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. 

Raji left his home village after he graduated from high school and headed to the city of Homs seeking a thriving career. 

In 2018, he moved to Homs and settled down with his friends in a rented apartment and worked in a restaurant for 10 months in order to cover his expenses while he was learning mobile phone maintenance by attending specialized courses and also through the internet. Then, he found an opportunity in a mobile phone store, where he practiced this profession and enhanced his skills until he finally started a new job as maintenance responsible, and was able to do what he loves.

However, the old tools and equipment that Raji has been using limited his ability to finish his work on time and negatively affected his income.

Now, Raji has the professional equipment, which supports his experience and allows him to improve his situation thus, he will have the chance to improve his business and hopefully start his own family.

When his work as an employee was no longer ensuring him a decent income, Wassim decided to utilize his skills in graphic design, which he gained by attending specialized courses with lots of practice and took that field as a source of livelihood.

He lives with his wife Seba who is a school teacher, and their four-year-old son Taim in a rented apartment, and the young couple are working hard to guarantee their boy a good and stable life.

In 2018, Wassim started working in providing advertising services, using his own laptop at home and benefiting from his strong relations with many workshops, but he was still in need of independence to increase his profits, which he couldn't achieve without much important equipment which he couldn't afford to buy. 

However, the real barrier in his way was being called for his mandatory service in March 2021. When he was discharged, the compensation was almost impossible during the current hard economic circumstances in the country and the Micro Projects Program was such a great chance for him to support his life project.

Today, Wassim rented a small place and he has all the essential machines and equipment to offer his client a full advertising service, hoping to settle down with his lovely family, and make an improvement in their living situation. 

Due to the deteriorated economic situation, and the difficulty of providing a sufficient livelihood, Simon had to leave school and start working with an electrician in 2017 and continued working with him for 3 years, until he learned the profession and acquired the needed skills to work on his own.

The cruel war left the young man with a devastating memory when he was kidnapped while escaping his home village Al-Qaryatein, after this incident, Simon suffered from diabetes.

Today, he lives with his wife, and the lovely couple are expecting their first child. 

As the sole breadwinner, Simon had to continue working in his profession by using some simple tools and borrowing the missing equipment from other craftsmen.

The Micro Projects Program will help him in his first step and allow him to guarantee his newborn baby better livelihood conditions. 

Kevork spent more than fifty years practicing his profession of car calibration and until this day, the hard-working man is still giving his family all his love and support.

He is married and a father of three, two sons, and a daughter; this family used to live in Bab Al-Sebaa neighborhood in Homs where the skilled man opened his first workshop back in 1975, in the industrial area and everything was going well.

His eldest son George used to help him; in 2012, while the father and son were working, as usual, an armed group threatened them and forced them to close the workshop, Kevork knew that this would be the last time they would see it.

When the situation in the city became dangerous, the family left their home and escaped to Fairouza village, they had to sell the house, and with the money, they bought furniture for their new house in addition to some important equipment, which allowed Kevork to open a workshop in the village, then the selfless father encouraged his two sons to travel and have a better future and spent the rest of the money on the family's needs because there wasn't enough work at the beginning.

During the last few years, the lack of electricity affected Kevork's work and he lost many clients, he rented an electric generator, but that was an additional financial burden that he couldn’t afford. 

Kevork is doing all he can to always ensure his wife and daughter a dignified life, providing him with the equipment to continue, will be well deserved for such a determined man.

After his 10 years of military service, Toni who is the one responsible for his elderly parents did his best to resume working in floor tiling which is the profession he learned and practiced for 4 years.

Although he didn’t have the main equipment for floor tiling, he worked with other craftsmen to ensure his family a decent income, especially since the head of the family, his father, was no longer able to work due to his health condition as he lost his vision 5 years ago.

Lately, under the hard economic situation, Toni's income was barely enough to cover the rental costs of their house and their daily needs, on the other hand, if he continues working for other people, he won't be able to have his independence and will lose his chance to build up his own future career.

Helping him to buy the needed equipment for floor tiling will change his situation and allow him to provide a life of dignity for his family.

