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The equipment that he has are from the day he opened the shop back to 1987, which became outdated and not useful anymore, that's why upgrading his shop became essential for him so that he won't lose more costumers.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

Nidal’s military service lasted nearly nine years, then after being discharged from military, he faced the harshness of life as well as the vague future.

Immediately after his service, he worked in his brother’s sewing workshop, but being new in this domain made his journey harder.

All of Nidal’s family members work in their own specialization, which motivates him to have his own business and to care of his family’s livelihood expenses.

The opportunity of having his own taxi planted a seed of hope in his soul, he applied and got accepted which made him extremely happy.

After the long years of sacrifice he made, Nidal now is thankful for the chance that he got from Hope Center, which made him the boss of himself, and the idea of ensuring a better income for him and his family made him more confident than ever. 

Melkon started working when he was in his early twenties with plans in his head to create a secure future for him and his mother.

From a young age he worked in two different domains to learn more skills and gain experience; his first job was in a mechanic workshop and in a short notice he started working on a lathing machine to increase his income, by time he became gifted in both jobs.

When the war hit the city of Aleppo, Melkon thought about a plan to save his career and he decided on traveling, in 2011 he left Syria looking for a better opportunities to make money and help his family.

Melkon worked in Lebanon nearly 11 years in both of the domains, in 2022 he decided to come back, start a family and settle in Aleppo now, he is a newly-married young man and they live together with his mother hoping that someday they will be able to buy their own house.

Supporting Melkon with the important equipment will have a positive effect on his work and he’ll be able to create a secure future for his child and provide his family’s needs and livelihood expenses.

Fredy served in the army for two years and after his discharge he was recalled for reserve military service, which lasted nearly seven years.

After that he thought of working in the aluminum manufacturing domain, but the lack of experience and costumers together with his financial circumstances weren’t encouraging for him.

Fredy is a newly married man and they are blessed with a daughter, but due to the economic crises they are living with his wife’s family. He is currently spending from his savings plus he is the only one responsible for all of his family’s expenses.

Fredy is aiming to work and be able to move out to their own apartment, provide a happy and secure future for his family.

After he heard about Hope Center, he was grateful for the opportunity to start working independently on his taxi and improve his income. 

Archelous lives with her husband and son in their modest house located in Al-Midan area; they were able to buy it many years before the war through the help of her family and a small loan from the bank that was repaid, in addition to selling the gold that she owned.

She used to work as a teacher in the Faculty of Science at the University of Aleppo, in addition to working as a nurse in hospitals and between houses, but because of her advanced age and the decline in her health status, she resigned and worked in selling Homemade food supplies, which she had been practicing since 1989.

Being the only breadwinner for the house, as her husband suffers from hearing and sight impairment, and he cannot work well in any profession. Her son works in a warehouse selling car parts, with a small salary that is not enough to cover his own expenses. 

The family used to own a house and agricultural land in Al-Yaqoubia village, but they were displaced from it and it was no longer possible to benefit from the agricultural lands that they had there.

Today, with the help of donors, Archelous was able to purchase the equipment that help her in her work and facilitates the preparation process in order to sell Homemade food supplies quickly and with higher efficiency, in addition to the ability to introduce new items that provide her with additional money to meet the difficulties of daily life.

"Holding a great responsibility at a young age is a huge challenge” .

in 2014 Hovsep’s family fled to Lebanon after selling their house and all their possessions to escape the harshness of the war and search for a better life.

When Hovsep was young, he loved all professions related to car repairing, especially since his father was a famous mechanic, so he benefited from this passion in Lebanon and learned a new profession, which is car spraying.

He worked there for 6 years until he gained a lot of experience, However, when the war hit Lebanon in 2020, it led directly to the deterioration of the economic situation in the country. Therefore, they decided to return to Aleppo.. Shortly after their return, Hovsep rented a small shop with a partner.

Unfortunately, the father suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed, and he became in need of special care, which forced the mother to work in a sewing workshop to help with the household expenses. After two years of working in Aleppo, Hovsep’s partner traveled abroad after selling the shop’s equipment, which was a shock for Hovsep, who did not give up and began borrowing the required equipment from his neighbors.

