Lama’s life was forever changed by the war; she was held captive for four harrowing months by the armed groups while trying to flee their home village Al- Qaryatayn, she and her family endured unimaginable suffering. 

When they finally escaped, they arrived in Homs city with nothing but their clothes. Determined to move on, they rented a house in Al-Arman neighborhood and started over from scratch. 

When Nizar’s income couldn’t meet their growing needs, the selfless mother, undeterred, turned to her culinary skills, making delicious homemade sweets and pastries back in 2018. 

But without proper equipment, her small business struggled, especially that the demand was increasing. Her resilience led her to the Micro Projects Program, where she received vital support. With newfound resources, she transformed her micro project into a lifeline for her family, proving that even amidst adversity, hope can flourish. 

As a devoted school teacher from Qattinah village, Wafaa has always believed in the power of education to transform lives. But beyond the classroom, she faced financial challenges; with limited resources and a retired husband, making ends meet was a constant struggle.

In 2013, Wafaa’s life took an unexpected turn. Her mother introduced her to the world of oyster mushroom cultivation. It was a small-scale project, but it thrived. Unfortunately, her mother’s health declined, and she had to step back from the venture. Wafaa saw an opportunity, a chance to create something special for her family.

She decided to start her own micro project, growing oyster mushrooms on her rooftop, she applied to the Micro Projects Program without hesitation. The program recognized the uniqueness of her endeavor, the way it will bring sustenance and stability to her household. With the support, her project blossomed into a main source of income.

The project became her passion, a way to supplement their income and her determination paid off. Her mushrooms flourished, filling their roof with earthy aromas and hope for better days to come.

Hala, married to Maher, a school principal in Homs, has always been determined to secure a stable future for their three children, especially Milad, who is blind and a student of English literature. Living in a rented house, Maher's modest salary is insufficient, particularly with John and Joelle in university. The family's main source of extra income, their apple land in Al-Marana village, was tragically destroyed by fire.

Hala knew they needed a reliable and sustainable solution to support the family and ensure Milad's future; she envisioned a project that met a constant demand, ice production. Recognizing the potential, she applied to the Micro Projects Program. With the support, she acquired an ice making machine, water filter, ice containers, an electric generator, and other essential tools.

Now, the family operates their ice-making business from home, leveraging their local connections. This project not only provides immediate financial relief but also promises long-term stability. It's a beacon of hope for Milad, guaranteeing him a secure living despite his special need. Hala's micro project has transformed their lives, proving that with determination and innovative thinking, they can overcome any obstacle. 

Firyal lives in Qattinah village with her husband Maher and their two sons, both university students. Before the war, their family owned a successful chicken farm, providing a stable income. However, in 2012, their farm was completely destroyed, leaving them with nothing.

In 2021, Firyal and Maher decided to find a new, sustainable source of income. They rented a small shop and purchased an ice-making machine hoping to enhance their livelihood. Despite their efforts, the machine's limited capabilities have hindered their production, especially with the high demand for ice in their village.

This small shop is their only source of income, crucial for supporting their sons' education and meeting daily needs. To improve their family's lifeline, Firyal applied to the Micro Projects Program for support to replace their old machine with a more efficient one. A new machine would enable them to increase production, meet demand, and secure a more stable income.

Her determination to provide for her family drives her every day. With the support from the Micro Projects Program, she hopes to turn their small shop into a thriving business, ensuring a stable living for her family. 

Once thriving in a small village, Lody's family faced adversity when their modest grocery shop became unsustainable due to rising prices and harsh living conditions. Forced to close their business, they relocated to her mother's house in Fairouza village, where they rented a small vegetable shop. But this venture alone couldn’t meet their needs.

Her husband, weakened after a kidney surgery, couldn’t work. Their son and daughter, both students, depended on their parents’ resilience. The shop was their lifeline, a beacon of hope. She dreamed of transforming it into a mini-market, a place where they could provide for their family and regain their dignity.

With faith, Lody and her family took the first step by opening the shop and sought support to turn their humble shop into a thriving mini-market. Currently, the shelves are filled with a variety of goods and food commodities. The shop has been upgraded with a refrigerator and battery, essential for storing dairy products. This mini-market provides the family now with a lifeline and a hopeful outlook for a brighter future.

At the age of fifteen, Eva Alshehadeh started to work at a hairdressing salon to support her family, since then, she started to learn everything related to this career including hairdressing, makeup, and nail care which gave her good experience in the field. Her father was deceased and she was the supporter of her mother and siblings so she was doing her best to afford the living demands, challenging all the difficulties of work and her health condition as she was suffering from sideropenia which caused her several symptoms and continuous feeling of tiredness.