Yasmine's family was living in a warm house that they filled with their happy laughs and shared together a peaceful life. Unfortunately, in 2011 the vicious war started and stole the good days they were used to, turning their house into a sad quiet place.

The tragedy happened when her only brother was kidnapped in 2012, and the elderly father became the sole breadwinner. However, everything was changed in a blink of an eye and the family didn’t expect to experience the loss again within a few years as her father, who was their last support passed away leaving the whole responsibility to Yasmine.

She suddenly found herself responsible for a family; so, she rented a small shop and began selling cosmetics in addition to utilizing her skills in beauty and makeup also, in order to improve her work, she attended a specialized course; Yasmine sold makeup products besides offering beauty services on the attic of her shop using some simple tools and this job has become her way for a living.

Helping her to buy all the essential requirements like a makeup chair, a cart, and other tools, especially the battery will allow her to practice her work professionally, improve her income and guarantee her and her mother a dignified life. 

Nothing can compensate for Moutaz's big losses because of the vicious war; losing 9 years of his life was not a big deal compared to losing his only brother as a martyr. 

Moutaz joined the army back in 2010 and experienced the terrors of war and its battlefields, he was discharged in 2019 with an injury in the knee and an unknown future.

He immediately searched for a job then he was employed in a foodstuff factory, he worked in goods distribution on a mini pick-up truck owned by the factory and built good relations with the traders around Homs. 

He worked for a year and a half until the factory owners decided to sell the vehicle, and Moutaz found himself jobless again with no former experience in any profession or craft.

As he lives with his parents and 2 sisters, he couldn’t stay without supporting his family so he worked as a salesman at someone else's shop. 

Moutaz needs a mini pick-up truck, which will secure him a better income based on his relations with the traders, and this way, he will ensure a sustainable source of livelihood and improve his living situation to preserve his family a dignified life.

Sally couldn't just sit and watch when the economic crisis intensified, she decided to learn a profession that would allow her to help her family and cover her expenses.

In 2021, she attended a nail care course where she obtained the needed skills but unfortunately, her family's financial abilities were limited and she couldn't purchase the kit to start her own project. A few months later, Sally found that even though she didn’t have the main equipment, she would improve her skills if she worked for a specialized salon.

The young lady traveled to Damascus and worked at her cousin's salon there but staying away from her family was very hard and at the same time, life in Damascus is more expensive than in Homs so she returned back without being able to do anything as her father's pension was barely enough and her only brother who used to work in a juice factory was diagnosed with cancer, which increased the family's burdens.

All Sally needs is the essential tools to begin her project at home, and she's enthusiastic to work and support her family hoping to bring some hope to their house.

Fadi is a graphic designer with great skills he acquired through long hours of practicing and hard work. His father, who is 71 years old has become no longer able to provide for their big family leaving this responsibility to his only son.

Today, Fadi lives with his parents and three sisters in a rented apartment and the ambitious young man is doing his best to build up a bright future. 

Since his start in this field, in 2017, he used to design on his own laptop, and then to improve his income, he started to work as a content writer besides designing for many websites.

Over time, the laptop he was using broke down, and he couldn't afford to buy a new one due to its very expensive price under their difficult financial circumstances so in order to resume working and supporting his family, Fadi used his sister's laptop and that reduced his productivity, which reflected negatively on his income.

His passion was the compass that led him toward the path he loves and despite the hard and long journey that waits for him, Fadi is ready to work and do all he can to fulfill his dreams.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christine Fanouneh is 39 years old, she lives with her mother and brother in Jaramana, Damascus suburbs.

During her childhood, Christine lived in a very harmful environment as her father used to abuse her mother on daily basis in front of her and her sister, her brother was born with Down’s syndrome in addition to many health problems which made him in a continuous of medication and lots of love, care, and attention that the family was missing.

When Christine and her sister became adults, they stood in the face of their father defending their mother which angered him so he kicked them out of the house. Christine didn’t sit around feeling sorry for herself, on the contrary, she started working as a seamstress assistant and took care of the house expenses and her brother's medicine costs.