Today, thanks to the micro projects program, he owns the entire shop’s equipment and he became independent at work.

Hagob lived with his mother and his sister until the war came and took everything from him; their lives turned upside down like many Syrian families.

“We had tools and equipment in our workshop in Bustan Al Basha that were stolen during war. The workshop was also damaged and has recently been restored.”

Rehabilitating the workshop consumed all of their savings, and they were left with no source of income. Although their workplace is renovated, they still needed to buy the essential machinery to start the work.

Hagob started this career back in 2008 and now he does not own any tools, but rather works in another car body shop with a low salary, he decided to reopen his father's workshop.

He said: “My father taught me his profession in auto body repair workshop and everything related to this field that can help me in the future.”

All he needs is the support to get the equipment to start working again, with the help provided by Hope Center, he will be able to achieve a better income and then hopefully things will turn out for the better.

Like many other professions, sellers are going through some changes nowadays. Karahkin is the father of two kids Carine and Hagob,41 years old, and lives with his family. His wife works but with a low salary.

He said: “I’ve been in the selling business for 14 years. I'm driving my friend's pickup truck. I've always dreamed of having my own pickup truck, it’s so much easier when I drive to the shops and load goods”.

Karahkin and his family were safe throughout the war and were not injured, so they were grateful. Due to the high cost of living and the pick-up truck's high rents, he suffers from many financial obligations. One of the most important things that help him in his work and increase his income is buying a car, and thus he can save his money and his work will be easier.

His job requires transportation for the shipping and services and this car will allow karahkin to make a good living on his own.

One of the most difficult decisions taken by the Rezkallah's family was when they decided to sell their house to face the difficult living and economic conditions.

Although all family members work, all their salaries combined are no longer enough to cover the rising livelihood costs.

His father works as an employee in a mall, his mother is a clothing saleswoman, and his little sister is still studying. This young man is trying to help his family with expenses, and his work in Mobile software requires more development which is necessary because technology is constantly changing.

This ambitious young man, 22 years old, started working as a salesman in a mobile store in 2018. After two months, he decided to learn a new interest and enter computer and software maintenance to increase his income.

What distinguishes Rezkallah is the pursuit of self-development, and through his work for four years in this domain, Rezkallah became known for his skills, and the mobile shops near him began to provide him with work as well, despite his young age.

Now, Rezkallah has all he needs to run a successful business and secure a decent income for his family. 

Since he was young, Nader tried all the fields of construction work but the main profession that he loved and mastered was renovating old houses, in addition to his special skills in decorating and stone carving. 

In 2011, he had to leave his house in Homs due to the vicious war and moved to "Mashta Al Hilu" town where he continued working with other craftsmen despite all the difficulties, 2014 was the year when he managed to return home; unfortunately, his house was damaged and he didn’t find most of his equipment, which forced him to work for others. 

Nader lost his chance of working independently after losing his equipment and being the sole provider for his wife and their two lovely daughters, he was in real need to improve his work conditions and income, especially since he has all the required experience to achieve complicated work. 

With more than 20 years of hard work, Nader deserves all the support to go forward and develop his work.

When things got tougher, Mounzer, who is the only provider for his wife and their three children, had to find additional sources of income to guarantee that all of their needs would be met and that his kids would have a proper education.

The hardworking man works as a government employee besides working in the field of floor grinding and polishing, which has been his main occupation since 1991. 

Before the disastrous war began and had a negative impact on everything, Mounzer's work was thriving and everything was going well. He lost all of his equipment in 2013, and in order to support his family, he worked as a wall painter until he was able to save up enough money to purchase a new grinding and polishing machine, which allowed him to restart his business. 

Yet, the majority of the craftsmen who largely rely on the availability of electricity have found it to be a tremendous challenge. 

Equipping Mounzer with an electric generator will improve his income and alleviate the financial burdens of renting one, resulting in a better  livelihood conditions for him and his lovely family.

