Youssef lives with his wife, parents and sister in his family's house. After marriage he was planning to live in a borrowed house and he had started to renovate, but during the war the house was damaged. Then they traveled to Lebanon for three years but he didn’t succeed there so he came back to his country.

During his time in Lebanon, he worked as a blacksmith in a company, after which he worked for two years in maintaining air conditioners, but his income from this work was less than that of blacksmithing. For this reason, he started working in his father's workshop and using old tools and machines.

Unfortunately, after the earthquake that hit Syria, because of their fear they traveled to Hama for a short period of time.

As a young married man, he wants to be the boss of his own business & tools, this way he’d be able to secure his family’s needs and live in a separate house. Now all of these dreams are possible after he got funded.

Harout is 41 years old and a father of two daughters and a son, living in a rented house, his first job was in his father's shoe workshop, then they sold it to cover living expenses. Afterwards he started working as a plumber in a monastery and learned the profession there. 

In 2010 he traveled to Lebanon and continued in the same profession.
At the end of 2011 the family returned to Aleppo and bought a house, unfortunately after nearly just one month, they had to sell the house due to their financial instability; they moved between several provinces in search for a better life and during their absence, the plumbing kit that he has bought was stolen, after which they returned to Aleppo and settled here. 

Harout now works as a plumber in the Salesian monastery along with some other clients but his only problem is that he has a primitive kit so he rents the equipment, which constitutes additional costs.

Harout’s only wish is to raise his children under stable and good conditions, which requires him to search for new ways to increase his income and fulfill his family’s needs. Now with the fund he has all the equipment and he is looking forward to better days to come.

Mikhaiel is a newly married man who recently moved to a rental apartment subsequent to living in his parent’s house since his financial situation was unstable.

Mikhaiel started his career back in his early twenties when he rented his friend’s taxi and worked as an uber driver but this didn’t last long because he got called for military service in 2007 for two years and then he worked in a sewing workshop approximately for 8 years. 

In 2017 he got injured by a shrapnel in his leg and then he got recalled for reserve military service till the end of 2021. after his discharge he couldn’t turn back to the sewing domain because of his injury that made it hard on him to stand for long hours which led him to work as a keeper in a sewing workshop and that is where he currently works, but his income from this job is not enough to cover the livelihood expenses.

The consequences of the earthquake were harsh on his wife, it caused her onset of hemiplegia and her treatment expenses are high so his need to a new and better income became a necessity.

Mikhaiel heard about Hope Center’s Micro projects program and decided to apply for a taxi, because of his health condition this is the most appropriate job for him. Now that he owns the taxi, he is so thankful and full of hope that he will be capable of covering his wife’s medical treatment costs and their livelihood expenses.

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.

Pamela lives with her parents and her younger sister in a rented apartment, she has been working since she was 17 and they moved to Tartus to escape from the war and the shells that were falling all over Aleppo.

In Tartus she worked in so many different domains, later, she started taking photographs as a hobby then, that hobby turned to a passion and profession.

In 2017 the family came back to Aleppo and Pamela's friends were the biggest supporters who encouraged her to pursue her passion.

Pamela wanted to take her talent to the next level and upgrade her skills by taking a design and montage course along with continuous self-improving.

She specialized in surgical photography because one of her friends was a dentist who believed in her and they agreed on working together, which enlarged her customers' circle and she became a well-known photographer among doctors who prefer this kind of promotions.

Pamela didn’t have any professional equipment; she used her mobile phone’s camera and when the doctors demanded a professional camera, she had to rent it.

Today after the support of Micro Projects, she has all the equipment and the confident to work independently and increase her income. 

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.

Antoine is married with 2 kids, they live in a modest apartment, his wife and him both work hard for their daughters.

Antoine has made his way in this world by working at air conditioning maintenance since he was a young man, he started as a worker and after taking a course he developed his work range.

First few years of learning the profession were somehow harsh on him, but his aim and hard work paid off and he became skilled and wanted to be more independent; he was planning to open his own workshop, but his financial instability created an obstacle so he ended up as a partner in a workshop with a small share of the profit.

Soon after, the family’s expenses were getting bigger and bigger and his share of the profit was no longer enough as the only income source.

