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.

For more than 27 years of experience as a shoemaker, Elias Alhelo has devoted all his life to the sake of his family and his three daughters Maha, Ayda, and Hanin.

They lived in Aldekhanyeh area in peace where Elias had his workshop and the profit was sufficient to secure a decent life for them.

Unfortunately, after the beginning of the crisis, things started to worsen gradually until the year 2014, when armed groups entered Aldekhanieh and started to shoot at the houses spreading violence and horror and terrifying the citizens including Elias and his wife who were in great fear for their daughters’ lives, especially that their daughter Hanin was still a newborn. Elias was forced to take his family and flee immediately without taking any of their belongings.

They became homeless, with no money or shelter so they stayed for two months in an unfinished flat until Elias managed to get some money to rent a small apartment in Kashkoul. He found himself forced to start everything from scratch; so he doubled his working hours just to afford the household necessities.

Although Elias was a skilled craftsman, being an employee at a workshop didn’t provide him with enough income to meet the living costs or secure his daughters' education costs, he was looking for a chance to improve his living circumstances.

Giving Elias the opportunity to have his own shoemaking workshop will make him independent with a sustainable income, in addition to restoring hope to his heart that life can still be kind to the ones who believe. 

Firas Haddad, 46, lives with his mother in a modest house in Jaramana, Damascus countryside.

as a child, Firas went through very difficult circumstances as he was exposed to a fire accident in his childhood that caused severe burns on his hands and face. He has undergone many surgeries since then and still suffers from deformities, but it didn't prevent him from working or having a normal life.

In 2010, Firas started working as a salesperson using his small car, and even during the period of war, he continued to tour on the roads, trying his best to afford his living expenses and take care of his sick mother; secure her medicines as she suffers from severe back pains and osteoporosis which needs lots of attention and permanent treatment.

This situation continued until the year 2020, when Firas had a health problem, as a result of which he had to go through a stents placement operation, then he had to stay at home to rest. During that period, his financial situation was affected greatly, especially after the high treatment costs and the increasing living expenses, after his recovery, he wanted to start working again, but the prices had risen dramatically, and that prevented him from buying any new goods.

Firas and his mother became reliant on the church’s relief support, he kept looking with all hope for a way to restore his old life. It was when the church's priest told him about the Micro-project program, so he applied to be financed with the goods and materials to get his job back, secure a decent income for him and his mother, and become an independent and productive person once again.

Life is about moving on, accepting changes, and looking forward to what makes you stronger and more complete.

That’s what could be concluded from the life journey of Wassim Nanaa, a 37-year-old man who was struggling for the last decade to survive. Wassim was living along with his mother and two brothers in Al-Dwalaa area, working as a hairstylist with his brother and their work was good enough to secure them a decent life.

Wassim was like any young man of his age, dreaming about having a home and starting a family without knowing he was about to face many dark days that will change his life completely with the first months of the war outbreak, he got called to serve the military in the city of Aleppo, the center of the darkest battles in the country.

Soon after, his brother had to close the Salon and travel to Erbil, while the third one stayed with their mother whose health deteriorated from fear for her sons' future. During the first years of his service, Wassim went through very hard circumstances and escaped death many times.

In 2016, Wassim was transferred to serve in the city of Damascus, where he became close to his family and neighborhood so he began to do any work available to secure his income and improve his family's living conditions, then he started working as an English tutor at home in addition to some freelance-translation work.

Wassim was finally discharged from the military service last year, so he volunteered at St. Elias Church in Al-Dwalaa teaching English to needy students who couldn't afford private lessons, but despite his long working hours, his income wasn’t meeting the increasing living expenses.

Through the Micro-project program, Wassim was able to transform a room in his house into a teaching class and prepare it with the tools and equipment to give lessons and secure a sustainable income. 

“Some of us matured early because life showed us the worst side of the world”. This is what best describes Melham Ibrahim, who, despite his young age, has the experience of an old soul.

Melham was born in 1998, and by the age of 13 the war was ravishing Syria, like many of his age, he lost the opportunity of enjoying his childhood due to the severe violent acts and destruction, he was also deprived of education because his father’s shop was robbed in 2013 and he had to sell his car and spend all the family’s savings so they could survive within those difficult circumstances.

Melham’s family was struggling financially, so he started working as a photographer's assistant, and his skills developed by learning to improve his career and income.

Soon after, he became the provider of the house and took care of his parents whose health began to deteriorate; as his father had a clot in his leg and was suffering from asthma while unfortunately his mother was diagnosed with cancer and went through a long treatment journey that needed a lot of money and care.

Melham was alone, facing all of those difficulties with little income because half of his profit was going straight to the equipment owners and the money left was barely enough for the basic living needs, yet he was strong enough to encounter the obstacles. 

“I just need a camera of my own and some proper equipment, I have confidence in my skills that no matter what situation I face, I will succeed”. The Micro project initiative has the same trust in Melham; that’s why he was supported with a camera and proper photography equipment that will enable him of writing his own success story in life.

