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The equipment that he has are from the day he opened the shop back to 1987, which became outdated and not useful anymore, that's why upgrading his shop became essential for him so that he won't lose more costumers.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

Duraid is a retired school teacher, he is the sole provider for his wife and their three children; two sons and a daughter. Besides his previous job, Duraid comes from a family of farmers and this is their main source of livelihood. 

When their home village, Al-Dwair was attacked, the family was displaced to Homs city for seven years, after losing all they had; their farmland and house, which were severely damaged and stolen, during these seven years the family was not able to benefit from their land. Thankfully, a local association helped them repair the house, and now, they are doing their best to settle down and compensate for their loss. 

Duraid planted a part of the land with olive trees and he is aspiring to plant the remaining part with wheat his land is prepared with a water well and a source of power. However, what stood in his way was losing the water pump he had, which he used to extract water for irrigation.

This support will give him the chance to expand and improve his project and ensure him and his family a decent income. 

Fadl-Allah is the sole breadwinner for a big family, he is a married man and a father of six; five daughters and a son. 

He used to work with a partner in his spacious land; at first, there was no water well so all of the crops depended on rain-fed irrigation, then the two partners decided to develop their agricultural project. They put all of their money and borrowed some to continue, starting with a water well and a solar power system. 

However, the partners had a few problems, which ended by splitting up leaving Fadl-Allah in a financial trouble, and in order for his land of potatoes to produce, it needed a drip irrigation system that he couldn’t afford. 

Since installing the irrigation system would guarantee good potato crops and income, he applied to the Micro Projects Program seeking support and his project was approved.

His land is well-prepared and now Fadl-Allah is ready to work hard and provide a decent income. 

Despite his young age, Alaa managed to start his own project and be successful in the profession he chose. He is the only son of his parents; he lives with them in addition to his sister and he supports his father in providing for the family.

Alaa finished high school and decided to learn a craft that would allow him to cover his expenses and at the same time, ensures him a decent income.

He worked for four years at an aluminum workshop and learned all the needed skills to work by himself. In 2018, the young man managed to open his workshop with the available abilities he had.

However, during the last few years, Alaa suffered from the severe lack of electricity, although he had an electric generator, he couldn’t rely on that as he sometimes has to work among his clients' houses. 

He applied for some essential equipment, which is powered by batteries. Supporting his life project and improving his work conditions will encourage Alaa to settle down in his country. 

Syrian ladies have always shown great examples of love and sacrifice and played a very important role in supporting their families with unlimited giving from the heart.

Marilyn is a seamstress from Homs, who chose to work and be a productive part of her society when ensuring a good life became one of the hardest challenges. She is a married woman and a mother of an only daughter called Emeline, who studies civil engineering. 

The hardworking woman started a micro project in the family's shop ten years ago with simple capabilities. Her husband Elian is a tailor too, he used to work for a well-known company until he unfortunately, suffered from cancer and had to quit to get his treatment. 

However, the responsibility of providing for the family fell on Marilyn's shoulders, while Elian went through a long journey of treatment, which financially drained the small family and prevented Marilyn from improving her project. 

Thankfully, Elian got better and he became able to help his wife in their shop and when Marilyn heard about the Micro Projects Program, she found it as an excellent chance to compensate for what they missed and enhance the old machines, in addition to securing the suitable power supply for the workshop hoping for better future for their daughter. 

Mttanos and his family work together in their land, which has been their only source of livelihood for generations. He is a married man and a father of three; two sons who help him in farming and a daughter who is a school teacher.

The family planted different crops such as almonds, olives, grapes, and potatoes in order to benefit from its bounties around the whole year, but this variety requires special conditions to get good seasons like watering the trees at least six times a year, which became a real financial burden for most of the farmers nowadays. 

Mttanos's family owns a tractor that they use for many agricultural activities, mainly for plowing. Lately, the tires of the tractor became worn out and using it was dangerous. The lack of plowing caused a deterioration in production, especially since there were already watering difficulties. 

Aspiring to revive the land and create a positive change, Mttanos applied for new tires to be able to use the tractor, in addition to a water tanker to save the high costs, thus, the land will generously give again and ensure this hardworking family good profit. 

Ramez lives with his wife and their daughter in addition to his elderly parents and sister in the family's house in Al-Hamra village. He was a school teacher besides his main work as a farmer and when he retired, back in 2018, the hardworking man dedicated all of his time to his land of almond trees. 

Ramez's land is divided into two parts, the first is planted with almond trees while the other part is planted with small seedlings and prepared with a water well. 

The family have a tractor which they use for many agricultural activities but they couldn’t buy a water tanker and benefit from this vehicle in irrigation. At the same time, renting a tanker has become a huge financial burden nowadays. 

Many years ago, the level of rainfall was enough to water the lands, but as a result of climate changes, depending on the rain was no longer sufficient and securing a sustainable water supply has become a necessity. 

Ramez applied for a water tanker to secure watering for his land, which will reflect on his income and production. 

Zaki inherited this profession from his father and has been practicing it since 2004 with high-quality work and strong experience. 

He lives with his wife Rana who is a school teacher and the couple are parents of a five-year-old son called Émile and a one-year-old daughter called Heaven. 

When the war began, Zaki was still single and living with his parents; in 2012, he was displaced with them to Mashta Al-Helou village, while their house in Al-Hamidia was damaged and the majority of Zaki's equipment was stolen. 