Micro project’s fund planted hope and joy in his soul, now that he is the boss of his own project and has all the machinery he needs, Antoine believes he will conquer most of the financial difficulties he may face in the future.

Antoine is a divorced man living with his daughter who is preparing for the bachelor’s exam and they live a small apartment.

Antoine had a vehicle which he used to drive when he was a round trip driver at a transportation company and he was satisfied with his income but after the war and its consequences the company decided to close and he became unemployed. 

Because he has a daughter to take care of, he needed to quickly search for a new income source so he rented a shop and opened a market from his savings but sadly his market got robbed, to refund his business he sold his car and worked till 2021, then the owner of the shop told him to move out. He started working as a bus driver at the deaf school where he works till now. However the expenses were increasing rapidly and the salary became insufficient. 

Now he got the Taxi, he is happy and thankful for being able to secure his family’s needs and insure a better income.

Mikhaiel served in military for 10 years and now he thrives to start his life from scratch; despite all the difficulties that he has been facing, decided to focus on the opportunities and not the obstacles.

He had started working in the rubber molding domain with his father since he was young, gained experience and even worked during the vacations of his military service.

Moreover, they've lost all of their equipment during the war due to the fact that their workshop’s region was under the control of armed groups for a long period of time. 

Now that he’s a father of two and also takes care of his parents accordingly his responsibility became bigger than ever, but that’s not a hindrance for him, cause he finds all the courage he needs every time he looks at his beautiful family.

So, he applied for Hope Center, hoping to use his great experience to commence his own business and provide a better life for his children. 

"I love my country Syria and I'll keep up working at my shop no matter what" 

Salem who is 66 years old, lives in one of the parish's houses with his wife and three children, during the war they were forced to leave their home for a short period of time and sadly his daughter got injured by a stray bullet and she is still carrying a piece of it in her hand, moreover his stationery shop was damaged by the missiles that were falling around it like rain.

Despite this all, he didn't lose hope and persisted to open his shop and tried to continue his regular life, because he is a strong-willed, hardworking person, who looks at life from a positive perspective, with considering the fact that he is the only breadwinner in his family, whose only wish is to secure the basics for his family.

The equipment that he has are from the day he opened the shop back to 1987, which became outdated and not useful anymore, that's why upgrading his shop became essential for him so that he won't lose more costumers.

With the help of Hope Center, Salem now has all the tools he needs that will increase his income and provide a decent life for his family.

Salim is a hardworking and strong-willed man, who lives with his three siblings along with being the main breadwinner in his family. 

Salim laid the foundation of his sewing experience back when he was young by helping his father in his free time and during his summer vacations.

In 1986, he opened his own workshop and everything was great, the business was profitable, which made him enlarge the project and specialize in sewing uniforms.

The story of his big success was torn apart after the war that hit Syria, which left him with a mounting burden of debt, later on he sold off most of his machinery and his workshop to pay them back.

But he didn’t give up and turned back to his business with the simple machinery that he has kept; day after day he realized, that what he makes is not enough comparing with the market demand.

Now, that he got the opportunity to open a new workshop and turn it step by step to what it was before, he is so thankful to Hope Center for giving him the chance to fulfill his family’s needs and livelihood expenses.

Everyone appreciates his valuable possessions and it is difficult to sell a property in order to face the difficulty of life and the difficult living conditions.

Ohaness faced this problem when he had to sell their house because of the lack of work at that time after he was discharged from the military.

He is 31 years old, served the military for more than nine years, now he lives with his brother, who serves in the military, and his mother in their small house.

He returned to his previous profession in rubber molding after completing his service. But his savings were not enough to open a business, he decided to apply to the Hope Center to get help with a purchase of a press machine.

This initiative helped him have the essential machine to continue and save the family's only source of livelihood. 

Imad learned this profession from his father and developed his skills over time, he used to work with him before the military service that lasted for nine years.

He lives with his parents and brother; he immediately resumed working when he was discharged in order to help in providing for the family.

His craft heavily relies on electricity, which was the thing that hindered Imad's productivity during the current circumstances. He tried to carry on working while using an electric generator that he had rented, but he missed many work chances when renting was not possible.

Imad is determined to overcome the challenges brought by the crisis and achieve his goals, in hopes that with the new equipment, he will not only be able to provide for his family but also save up for his dream of working independently.