Walid Al-Bethreh, is married and lives in a small, modest house in Al Tabbaleh neighborhood in Damascus. He worked as a jeweler in a workshop since 1999, he did everything he could to provide his family with the best living, but things changed after the outbreak of war, as the Goldsmithing work began to gradually diminish until it stopped in 2014 due to the lack of demand and the workshop was closed.

Walid didn't hesitate to start in a different profession and he started working as an employee at a beverage shop in Bab Sharqi area, but in 2015 a shell exploded near his house and his eye was injured by shrapnel as a result of the explosion, which caused severe damage to the eye cornea. This incident had a great impact on Walid’s psychological and health condition, he was suffering, but he did not give in to despair and continued to work in the beverage shop until the owner traveled in 2021. 

Walid found himself helpless without a job, or someone to support him as his son was discharged from military service and was barely able to support himself.  this strong-willed man refused to rely on others, so he started going from one store to another, collecting empty bottles and reselling them trying to afford his family's basic needs. 

Walid and his family were in a deplorable state, suffering from poverty, waiting for the mercy of God to take them out of their abyss. 

“Though we may not always realize it, life’s struggles can sometimes inspire us to strive for achievements that we may not have reached otherwise”

Walid found his way to the Micro Projects initiative and was supported to open his mini-market in Dwalaa neighborhood, now he can finally restore his independence and be able to secure a decent life for his family. 

"I always trust God’s will in my life and reconcile with all my struggles, the one who believes…. will always survive” With those words, Emil began telling us his tragic story.

Emil Philips is 51 years old, married with two kids Thomas and Maroska. Emil and his family are Egyptians living in Syria; he originally came to Syria from his home country Egypt in 2010 to find better career opportunities. He got employed as a food officer at Albal Hotel in the Old Damascus area and his income was good enough to provide him with a good living style.

Emil’s job didn’t last for long; as after a year of his arrival, the crisis in Syria started and the first to be affected were the hotels as the tourism movement stopped and his hotel was one of many that lost a lot of their income and started to discharge their employees. Unfortunately, Emil was among those who were fired, he found himself jobless in a completely new country within a brutal and severe war. 

Emil didn’t let despair enter his life, so he rented a small shop and started to sell beverages, and even when his income didn’t level with the living expenses, he didn’t hesitate to add a display table for selling vegetables and fruit.

No matter how hard Emil tried, life kept getting challenging; his wife Shery was diagnosed with cancer and had to go through intensive treatment between Syria and Egypt which cost a lot of money and put the family in a critical financial situation. Despite all that pain and loss, Emil thanked God for curing his wife and had the faith that tomorrow will be better. 

Through the Micro Projects initiation, Emil now has his own Pickup truck that will develop his work at the shop by getting fresh vegetables daily, and at the same time provide him with an additional source of income to improve his living conditions.

Wissam Wakim is married to Rasha Mousa, together they have a cute little kid called Marcus.

Wissam has worked as a goldsmith since 1996, but after the beginning of the war in Syria this profession became unprofitable so he traveled to Lebanon in 2011 and started to work as a private driver for a Lebanese family. 

Unfortunately, after about four years, the family traveled abroad and Wissam became jobless, so he returned to Syria where he got employed as a driver between Syria and Lebanon. His income was enough to meet his household but a few months after his son’s birth in 2019, the corona pandemic started and because of the long quarantine period and the borders restrictions, the travel movement between Syria and Lebanon shut down, and once again Wissam found himself under the toughest conditions.

Wissam started working as a taxi driver for very long hours, but despite how hard he worked, two-thirds of his income was going straight to the taxi owner which made it very difficult to afford the increasing expenses, especially with a little kid, house rent, and daily living needs.

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have”

Wissam was in very bad circumstances but his will never weakened, and when he heard about the Micro-Project program he didn’t hesitate to apply for the taxi hoping to improve his reality. Indeed, Wissam’s request was approved and he got his own taxi. Now he can be independent and secure a sustainable source of living for his family.

Fady Yazjy, 47 years, is married and has two kids; George born in 2006, and Mary-belle born in 2011.

Fady and his family used to live in Alkabbas area in Damascus, but during the crisis, the area was surrounded by armed groups and hit daily by dozens of mortar shells which caused huge damage to the family's house, so they had to flee to another area without being able to take any of their belongings or furniture out of the house. 

Unfortunately, after that incident, their stable life turned to insecurity and constant moving between many rented houses living in the worst conditions under the terrible financial situation. However, Fady and his family had to overcome all of those struggles and continue their life hoping things will improve in the future.

During that period Fady was working as an employee at a Tobacco company, but he was discharged in 2018 and became jobless, then he worked in the Cathedral of Lady of El Nayah in Damascus as a receptionist and maintenance worker but his salary wasn’t enough to meet living expenses or his children’s education costs. 