Sami has been working in the construction field for 25 years and this is his source to provide for his wife and their three children. His older son Jalal went for his mandatory military service, his daughter Jackie repairs dresses to cover her own expenses, while Elie, the youngest is a school student in the 7th grade.

During the chaotic situation of the war, Sami lost his equipment that was stolen twice and suffered a lot to compensate for a part of his loss. As the provider for a family of five, he thought of increasing his income, which became hardly enough for the essential needs and since his main work is building concrete blocks, he wanted to add the service of lifting blocks at the construction site, but securing the requirements for this process, especially the mini-winch was difficult due to the severe inflation, and in order to buy the equipment, Sami would have to borrow money and fall into debts.

The Micro Projects Program was his last hope to develop his work and ensure a decent living. Today, Sami's work opportunities will be doubled after having the needed equipment, and he will be able to guarantee a dignified life for his family. 

Kamel is the head of a big family of five that lives in Homs city, which includes his wife, two boys (Maher and George), and their daughter (Yara). 

He spent 23 years as an employee at Al-Forat Dam before retiring and returning to his family in Homs. Considering the economic crisis and the free time he had, Kamel made the decision to transform the hobby he has in the field of carpentry into a source of income. He began with basic tools at home, and with the help of his three children, he was able to open a modest workshop in 2018.

Maher, his eldest son, took on the role of marketing, while George and Yara joined their skills in painting with their father's artwork to produce beautiful handmade pieces. 

The acute lack of energy and the absence of key crucial machines that Kamel needs to ensure the quality of work were the main problems this hardworking family had to deal with. 

The viability of this workshop will be guaranteed through the efforts of the entire family, who are working hard every day to ensure a successful business.

Elias built a peaceful life in his small village Al-Dwair, without realizing that he would lose it all in a blink of an eye. 

The sole provider for his wife and their three children is a carpenter who opened his first workshop with his brother back in 1985. 

Elias's family lost everything they had and was displaced to the city of Homs, just like all the other families in this village who witnessed the horrors of the war, but, the skilled carpenter didn't let the difficulties get in the way of his work for the sake of the people he loves. 

Every now and then, Elias was able to buy a new machine; however, starting from scratch was not easy in a country that was just coming out of a war, and despite the fact that he worked nonstop, he was unable to afford the missing equipment, particularly the electric generator, that would have increased the productivity of his work.

Elias wants to develop his workshop and guarantee that it is equipped with everything needed to maintain his project successfully.

At the age of 16, Ayman decided to take responsibility and learn a profession; he worked for a hair salon in Al-Arman neighborhood where his family used to live before the war.

Unfortunately, their house was hit by a shell and it was severely damaged, which forced them to move and settle down in Fairouza village. Today, Ayman lives with his parents and only brother, and the two sons are providing for the family after their father had critical health condition that prevented him from working.

The young man worked in Lebanon for one year then when he returned, he continued working at home because he couldn’t afford to open his own salon.

Ayman applied to the Micro Projects Program aspiring to make his first step towards a better future, helping the enthusiastic hairstylist was the beginning of achieving his dream and he is ready to continue by himself depending on his talent and the skills he gained while working in several salons.

Milad's love for his family was his only source of inspiration when things got difficult.

He is a dentist from Homs, lives with his wife Julie, their two sons, Boulos and Nour, and their daughter, Angela, along with his elderly mother. He converted a room in his home into a dental clinic and began offering his services to the residents of the area.

His daughter Angela (24 years old) was born with Dandy-Walker Syndrome, which affected her mental abilities and she requires special care and when his life partner was tragically diagnosed with colon cancer, Milad had to work alone to support the family who relies on him.

The growing responsibilities stopped him from enhancing his work, and all of his income was hardly enough for basic needs and the monthly cost of his wife and daughter's treatment. 

Milad applied to the Micro Projects Program in the hopes that he would be able to renovate the old dental chair that he had been using since 2000. Now that his clinic is fully equipped, he has everything he needs to raise the quality of his work and increase his income. 

A few years ago, some friends asked Reem to help them with their nails designs and that's how she discovered her special talents and gained the needed skills and her family encouraged her to follow her passion. 