Elian, a construction worker who struggled due to the mounting financial obligations and lack of opportunities, thought of a way to increase his income and added another service to his work, which involves lifting construction materials with a mini-winch that he bought with some friends' assistance.

He lives with his brother Adel after their parents passed away and all of their siblings got married and went into their own lives.

But Elian's inability to generate a sufficient income was actually hindered by the lack of electricity, and he couldn't afford the cost of an electric generator.

He wanted the generator to continue working because, as he gets older, his construction work will become more difficult and exhausting, and the mini-winch will ensure he has a source of income because it requires less physical effort.

Shireen represents the strong working woman and the selfless mother who devoted her entire life for her family and didn’t give up no matter how hard the circumstances were.

She is married and the mother of three children, two boys and a girl, and her family is originally from the war-torn village of Al-Qaryatein. 

2015 was the year Shireen and her family were kidnapped by the armed groups that attacked their home village and deprived them of the peaceful life they used to live. Fortunately, they were able to escape and make it to Fairouza village, where they began to rebuild their lives from scratch, just like many other displaced families.

Today, Shireen shares a home with her husband, who is an employee, her only daughter, who is a high school student, her mother-in-law, and her brother-in-law, while the two sons left to find their own paths. She couldn't just stand by and watch, so she made the decision to utilize her sewing skills. Since the experienced seamstress has a long history of working in this industry both teaching and working in it. 

While switching between several workshops in Fairouza over the previous few years, working for others didn’t provide decent living for the family until she applied to the Micro Projects Program in 2022, where she got the needed support to buy the main machines and start practicing her profession at home.

Life was tough on Shireen and her family, and having a project will preserve her dignity and allow her to secure a better income.

Maria and her family were left with a lot of responsibility, but the resilient young woman has shown strength in overcoming all the difficulties following her father's tragic passing.

She lives with her mother and older brother, Alaa, while her younger brother, Elie, traveled abroad to seek his opportunities.

Maria had previously worked for six years in the field of selling accessories and clothes, which helped her gain valuable expertise, and encouraged her to start a business, and in order to assure the project's success, she also drew on her older brother's extensive sales experience. 

The two of them launched a simple accessory shop in 2020 with the goal of finding a way to support the family, which had good profits over the first few months, but in 2021, when the family lost their sole provider, it ended up being their only source of livelihood.

The situation of the country, especially the huge inflation, had an impact on the project, but the true obstacle in their path was the rental expenses, which had recently risen and increased their financial burdens.

Maria and Alaa studied the possibility of developing their shop and decided to apply new ideas, including selling handmade accessories. Based on that, Maria applied for the essential tools required for that and some merchandise to support it, in the hopes that the family's business would succeed and secure them a better future.

Subhi left school at an early age and immediately started looking for a source of livelihood in order to support his family as the only son of his parents. He tried a variety of professions before his brother-in-law taught him about electrical installation, and they began working together in 2014.

Today, Subhi lives in Fairouza village with his wife and their 3-year-old son, along with his elderly parents.

After nine years of working in this field, Subhi managed to acquire all the required skills to work independently, but due to his financial responsibilities, he was unable to buy his own tools and was barely able to provide for his family's basic necessities.

By providing him with the equipment he needs, Subhi will be able to work independently and ensure a better income.

In 2010, Nidal and his wife Badiaa started their small family, and today they are the parents of two boys, Elias (10 years old) and Elie (8 years old). The family of four lives in a rented apartment, and Nidal is their sole provider.

They used to live in the war-torn neighborhood of Bab Al-Sebaa until they were compelled to leave because of the war dangers, and Fairouza village was their new home after starting a new life there. 

Nidal is an electrician, and during his career, he went through many experiences that helped him develop his great skills, particularly in maintenance.

After being forced to leave Homs, he continued to work using the few tools he was able to bring with him. Although it was difficult because he was in need of some necessary tools, the hard-working man never gave up.

Having all the tools will make a positive change and Nidal will guarantee his family a better future.

Catherine, the family's youngest daughter, made the decision to pursue her own career and life path.

When she realized that the major she had been studying was not what she was passionate about, she began working in a hair salon, where she discovered her true passion. The experience she gained at the salon was not enough for the ambitious young lady, who attended specialized courses to broaden her skills and utilize her talent in the best way.