In 2009, Christine decided to start a job at a telecommunications company where she could meet people and have a social life until 2019 when she volunteered at the GOPA DERD organization.

During those years she kept working in sewing as a part-time job and managed to continue her education and graduate from the faculty of English literature.

Unfortunately, the health condition of her brother Elias was deteriorating and he needed intensive care that her mother couldn’t handle alone as she was not in a good mental situation and suffering from a lack of concentration due to the severe abuse that she was exposed to during her life with her husband, which forced Christine to miss many work days so she can be with her mom and brother.

Christine realized that she needs a job where she could manage her time and look after her family at the same time. She found her way to the micro-projects initiative and applied for a sewing machines, tools, and equipment that will enable her to have a new start in this field hoping that this opportunity will help her provide a proper income to look after her family.

Elie Istanboly, 30 years old, is like many young men of his age who had to spend years of the war facing dangers and horrors during their military service, and in Elie's case, it took nine difficult years of his youth.

Before the war began, Elie worked as a taxi driver and after he was discharged in 2019, he wanted to learn a profession so he could have a career for the future and make up for the previous years.

Elie started working at a metal casting workshop and in the afternoon, he continued working as a taxi driver trying his best to pay all his expenses and provide the living demands for his family.

However, the metal casting profession affected his health as he was exposed to lung poisoning due to inhaling poisoned gases. After his treatment, his doctor recommended that he doesn't go back to the same job because his lungs were damaged, and continuing in the same work might lead to serious outcomes.

But working as a taxi driver wasn’t enough to meet the livelihood costs because he had to give half of his income to the taxi owner, which forced him to sacrifice his health and face the dangers of keep working in the metal workshop for the sake of his family.

Elie was seeking any chance to improve his situation so he applied for the Micro-projects program for a taxi hoping that his life would change for the better.

Today after being funded to buy a taxi, Elie is delighted to have a project of his own. At the same time, he can work harder and improve his living conditions to provide his family and kids with a decent life.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hassan Jolan, 33, didn’t have the chance to work or learn any profession after turning into his twenties because he was called for military service. He thought it would be a short period and pass in peace, but he did not know that a fierce war would strike his country to steal nine years from his life in which he had to be far from his family and friends under very difficult circumstances until his discharge in 2019.

He went home full of hope, got married to Suzan Altheib, and had adorable two kids who compensated him for the bitterness of wartime. During that period, he started to work as a taxi driver but he encountered critical conditions due to the corona virus and the restrictions that were followed by a huge increase in prices.

Unfortunately, no matter how long he worked, he kept suffering from the insufficient income and he became unable to handle the living expenses and his kids’ demands, especially since the taxi owner started to increase the rent which prevented him from having any additional savings.

However, even though all his relatives and friends were encouraging him to travel abroad, deep in his heart Hassan was praying to have a chance in his country, close to his parents and among his friends, and that’s what he got as he was funded with the taxi project that turned his life around as he has now a taxi of his own, and independence to have a better and sustainable income to improve his living conditions.

Out of poverty, desperation, and sickness, a strong girl came out to defy all the circumstances of life and prove to everyone that no obstacle can dissuade her from working and earning her livelihood.

Mirai Al-Sahwi is 23 years old and since her childhood, was suffering from Myocardial insufficiency that prevented her from doing any extra effort. She was living in the confines of a loving family that supported one another until death stole her father who was the most important thing in her life.

Mirai's mother started to do house cleaning to secure her children's daily food and save them from poverty. Mirai couldn't see her mother suffering alone and despite her critical health condition, she left school and began to work at a detergent factory for long hours to support her mother with the living expenses.

In 2018, Mirai decided to learn the nail polishing profession, and then she started working in a salon to gain experience and some income. For two years, she endured long working hours until her health deteriorated greatly which forced her to quit her job at the salon and try to work at home or at customers’ houses.

Although She was working hard, the high prices of materials and tools hindered her work from developing. 

As expected of this self-made girl, when she heard about the Micro-project program in Damascus, she never hesitated to apply for support for her project.