At first, she offered her services at minimal prices and worked at home just to acquire experience and create relations with the ladies in her neighborhood. 

She is a married woman and a mother of three beautiful daughters; her husband Firas works as a government employee and when his salary became barely enough for their needs and the financial burdens increased day after day, Reem decided to open a shop and work to help her family.

She applied to The Micro Projects Program where she found support to continue and improve her project, and now, the hard-working woman has all she needs to run her small business and guarantee its success. 

Hassan chose to stay in the country where he grew up and lived, while his wife and children traveled abroad seeking a better future.

Hassan is a barber who started his career as a barber back in 1990 and he managed to ensure his wife and their three children a dignified life through it until the cruel war started. He went to Lebanon and worked there for ten years then returned when the deteriorating economic situation affected all aspects of life. 

His house was severely damaged and he spent all the money he saved during years of hard work in order to repair it and settle down. Hassan's shop lacked some new tools and a battery to improve the lighting condition, which is essential in such a profession.

Supporting his shop with all the requirements made a positive change and lit a new hope inside the darkness that the war has left behind. 

"I have lost nine years and a half of my life in the army!" Bassam said, sharing his experience during the cruel war.

He was called for mandatory service back in 2011 and when he was discharged, he found himself responsible for a family of four, since his father passed away while Bassam was absent, and his only brother had an accident that affected his ability to walk, and he is now working in a vegetable shop. 

Today, Bassam lives with his mother, sister, and brother in Fairouza village and he works in construction because he didn’t have the chance to have a former job before the military service. 

This work didn’t ensure a sufficient income and Bassam started to think of another source of livelihood, which is suitable for his condition and enough to cover his family's essential needs. The mini-winch was his choice due to his work in the construction field and the good relations he created with many craftsmen. 

This support will guarantee an independent business and better income for this family. 

The economic situation in the country imposed a new reality where the family's main provider has to find more than a source of income to secure a decent living.

Fadi has been working as an employee for an oil factory since 2002, he lives with his wife and their two children in addition to his mother and sister and he is the sole breadwinner for the big family. 

While the financial burdens were increasing, Fadi's salary wasn’t sufficient at all to cover the essential needs, he decided to focus more on agricultural work as a sustainable source of livelihood. He used to work in the family's land in Maskanah village and he made his decision to prepare the land and improve its crops of grapes.

Planting new vines required setting iron stands, which he couldn’t afford due to the high prices. Now, Fadi planted the land and he is working hard to ensure a successful crop, waiting impatiently for his land to start producing and generously provide him and his family with a dignified living.

"Nothing wrong with whatever you do for a living, as long as you do it with dignity"

This is what Ghazi Al-Nasir, 59 years old, has proven.

He is married and lives with his wife and two sons in a small modest flat in Jaramana, Damascus suburbs.

since 1995, Ghazi worked as a school janitor and for more than twenty years he didn't mind doing the hard cleaning work because his main concern was to secure a decent livelihood for his children and support them to complete their education; his eldest son is studying now at the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, and the youngest is studying in the Faculty of Informatics.

Ghazi was very proud of his sons and considered the fact they are studying at the university his biggest achievement in life.

However, in the year 2019, Ghazi had an injury during his work at school, which caused him a severe fracture in his foot, and because he couldn't afford the high costs of the operations, he ended up suffering from a 30% disability in his leg and wasn't able to work anymore, so he started a small buffet service in the school for students, and for two years he was able to support his family through its income.

Unfortunately, at the end of 2021, the ministry of education stopped all the school buffets, which made him without any job.

"When God closes a door, he always opens a window"

Through the Micro-projects program, Ghazi was financed with the necessary goods and equipment to start his small mini-market, which he and his family will work in, hoping to obtain a sustainable income that will provide them a decent life.

The effects of the horrific war have reached everyone on several levels, but the biggest impact that we are suffering from is the people’s migration which most likely comes with very negative results such as the case of Michele Othman and his wife.

Michele is 47 years old, he is married to Fadia al-Jat, the couple used to handle all hardships together and even during the time of war, they faced danger and insecurity by supporting each other to pass that difficult period.