She lives with her parents; her father was a plumber, but lately, he became no longer able to continue in this tiring work due to a health condition, and her mother works as a seamstress at home, their situation made Catherine more eager to work and support her family during the tough economic circumstances.

She intended to take her first step by offering nail care services at home, but acquiring the necessary tools and materials was challenging without assistance.

With her unique skills and good experience, Catherine now has the tools necessary to provide the best service to her clients thanks to this initiative.

Jackie and her husband Mikhail are young parents who are doing their best to give their 3-year-old daughter Tatiana a happy life. The small family rents an apartment in Fairouza village; Mikhail owns a vegetable shop, and when their financial obligations started to increase, Jackie decided to support him in finding an additional income.

For Jackie, nail art was just a hobby until she realized she could use her talent to support her family. In 2021, Jackie turned a spare room in her home into a workspace and began taking on clients. Over time, she was able to acquire a few tools and supplies, but Jackie still required more equipment; particularly a battery to make up for the electricity shortage, in order to ensure better services.

This project is now complete since Jackie possesses the required skills and qualifications, in addition to all the requirements, and she intends to open her own salon in the future once her lovely daughter grows up and starts going to school.

After retiring from his job as a craft trainer at the electrical institute, Khaddour was able to devote all of his time to his career in electrical installation and maintenance, which he started in 1984.

He is the sole provider for his wife and their two children, Ornina and Fadi, who are university students.

Khaddour's entire equipment was stolen while he was working at a construction site in February 2022, which caused him to lose his primary source of income. His wife is, unfortunately, a cancer patient, so his pension barely covered the family's essential expenses. He was also unable to pay for new equipment, which caused him to lose out on many opportunities.

Khaddour was able to resume working thanks to this support, which also ensured him an additional source of livelihood during this difficult times.

Fadi Al-Khoury 62, is married to Amal Rashid and has five children: Lara, Layal, Lina, Lorraine, and Elias.

He lives with his family in a rented old flat on Al-Duwailah street, in poor living conditions. 

For more than 33 years of his life, Fadi worked as an employee at a governmental institution until his retirement in 2018, after that, he started to work as a taxi driver trying his best to afford his family's livelihood, especially since his son and daughter are still at school and his wife suffers from slipped vertebrae, and needed to undergo surgery which they couldn't afford.

Moreover, his daughter Layal got divorced and moved back to live with them while being pregnant and in a bad health situation. All of that overloaded Fadi with extra responsibilities toward his family and no matter how hard he worked he was unable to meet the living demands.

his daughter Lara started to learn the nail beauty profession to work and help her father with the house expenses, yet, the living circumstances were getting worse year after year and Fadi needed to have a sustainable source of income to improve his conditions.

through the help of Micro-projects Fadi was funded with the taxi project in the hope that it will form a positive transition in his life to help him enhance his living and preserve his dignity.

Thabet Khneifes is 56 years old, he is married to Rima Al-Qablan and has three daughters and a son, Rita, Rudeina, Salam, and Ghazi.

He used to live with his family in Tibneh village, in the countryside of Daraa, where he worked as an employee and they lived in stability.

However, the countryside of Daraa was one of the areas that were severely affected by the war, and its citizens were exposed to many dangers and threats. in 2015 and despite his poor financial situation, Thabit decided to leave the village and move with his family to live in the city of Damascus, as he preferred living in poverty rather than risking the lives of his family.

Thabet retired from his work in 2017 and then started working as a pickup driver to secure his family's livelihood and support his children to continue their education and in return, his children started to work and study at the same time to help their father; Rita started working in an optical shop, while his son Ghazi started doing several freelance jobs.

During the past two years, the security situation stabilized in his village so Thabet began to work in transporting vegetables and goods from the village to the city which enhanced his work but unfortunately, the owner of the pickup decided to sell it which made Thabet suddenly jobless and with no source of income. he tried to rent another one but the rent was very expensive and their financial conditions were deteriorating which affected his son's health as he had a blood clot as a result of the great psychological pressure but thanks to God he survived.

Thabet visited the Micro-Projects Office in Damascus and applied for the pickup project hoping to have this lifetime chance that will form a new chapter in his life and his request was approved.

Now after the funding, Thabet is working independently again and doing his best to improve his condition and secure a better living for his family.