Fady was also responsible for his elderly parents which put him in a difficult situation. He had no time to feel despair because he was the only supporter of his family and parents, he kept working day and night trying to secure the most necessary requirements. 

“Having faith in God is the best hope and assurance that everything will be okay, as long as he is there for us even in the most difficult times”

Fady’s faith wasn't disappointed, as he got supported to buy his own Pickup Truck which will provide him with a sustainable source of income and reflect a big improvement over the whole family’s circumstances.

"The hardest moment in life is when your daughters ask for a simple thing, but you are unable to afford it." with these painful words, Salimeh told her story.

Salimeh Al-Mailaa, 35 years old, got married at a young age escaping her difficult childhood to face a harder reality of being responsible for a house and two little daughters. However, she accepted the situation and started working to help her husband in securing the living expenses. Despite her weak body structure, she was persistent in cleaning work for more than 10 years, to pay the house rent, which was rising year after year, and to pay off the debts of the high costs of living during wartime. 

Salimeh and her husband worked very hard to secure the basic house demands for their daughters who are now at a critical period in their studies, but the income was very little in comparison to the livelihood costs. However, Salimeh was more determined to strive for other opportunities to support her family during the tough circumstances.

Through the Micro initiation, Salimeh found the opportunity she was looking for; where she and her husband can put their efforts together in their own mini-market business which would preserve their dignity, achieve stability, and secure their future.

"We put our hope in this project and put the plans to run it successfully, but we believe in God's will whom we owe all the credit in our life."

George Al-Naqiri had a good job and a decent life, provided his children with all their requirements, but the wheel of life turned on him and he lost his house and factory of detergents manufacture, thus, his financial situation deteriorated rapidly. 

However, these losses did not weaken his determination, so he gathered his savings, borrowed some money from his relatives, and rented a small shop for accessories.

Unfortunately, the situation became dangerous with the outbreak of war in 2011, which reflected negatively on George's work, as his goods were not so much in demand anymore because people's main needs were food and medicine. At the same time, the shop area was exposed to heavy shelling, so he was forced to shut it down, sheltering in his home, hoping that the war would end with the least possible damages.

The economic situation became even worse after the war ended, especially with the Corona pandemic, which made it impossible for George to make any improvements to his work that would enhance his living conditions.

George was getting older and had to think again about securing his living expenses and securing his family's future in the middle of the harsh circumstances. Despite everything he has been through over the past decade, he kept his optimistic smile, which reflects positivity on everyone he meets.

Indeed, his hope wasn't disappointed; through the micro-project program, his shop was supported with sufficient goods that will constitute a qualitative leap in his business and will lead to the improvement of his livelihood.

The life journey of each person is unique in itself, unlike any other, it is impossible to imagine how some people can wake up every day and go on with their normal lives, go to work and laugh while they have great sorrow within their souls.

Since his childhood, Alaa took the responsibility of looking after his parents; he had to quit his study and learn the blacksmithing profession. In 1994, Alaa and his brother started working in a blacksmithing workshop, they were fighting together with the difficult living circumstances and taking care of their parents at the same time.

Unfortunately, his brother died from an explosion of a diesel tank while he was welding it, which was very devastating for Alaa who lost his friend and partner suddenly and was left alone facing life struggles.

However, he bravely took the responsibility of keeping a decent life for his family, which was very hard during the deteriorating situation of the whole country. Alaa was trying his best and worked for late hours trying to save his workshop and his job from breaking down but all his attempts fell short, especially because of the terrible electricity condition.

Alaa kept his faith in God and was always certain that someday, somehow, God will save his life and that what happened indeed. This strong, hardworking man was supported with an electric generator and a welding machine that will increase productivity and profits and help him to secure better living. 

Samir Shalash used to have a private restaurant in the Al-Tal area in the countryside of Damascus, and his work took all of his time; it was a profitable business, as it was very popular in the area, and people came from many regions.

He never imagined he would lose everything so suddenly; after the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011,  Al-Tal area turned into a center of battles and violence, which led to massive destruction of buildings, and many lives were lost. Samir’s restaurant turned into rubbles overnight without being able to save anything from it.

those losses were very devastating, Samir did not only lose a place or equipment, he lost his lifetime job, which was his only source of income for a livelihood, but he didn’t surrender; he collected all his savings and rented a small shop in Al Dwalaa area to sell vegetables and fruits. This small business allowed him to survive during the most difficult conditions of war. A stifling economic crisis forced itself into the post-war years, which greatly affected work.

Samir shifted to selling coffee and nuts but was unable to expand his project for better income, especially after the Corona pandemic that struck the country and caused a huge rise in prices, then his health situation worsened and he had to go through a heart-stent placement operation which consumed all of his savings. 

All of these hardships can easily make a person collapses, but not Samir, who was always ready to take the opportunity and start over through the Micro Projects Program, where he was supported with goods that would secure him a greater income and hopefully better sustainability.