Michele was working in his mini-market daily trying to secure their living but in the post-war period, the economic situation became worse and they were barely able to afford their daily food. 

they were dreaming to live the rest of their life in better circumstances so they decided to risk everything as his wife borrowed some money and started her journey abroad toward that dream. Unfortunately, she went through five tough months of homelessness until her husband finally managed to bring her back to the country.

that attempt had a significant impact on the couple and their living conditions because Michele had to spend all his savings to bring his wife back, which affected his Mini-market as he didn't have the money to renew the goods.

Michele and his wife were striving for a better life, but they returned to scratch after losing everything they worked for.

However, Michele decided not to give up, so he applied to the Micro-project program for support, hoping to restore his sustainable source of income and have the opportunity to improve his living conditions and secure his future.

It is always promising to see young people who have emerged from the horrible years of war, full of hope and determination to make a difference in their lives and their surrounding society. Nael Al-Saad, 25, is the perfect example of that.

Nael’s father was a tiler and his mother was a school teacher, they worked hard to secure their children's livelihood and education despite the bad situation they were living in, the harsh living conditions, and the old dilapidated flat, but they were able to put their children on the first steps of success; as Nael is at the fourth years of the faculty of Law and his sister Wisal have finished her university education and started working as a school teacher.

However, in the past few years, his mother retired and his father's health began to deteriorate due to his hard work, so Nael had no choice but to start working in addition to his study to support his parents and secure the house expenses.

in 2016, Nael began voluntary work with the Syrian Society for Social Development and worked hard to positively impact his surrounding community. For 5 years, Nael used to work, study and improve himself, trying as much as possible to secure the family’s expenses and financial obligations, which became more difficult during the current circumstances and the increasing prices, so he took a part-time job at a stationary store to increase his income.

during the time, Nael found himself with this work and had many ideas to add; such as securing university services for students, their lectures, and many other ideas, so he decided to apply to the Micro-projects program, asking for support to start his own project.

Indeed, this creative self-made young man deserved a chance in life and was supported to start his stationary store hoping that it would be a supportive project for the whole family to improve their living conditions and provide them with sustainable income and at the same time allow Nael to finish his education.

Marwan El Khoury is married and has two sons. Elias, who since his birth in 1995 was suffering from cerebral palsy, and Majd was born in 2000.

For more than thirty years, Marwan worked hard as a painter trying his best to secure his family a decent life and provide his son Elias with the needed medicine, and the necessary care.

He did not hesitate to take a second job to increase his income, so he started working on his brother's pick-up car, transporting goods and everything available.

However, the horrific war affected the life of this simple family; the severe bombing and constant dangers forced them to sell the truck.

At the same time, Marwan's work in painting began to decrease gradually due to the high prices of materials, but he did not lose hope and kept working on whatever he could, trying to secure the simplest living demands for his family.

His hard work for those long years had affected his health, and he became no longer able to carry out painting workshops as before, Marwan was seeking another job to support himself and his family, which led him to apply for a pick-up car.

This struggling man deserved to take another chance in life, and his request was approved, hoping to secure him a sustainable income that would provide his family with a decent life and secure their future.

“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. 

For most of his life, Samer was struggling against his life calamities which hit one after another stealing many years of his life.

He started working in maintenance back in 1994, and for many years he kept doing his hard work and paying installments to buy a pickup truck so he could have another source of income and improve his living conditions.

But the life wheel has turned upside down and in 2010 Samer was diagnosed with lower-jaw cancer, and for the next two years, he had to go through twelve surgeries that cost a lot of money and forced him to sell his pick-up truck.

Soon after, Samer had his two kids Selina and Mark who brought happiness to his heart and helped him to overcome his painful affliction so he returned to his work trying to secure his family the best living conditions.

Unfortunately, his peaceful life collapsed by the beginning of 2020 when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed surgery to remove the tumor, in addition to chemical therapy which he couldn’t afford so he had to borrow money from his friends and got help from his family for his wife who is still under treatment.