Camille Seropian, 55 is married to Rania Mansour, and they have two kids, Jerious born in 2008, and Selina, born in 2020.

He worked as a Goldsmith from 1979 until the beginning of the war in 2011 when the work began to decrease gradually due to the repercussions of the war, so the owner of the workshop was forced to close it and travel abroad, which led to the end of Camille's work.

Camille found himself in a difficult situation, as he lost his main profession and all his savings and was living under critical security and economic conditions.

However, he did not give up and decided to start working as a mobile salesman using a bicycle; he used to load some goods on his bike daily and tour from place to place to sell them. His work began to improve until he was able to save some money and buy a small car that he used in distributing the goods until 2019 when the economic conditions began to deteriorate and houses' rents began to rise, so he sold his car to buy a small house to secure his family, and returned to working on his bicycle.

Camille used to ride long hours on his bike under extreme heat, cold, or rain because all his concern was to secure a decent living for his family, but this hard work caused him, over time, many health problems which made him unable to work with the same effort and as a result, his income decreased. 

However, he did not let despair creep into his heart, as he applied for the Pickup car project, and with the help of Micro projects he was able to buy the pickup that will allow him to develop his work, increase his income, and change his living conditions for the best

"When you do anything for the sake of your family, you do it with love, because family is the most valuable thing that one can have in life"

That is what George Alyoussef said.

he is a 30-year single man who lives with his mother and two sisters in his uncle's house at Altabbaleh.

after he finished the baccalaureate, he started working to support his family because they were in bad financial condition. In 2015, he volunteered at the Two Sacred Hearts center and began his journey in the humanitarian field, the work that became his passion and gave him all his effort and time, but unfortunately, life chose another path for him to take, because in 2017 his father was diagnosed with brain cancer and began his long and painful treatment which forced George to leave his job many times to be beside his father, and in the end, he had to quit and support his family during that difficult period, especially since he was the only man in the house and his two sisters and mother were taking their strength from him.

After his father died in 2018, George found himself broke because during that period he has spent all of his savings and began struggling to secure daily sustenance and means of livelihood for his family, especially since his mother was suffering from osteoporosis and gastritis, and his sister was suffering from irregular blood sugar and they both needs medicine on daily basis.

George was forced to do any work that would provide him with a better income, so he worked as a Suzuki driver until 2020 when the car's owner sold the car to travel abroad so he started to work at a café trying as much as possible to afford the living expenses.

However, his condition was deteriorating and his income did not cover the increasing costs of living demands and medication, and he was in dire need of a project that would provide him with a good and stable income to secure his obligations.

Through the Micro-Project Program, George got his opportunity, which he was seeking, and was funded by the mini-van project that will use to deliver goods, products, school students, and children to churches.

All we hope is that this project will constitute a turning point in his life and help him improve his living conditions and secure a greater income that allows him and his family to live in dignity.

Imad Mallouh and his sons are among the survivors who experienced all the horrors of war and reached the death point but God's great mercy saved them.

He is 52 years old, married to Nahla Ghumaid, and has two sons and a daughter, he used to live with his family in Al-Swaida countryside and he was working as a policeman there.

After the start of the war, he faced many threats and dangers that ended in his kidnapping with his two sons by the armed gangs in 2013, as they suffered from humiliation and violence until his family paid a huge ransom of money to set them free.

indeed, imad and his sons were released by a miracle of God and he decided after that to flee out Al-Swaida to the countryside of Damascus where he rented a small modest flat and lived there with his family.

He was transferred to work at Al-Mleiha police station which was considered a dangerous place as he and his friends were also attacked by the armed groups and were hostages for a period until they managed to escape.

Imad retired in 2019 but his financial conditions were very bad so he decided to start working as a taxi driver trying his best to afford his family's living as his son Fadi is training to be a lawyer, his daughter Lousiana is at the fourth year at university and his youngest son Roni is still at the tenth grade.

unfortunately, his income didn't meet the increasing living demands and he needed to have his own taxi to increase his income because he was giving two-thirds of it to the taxi owner.

With the help of the Hope Center, Imad was able get a taxi to work on as he believes is suitable for his age, it will make a good daily return to support his family and improve his situation.

