving not knowing when he would be released.

Khalil is currently working as a taxi driver for one of his relatives and sometimes he works as a laborer because the important thing to him is feeding his family, even at the expense of his health.

Khalil gathered his hope and applied for the taxi project putting his belief in God's great mercy.

and his faith was never disappointed as he was approved to be financed with the taxi project so he could be independent and have a sustainable income to improve his family's conditions.

Gaby Abou Samra is 45 years old, he is married to Christine Kassab and they have a son, Sharbel born in 2007, and a daughter Jouel born in 2010.

Before the war, Gaby and his family were living in a peaceful and secure environment because he was working as a plumber and sanitary supervisor, his workshop was in Almleiha area in the countryside of Damascus. 

Gabi was working hard and he had many customers which made him in a good financial situation.

however, all of that changed after the beginning of the war in Syria as Almleiha area was destroyed completely and Gaby was among the people who lost everything including his workshop and all of his equipment.

He found himself after many years of working, getting back to zero, with no tools and equipment to work, and his situation started to deteriorate rapidly.

He had no choice but to take other jobs so he worked on his friend’s Suzuki car for five years, then when his friend needed money, he sold the car which left Gaby jobless but he started working as a Valet parking employee in Bab Toma because as he said: 

“I don’t care what work to do, as long I am working in dignity and affording my family’s food and expenses”

Despite all his hard work, his income was barely meeting his living demands and they became in a critical financial situation but they didn’t let that weaken their faith and hope so they applied to the Micro-project program for the pickup truck.

Today, after the funding, Gaby is full of determination and enthusiasm to improve his situation and provide his family with the decent life they deserve.

“For my family to be well, secure, with the basics of living, is all I seek in life”

Firas is 44, married to Hadeel Dahdal and they have two adorable daughters Marita, born in 2013, and Marcel born in 2016.

Firas got employed at the Ministry of Electricity in 1999, but his salary wasn’t good enough to secure a decent living so he started studying at university and in the afternoons he worked at a Foul and Falafel restaurant in Al-Dwalaa neighborhood.

He graduated from the faculty of trade and economics in 2009, then Firas and his brother started a devices maintenance shop in Jaramana and at the same time, they were benefiting from the olives harvest from their village “Tasia” in Daraa governorate. 

Unfortunately, A couple of years after, the war started in the country and its violent effect spread all over to reach their village, all the houses were destroyed and the olive trees were cut, and their farming land was burnt which was a devastating loss for the family. As a result, the shop’s income became insufficient to meet the living expenses which made his brother leave the country and Firas was facing all the financial obligations of the shop alone, so he had to close it soon after.

However, despite all those losses, Firas didn’t despair and he took part-time jobs to increase his income so he could afford the basic needs of livelihood which were increasing year after year until he became incapable of meeting them no matter how long he worked. 

With the help of the Micro Project initiative, Firas now has started his Foul and Falafel Restaurant in Bab Sharqi and he is full of determination and enthusiasm to make this project succeed in order to improve his living conditions and regain his independence.