Despite all, Samer had faith that after every storm, there will be a rainbow and this strong faith brought him to our office to apply for the Taxi project which was approved, and now after having his own Taxi, Samer said:

“I was sure that God won’t let me down, this chance he gave me will change my life and help me to secure a better future”

Firas Malaab, 27, has proven that no matter how hard life pushes against you, your faith should be stronger to push right back.

He is married to Safaa Falouh and they have two kids; Mark was born in 2018 and Roy was born in 2019. They live in two small rooms built on top of his parent’s flat roof.

When he was sixteen, Firas had to leave school and work to help his parents with the living expenses, he learned the hairdressing profession for nine years and then became well-known in the area due to his good work.

During that period Firas was diagnosed of having Retinitis Pigmentosa and needed to undergo surgery, but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful and his sight deteriorated badly which affected his career and he became barely able to work. So he took a part-time job at a hospital as a cleaner trying his best to afford basic living needs. 

Soon after, his father was diagnosed of having cancer which was a devastating period for the family as Firas had to borrow money to treat him but he passed away in 2021 leaving Firas and his mother in deep sadness.

Despite his bad health condition, Firas was struggling to secure his family at least their daily food especially since he became responsible for his mother as well so he and his wife were working together full of determination and hope that better days are coming.

Indeed, Firas found his way to our office where he applied for a mini-market and he was financed with the equipment and goods that will allow him to start his mini-market close to his house where the family will work and support each other hoping for better days to come.

For a long period of his life, Essam Alsamara was struggling to secure a decent life for his family, and he never hesitated to make all his efforts to raise his children “Fadi and Joel” in a safe environment and provide them with a good education.

Unfortunately, His continuous pursuit and long working hours became no longer useful during the years of war, because the living situation deteriorated badly, not to mention the daily dangers and shelling which affected Essam’s work and his income was no longer enough to meet the household demands. His great loss was in 2015, when the armed groups seized his house in Kharaba village, Daraa governorate, looted everything inside and left it damaged and uninhabitable 

Essam felt that after all these tough years, he did not yield any results from his hard work, on the contrary, his responsibilities became doubled as he was supporting his brother who was diagnosed with cancer, he became also responsible for his daughter’s family, especially since she had a newborn baby and her husband was unemployed 

Essam did not let despair penetrate his heart. Rather, he kept working for long hours behind the wheel, trying hard to secure at least the daily food, as he was sharing half of his income with the taxi owner, he needed to gain his independency in work so he could be able to improve his income and afford better living conditions for his family.

At the age of five, the life of Adeeb Haddad completely changed from a young child living in a safe environment with his parents to a homeless orphan moving from house to house.

His father's death in 2001 put his mother in a state of grieving and shock and also affected Adeeb who lost security and stability. Their financial conditions were very bad as his mother wasn’t working, so they moved to live with their relatives until his mother decided to marry and move with her husband to Homs.

Unfortunately, his stepfather was very cruel to him, while his mother was too weak to protect him so Adeeb moved back to his relatives' house and never saw his mother for the next eight years. Adeeb has suffered a lot from deprivation as his relatives were also living in extreme poverty; he was forced to leave school in the sixth grade and worked in cleaning bathrooms and washing dishes, or any other job he could find.

In 2017, Adeeb worked with his friend in a mobile maintenance workshop, where he found his interest, as he liked the profession and learned it quickly until he became well-known in his neighborhood for being a skilled maintenance worker. However, his friend wanted to travel, so Adeeb decided to borrow some money and buy the equipment from him to continue in the workshop alone which gave him the opportunity he was looking for to be independent and start his own project.

Adeeb was working in his shop seeking to improve his living conditions to get married, but no matter how hard he worked, that little dream kept becoming farther because the living circumstances were very tough, and with his modest workshop and old tools, he was unable to save money or improve his conditions.

With the help of micro-projects, Adeeb was supported with new tools and proper amounts of goods to enhance his work and income, hoping that after all those tough days, life will smile on him and he will be able to improve his situation and establish his own family.