George Bergheil is a very talented 44-year-old man, he is married to Janet Haddad, and they have two beautiful daughters, Chanel, born in 2006, and Christelle, born in 2012.

George is from the village of Maaloula in the countryside of Damascus. When he was twenty years old, he started practicing the profession of mosaic, seashell inlays, and wood carving. He soon proved a great talent in this field and became the passion that took him all his time and effort.

After his marriage, he tried to work independently, so he bought the machines and tools that will enable him to have his own workshop in Maaloula, and his work became very desirable because of the artistic touch that he added to the pieces.

he worked hard dreaming to establish his own design signature, unaware that these dreams would fade away and that his life would turn upside down after 2011.

soon after the war outbreak, the armed groups reached the village of Maaloula and began terrorizing the citizens, practicing the most horrific acts of violence, destruction, and killing which forced most of its citizens to flee to save their souls including George and his family who left everything behind to preserve their lives without being able to take any of their possessions or work machines, which unfortunately were completely stolen, in addition to destroying their house and looting the furniture.

George lost everything he worked for and had to start over in a new place under very harsh conditions and returned to be a worker at an engraving and mosaic workshop trying his best to cope with the high costs of living, and his wife also started working and helping him, trying as much as possible to secure the life requirements for their two daughters.

with the help of the Hope Center, George gained the chance he was dreaming about all his life as he was funded with all the machines, equipment, and materials to start his workshop where he will have the space to work, create, and secure a decent living for his family.

For more than twenty years, Samer worked as a tiler for long hours to secure his family the best possible living.

Samer is 45 years old, married to Eivon Makhoul and they have two kids.

Samer and his family couldn’t afford to rent their own flat so they lived in a small room in his parent’s house in the Aldwallaa neighborhood. He was also responsible for taking care of his old parents and securing their expenses which overwhelmed him with high living costs.

He didn’t mind doubling his efforts for his family's sake and even in wartime, under the shelling and explosions, he kept his faith in God and his will and kept struggling to survive and live in dignity.

However, at the beginning of 2022, all his endeavors vanished in a blink of an eye when the iron cutting machine broke and the grinding wheel hit his left arm which led to the rupture of the tendons of his hand and caused severe injury to his nerves and bones.

After that incident, Samer went through long sessions of treatment and became unable to continue his previous work; for the following nine months, he was with no income, living with the help of his relatives and the church’s support. 

His psychological situation was affected badly since he never used to need anyone’s help and used to work and feed his family from his efforts.

Samer started to deliver vegetables and other products to shops and although his income was very low, he insisted to work to support his family.

he applied for the pickup truck project seeking work that suits his health condition and at the same time secures him a sustainable source of income to improve his livelihood situation.

Micheline Halal, 44 years old, is married to Fadi Francis, and they have two sons and a daughter.

Micheline and her family are from a small village called Maaloula in the countryside of Damascus where they used to live and work in their grocery store. Her husband worked as a mural artist, and they were living in stability and safety until the fierce war began and its impact reached the village of Maaloula, which forced the family to close the grocery store, leave their home, and flee out.

Micheline and her children moved to live in her sister's house in Damascus, and her husband traveled to Lebanon to work and secure an income for his family hoping that the war would end quickly so that they could return to their hometown. Two years later, Micheline decided to rent a house in Jaramana and move to live there with her family, especially after she knew that her house in Maaloula was completely damaged and all the furniture was stolen.

During that period, her husband returned from Lebanon, and the whole family participated to secure the living costs, even though their children were working part-time jobs after school to help with the household expenses but their conditions were still deteriorating.

With the help of Hope center, Micheline had the chance to have a mini-market with all the needed equipment and goods, and she is now able to work and support her family to improve their situation and have a decent life.

Maria Al-Samaan is the eldest daughter in a family of five, her father has retired due to a disability and his pension was their only income for many years in addition to the help of relatives.

however, their circumstances were never easy, and during the years of war, they suffered precarious conditions and financial hardships, in addition to her mother's illness with breast cancer.

All this did not weaken Maria's determination to complete her education, as she was able to enter the Faculty of Architectural Engineering, and since her first year at the university, she started working in the profession of nail beauty with the help of her aunt so that she could afford her university expenses.

After graduating from the university, she was employed at Syriatel telecommunication company as an engineer, and at the same time, she continued working in nail beauty because her salary was very low and was barely sufficient to cover the house demands.