She deserved that opportunity as she was funded with the necessary materials and tools to start her small business at home, in the hope that her project would develop and become able to obtain a greater income that would provide her with a decent life and relieve her sick mother from the hardships of her tiring work.

At the age of 15, Khalil Khoury started working to help his parents, as their financial condition wasn't good, and he had to work to secure his expenses and help his parents with household obligations.

He began working as an assistant to a Plumbing & Sanitary Maintenance Supervisor and soon became skilled in that profession and began to take his own workshops as customers began to ask him to do their work because of his skills and his low wages.

Khalil wanted to have his maintenance store so he could work at bigger workshops and expand his work so he began saving money for this purpose, but as soon as the war broke out in Syria, all his efforts were in vain because he was called for military service, and it lasted for nine difficult years, during which he faced the horrors and dangers of war.

however, during his holiday permissions, Khalil didn't hesitate to work and secure some money to help his parents in light of the bad conditions they were living in.

After he was released, Khalil returned to work, and his friend helped him buy simple tools to use at work, so he began to work hard to compensate for the lost years of his life.

he was full of determination to work and improve his living conditions, and despite all the obstacles such as lack of electricity and lack of money to buy new equipment, he continued to strive, hoping for an improvement in his situation one day.

this is when one of his friends told him to apply to the micro-projects program and he immediately applied for support in equipment, machinery, and the electric generator, which will constitute a great leap in his field of work and he will be able to receive larger workshops and work for more hours

Today, Khalil is thanking God that those nine years have been compensated, and he was given a new chance in life to develop his work and secure a better future.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For most of his life, Mousa Fares was struggling to support his family and keep them from need and poverty.

He is 38 years old and lives with his old parents and his brother in a 40-meter flat in Jaramana, yet he is always thankful to God for all the blessings in his life.

Before the crisis, Mousa was working at a beverages store in Jaramana and his income was enough to meet his household costs but during the war, two explosions happened in front of his shop which caused huge damage, and in the second one the damage was severe so they had to close the store.

Mousa didn’t hesitate to take a job at a travel office as an administrative employee and did the cleaning work as well to increase his income because his parents were old and sick while his younger brother was in military service. Unfortunately, a mortar shell exploded close to his office and he was hit by its fragments which took him more than three months to recover.

All of those calamities didn’t prevent Mousa from fighting to live in dignity; so he borrowed some money and started a perfume and gifts shop. Mousa used to open his store from the early morning to midnight seeking to improve his income but the coronavirus epidemic wasted all his efforts as there was a decrease in the purchasing capacity in addition to an increase in the prices of goods which made it impossible for him to renew his goods.

However, Mousa decided not to give up so he took a night shift at a supermarket after closing his shop, and for more than four months he had only 4 hours to sleep a day, but even with all that hard work, he was barely able to afford the house basics.

Mousa’s strong will to survive led him to apply at the Micro-project office and he was supported with the necessary goods and tools to enrich his shop and provide him with an opportunity to preserve his project and improve his living conditions.

Tolay Kashy is a 27-year-old woman, she is single and lives with her mother in an old and small flat in Kashkoul.

when she was only twelve, her father passed away after suffering from lung poisoning from an injury in the army, leaving her and her mother alone and without a supporter.

she saw her mother struggling for many years to provide the basic living needs and all she wanted was to help her, so as soon she became 18, she started working in the field of make-up and nail beauty and at the same time, she worked at a make-up factory to increase her income and help her mother with the living expenses.

since her childhood, Tolay was diagnosed of having lymphoma cancer and she went through a long journey of treatment, but this strong-willed woman didn't let her sickness stop her from standing by her mother and building her future so she started working from home and took a make-up course at Almaamoun institute to improve her skills.

she was full of determination to improve her condition and despite her modest capabilities and poor tools, she was able to have her own costumers due to her beautiful work and reasonable prices.

currently, she has little equipment and materials and needs support to expand and develop her business.

Tolay was fighting against the circumstances and kept praying to God for his great mercy so she applied to the micro project initiative full of hope to have the opportunity to improve her situation.

Now, after being financed with the make-up and nail beauty project, she is thanking God for this chance that will make a huge difference in her life.