In 2019, with the help of the church, Eva underwent Glandectomy surgery and her health condition started to improve, unlike her financial condition as the salon she was working at was closed and she found herself jobless.

Eva didn’t accept being dependent on aids especially since she became the only supporter of her mother so she started to work at customers' houses, using her old inappropriate tools, and touring from one house to another to have an income and cover the basic living needs of her family.

After applying at the Micro project center, Eva feels delighted because she was supported to establish her own makeup and nailcare center which will be the means to have an independent source of living and improve her living conditions.

Somar Fallouh is 30 years old, lives with his parents and brother in Jaramana, Damascus suburbs and currently working as a salesman in a clothes store.

In 2014, Somar was called for military service in Aleppo and he served there for more than five years facing dangers and death daily because of the critical security condition of the city.

Despite the dangers, Somar worked after his duty as a taxi driver in order to afford his expenses and send money to his parents in Damascus; as his father was a cancer and heart patient and his mother was looking after him while his younger brother was still studying.

During the service, Somar was injured by three fragments then in 2021, he was discharged from the service and started working immediately as a taxi driver which wasn’t easy due to the high car rent, so he turned to other careers until he found a job as a salesman.

Somar spent long hours at the store trying his best to provide his family with a decent living, but that wasn't enough with the crazy increase in prices making people unable to buy clothes which affected his income majorly.

With the help of Hope Center, Somar was supported to find a taxi which was the only proper source of income that he can do to support himself and his family and secure a dignified life. 

Raghed Farah, 37 years old, is a self-made man who took responsibility for his family at a young age, and even through the nine years of military service, he kept working and covering the house expenses.

He used to live with his family in Al-zablatani area but during wartime, the area was targeted by daily shells in addition to the security incidents so they moved to Jaramana.

In 2011, he was called for military service until 2020 but his service was administrative so he worked after duty time as a mini-van driver, transporting students and employees. However, after his discharge from the service, he got employed as a warehouse keeper and was doing his best to afford the living demands of his family and his newborn baby, but the economic situation was very difficult, and despite all his efforts he was unable to afford his family’s livelihood.

However, Raghed fought for his family right of their simplest needs and sought support from the Micro Project Center in Damascus. 

Today, after being supported to buy his own Mini-van, Raghed is committed to work as hard as he can to improve his income and secure a decent living for his family. 

Although she is still 22, Valentina was overloaded with life calamities and had to hold the responsibility of her family and her younger sisters in addition to taking care of her sick and heartbroken mother.

Valentina was living in safety and security with her family while her mother and father were doing their best to provide the best living circumstances for their girls. 

In 2013, this reality changed into a nightmare as their father was a victim of snipping while he was driving his car to work and the criminals took his body and the car. His family didn’t just have to handle his death news but also they had to pay an amount of money to have his body and do a decent funeral for him.

After that incident, the mother’s health deteriorated so she quit her job to take care of her daughters while Valentina started to work during her study time to support her family.

She started doing makeup and nail care for her relatives and friends then in 2018 she enrolled in several courses to enhance her skills then she started to work in different beauty salons trying her best to afford the livelihood of her family.

With time passing, Valentina discovered that her work was so tiring, and with no proper income, she quit and started to work for a percentage of profits waiting for a chance to have her project.

With great faith, Valentina applied at the micro-project center for support and despite her young age, this strong-willed lady was supported with all the tools and materials necessary to start her project because after all those hard years she deserved to be independent and have a decent source of income to help her family.

With more than 40 years of experience, Riadh Al-zawahra, a loving husband and father of two daughters Nour and Niveen, was still working as a tailor at a sewing workshop in Jaramana.

He started to learn the career at the age of ten, the same age he started to work and support his family then when he became experienced enough, he implemented all the steps of sewing and many workshops dealt with him.

During his life, Riahd was able to establish a lovely family and support his daughters to finish their education and work but due to the difficult years of war and the deteriorating economic condition, he wasn’t able to establish his own workshop.

“ All i wish after those hard-working years is to settle down, be my own boss, and have the ability to increase my income”.

Riadh applied at the Micro projects center, and considering his long experience and need to improve his living conditions, his request was approved as he got the required support to establish his own sewing workshop with all hope that this project would be a turning point in his future life and will give him the independency he longed for.