Over time, Maria found that her work in Syriatel was draining her time and energy, and her salary was very low compared to the house obligations, so she decided to resign and work full-time in the profession of nail beauty.

unfortunately, this work also has disadvantages, as she was diagnosed of having sciatic nerve inflammation and neck beaks, and she was no longer able to keep working and needed an income-generation project to cover the livelihood demands.

Maria was concerned because she is the eldest daughter and she is responsible for the house and her siblings, but with the help of the Micro-project program, she was able to start her own cosmetic store to sell nail beauty and cosmetic materials, which will relieve her of the hard work and provide her with sustainable income to live in dignity.

Rafy is 45 and married to Rania Al-Asaad and they have two sons Fady born in 2005 and Hady born in 2009.

Before the war, the family lived in Maaloula village and they were in a good financial situation as they had a mini-market on the main street where Rafy and his wife used to work and at the weekends Rafy used to work at wall-painting workshops to increase their income.

However, after 2011, their life changed completely as the armed groups attacked Maaloula, entered the city, and began spreading the killing and violent acts everywhere. In 2013, the family was forced to flee to Damascus and live at the wife’s family house in Al-Dwallaa area, as their house in Maaloula was hit by a shell which caused its destruction, and the shop was looted and burned.

However, Rafy didn't let desperation sneak into his heart, so he decided to overcome all the incidents they have been through and start a new mini-market in Kashkoul and named it "Al-Maalouly" but soon after he was called for the reserve military service and for the next six years he was serving in Alqtaifa and his wife was running the mini market until his discharge in 2019.

He was very concerned about the fate of his sons and he decided to travel to Erbil with his family to seek better living conditions but that decision coincided with the Corona pandemic and he lost all of his savings in Erbil and went back to Syria despaired. 

upon his return, Rafy started to work as a driver but of his bad luck he had a car accident and was hurt but several injuries that caused him a 60% deficit and a long period of treatment.

he was devastated and lost so he decided to hold his last hope and apply to the Micro-project program for the mini-market project.

After the fund, Rafy is so grateful and feels blessed that God has made up for all the calamities he went through and he is determent to restore his life balance and work to improve his living conditions.

Elias Faddoul, 56, is married to Carmen Jarrous and they share living with his siblings at the family's old house in Bab Touma.

Before the war, Elias had a small store for selling holy icons and rosaries, he loved his work a lot and was always creating new designs, but with the beginning of the war, the difficult economic conditions affected his job as the demand for icons was no longer required because people were barely able to afford the basic demands so his business deteriorated and ended with closing the store in 2015.

However, Elias didn't despair and was ready to start over; he took many courses at the church including project management, design, and many others then volunteered to work with special-needs people and trained them to do wax modeling and handicrafts. He also started a workshop affiliated with the Greek Catholic Church in 2018 to recycle and sell candles, and all the profit went to charity work.

Elias was very passionate about his profession and wanted to start his own workshop especially since his wife had experience in the field of crochet and handicraft work, but the tools they owned were old and worn out, and their financial conditions hindered them from achieving this dream.

With great faith, Elias applied to the Micro-project program to start his workshop and he was funded with equipment, machines, and materials that will revive his work and secure better and more sustainable income for the future.

Sami Hartak is a determined and hardworking young man, he is 31 and lives with his old parents and sisters in a modest house in Al-Dwallaa neighborhood.

He graduated from the faculty of agricultural engineering during wartime which made it so difficult for him especially since his parents are old and retired so he was responsible for his expenses and the house obligations at the same time under some very harsh circumstances.

Sami wasn’t lucky to find a suitable job that meets the high costs of living but he got employed in the morning as an agricultural engineer and took a part-time job as a photographer assistant in the afternoon. He soon became passionate about this profession and took many courses to enhance his skills then he volunteered to do all the media work for the Maronite church and the hope charity related to sisters Jesus and Mary and gained practical experience.

Although Sami loved working with the church, his financial condition was falling apart and he needed to have an income to afford the living demands so he applied to the micro-project program and took a project management course to improve his management skills so he could be able to run his own project.

Now after the fund, Sami started to see life through his camera’s lenses, and he is not only doing the work he loves but also benefiting and securing his future.