‘What an iron girl, compared to such pity life’

One can do nothing but feel sorrow and compassion when hearing the suffering and misfortunes of Nermin Albezreh. In 2003, her father passed away leaving this 13-year-old girl sad and alone facing huge responsibilities.

The whole family’s life was turned upside down by losing their only supporter, forcing her mother to work as a cleaner to afford her children’s bread. Nermin couldn’t watch her mother suffer alone, so she left school and started to work as an assistant to a physiotherapist in order to help with the living expenses and at the same time help with looking after her younger brothers.

Nermin loved her work a lot and was dreaming of having her own clinic in the future, but in 2014, she was working when she was electrocuted and miraculously survived, so she quit and started to work with her friend at an undergarments shop. 

During the previous years, Nermin and her mother were working hard and fighting their deteriorating health conditions as her mother suffers from back Disc pains and knee problems, and Nermin suffers from toxoplasmosis in the eyes with no treatment available. Moreover, during the military service of her younger brother, he was exposed to many explosions that ended with having his fingers amputated and Neuropathy disease, he was discharged from the service and returned to his family unable of doing any real job to support them.

In face of such great responsibilities, Nermin didn’t hesitate to take any job available so she could afford her family’s living, the last one was as a secretary at a clinic and was taking a very low salary in return.

Now, after applying to the Micro-project in Damascus, Nermin was financed with all the equipment and goods necessary to start her own undergarments shop which will be a new start for this strong-will woman who deserves after all those calamities to have a better livelihood and secure her future.

Ehab Al-Bitar is one of the self-made men who are ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of their families.

The 30-year-old man is married to Nour Alqablan, living in a small flat near his mom and siblings in Al-Dwalaa neighborhood.

within the severe years of war, Ehab was able to finish his university study and in 2016 he graduated from the faculty of trade and economics, he wanted to start working but the situation in that period was precarious and his father who was a baker, could hardly secure the daily bread for his family, so Ehab had no choice but to leave his country and travel to Lebanon, where he worked hard for more than two years sending the living expenses to his family every month. but the economic situation began to deteriorate in Lebanon, which affected the Syrians there so he returned to Syria where he was called to serve the military in Hama which was hard for him, especially since his parents and brothers live under very harsh conditions.

However, in 2020, Ehab got engaged but his happiness didn’t last long because his father had a heart attack which caused his sudden death and left the whole family in a great shock. As a result, he was released from military service as he became the only supporter of his family and young brothers.

Ehab had to face a difficult decision regarding his work under these circumstances, as he became responsible for two families, so he decided to start a mini-market in the neighborhood where he was working till midnight in order to provide the basic living needs while his wife was also working hard to support him, but the economic conditions prevented Ehab from developing his work in the grocery store and buying new goods, which greatly affected the monthly income and he became barely able to cover the shop’s rent.

Ehab was in need to support his shop with goods to be able to continue, and through the Micro-project program, he was financed with the necessary goods that will form a new start for the shop and allow him to develop his work and increase his income with all hope to improve the living conditions of this strong-willed man and his family.

For the last 30 years, Nabil Alhosh, 52, has never hesitated to work day and night from behind his steering wheel to provide his family with the best living; Nabil worked as a microbus driver, doing many shifts during the day because his main priority in life was securing a decent life for his family and good education for his four kids: Linda, Kinda, Mirna, and Yousef.

Yet, this endeavor was not easy during the years of war as the drivers were exposed to many dangers during their duty, from explosions, bombing, and robbing which made earning their daily bread full of risks all the time.

However, Nabil didn’t mind sacrificing everything for the sake of his children, but as the time passed his long working hours and low income became no longer compatible with the increasing living expenses, so he quit his job as a microbus driver and rented a taxi to work on hoping to improve his income.

Unfortunately, within the difficult economic situation in the country and the increasing costs of living, Nabil realized that he is working just to pay the rent of the taxi while his family is deprived of the simplest demands and their living conditions are deteriorating.

Nabil dreamed of having his own taxi to be independent, and that came true when he applied at the Hope Center, now after all those tiring years, Nabil will finally be able to secure a sustainable income to improve his life.