In 2015, they returned to Homs and he repaired his parents' house and then tried to compensate for his loss through his own work without asking for anybody's help. The self-made man managed to buy most of the main equipment but being responsible for a family with two children, Zaki had to focus on covering their needs as a first priority. 

The selfless father made a sacrifice for the sake of his family and he deserves a chance to improve his work, which will eventually reflect positively on their living situation. 

Firas took responsibility from a young age and had to leave his university in order to work and take care of his elderly parents being their sole support in life. 

He is a single man, in 2020, he moved to Homs city where his older brother lives seeking a decent livelihood and to provide for his parents who stayed in their home village Sadad. 

Firas's experience as a driver began in Damascus city after he was forced to quit studying and work on a taxi. In 2018, he joined the mandatory service, which lasted for two years then he immediately searched for a work opportunity. 

However, the cruel war left very limited work opportunities, and that was the reason why Firas had to work in the field of goods and furniture transporting by using his brother's mini pick-up truck. 

His financial burdens were growing every single day until he became unable to cover all the obligations depending on his income. Firas applied to the Micro Projects Program and aspired to have his own project and work by himself. Thus, he will be capable of helping his sick father and start thinking of establishing his own family. 

Even when being away from the terrors of the cruel war, no one was spared of its calamities. Although Al-Maamoura village wasn’t affected directly by the bombs and shells, however, its people suffered like all the Syrians from the difficult economic situation and their agricultural activity was heavily affected. 

Mansour is a farmer from Al-Maamoura village, he is a married man and a father of six, four daughters and two sons. He has a spacious land of almonds, which he inherited from his father, in addition to a tractor.

Lately, Mansour couldn’t benefit from the whole land due to the huge costs, especially since the tractor he used to plow and water his land became useless after its tires were worn out. His income rapidly decreased and he only managed to plant a small quarter of the land because renting a tractor was very expensive, on the other hand, buying new tires while covering the growing needs of his big family was impossible.

Today thanks to this support, Mansour will be able to revive the other parts of his almond land and guarantee a better livelihood.

Samer Al Boutros spent his entire life defying all the obstacles and difficult circumstances to provide his family with the best possible living conditions. 

He used to work as a cobbler for about 20 years in "Sehnaya" the countryside of Damascus, but during the wartime, reaching his workplace became very hard and dangerous, especially after his health condition deteriorated and he needed to undergo heart surgery, but Samer couldn’t afford its costs and became unable to do any effort or be exposed to stress or shocks.

Samer had no choice but to quit his job in Sehnaya and try to find another one closer to his house in Jaramana. Unfortunately, his old profession was no longer profitable during the crisis, but he didn’t despair and searched for another career that would secure his living expenses.

In 2017, Samer started an optical shop in Kashkoul, with the help of his son, and due to his good reputation and quality work, he gained regular customers from different places. By the end of 2019, the economic situation began to worsen, accompanied by the Corona pandemic, which greatly affected many jobs including Samer’s business; as he became unable to purchase new goods or tools for his shop and his income started to decrease day after day until it no longer met the basic needs.

Samer was looking for support to save his work and he found it through the micro-project program, as he got the necessary supplies that will make a great difference in his workflow and provide the family with a decent income. 

Tony Al Khouly, is a 61-years-old man, married and a father of two girls; Carol and Elissar.

For all his life, Tony’s main concern was to secure his daughters with a good living and proper education, he didn’t mind working hard for their happiness and comfort. Before the crisis, he used to work along with his brother in a cigarettes store in Al Zabadani area, the countryside of Damascus, but after 2011, Al Zabadani was one of the first areas to be affected by the war; their workplace was greatly damaged and they lost their living source.

Tony found himself jobless in the middle of the most difficult circumstances, when he was supposed to be a strong father and provider. Those heavy burdens didn’t weaken his will to work; he started to take any available job, then he started working as a real estate agent, in addition to helping his brother in his mini-market in Jaramana trying to secure as much income as possible. 

Despite his age, Tony was willing to do anything for the sake of his family, but the harsh living conditions made his long working hours worthless because he was unable to meet the high livelihood expenses which frustrated him.  

Nonetheless, Tony had great hope in God’s mercy which will lead him to a better path.

The support from the Micro-project program, will not just provide him with the needed goods for a better and more sustainable income, but will also secure this family some safety and comfort.

The brutal war that started in 2011 was a crucial turning period in the lives of many people whose lives were drastically flipped without a fault of their own. 

Fady Raffoul life turned upside down after the outbreak of the Syrian crisis. he used to work as a freight car driver for foreign Oil companies since 2006 and his financial situation was good. However, after 2011, the Oil companies canceled their contracts in Syria and discharged all the employees including Fady who found himself unemployed in a middle of a critical situation. 

He worked as a microbus driver for a while but the income was very low and the situation was getting worse, so he moved to his village for two years but life there was no better. For over four years, Fady moved between several countries, from Turkey to Greece, and ended up in Lebanon, seeking safety and security for his family, but all his efforts and money went in vain, he then returned to Syria frustrated and hopeless. 

Fady’s faith was stronger than his difficult reality, and he was ready for an opportunity that could help improve his financial and livelihood situation. Supporting Fady with the taxi will make a positive impact on his life after fighting so many obstacles and hardships. 

“Don’t let life bring you down. Remember that God tests your faith through struggles.”

The war may have stolen many people's lives, homes, health, but it didn't take away their will to live and win their life battles. Josephine’s life was always burdened with hardships, especially after the death of her husband as she found herself lonely with no supporter, solely responsible for her children and their living.

For more than 12 years, Josephine worked at Al Asieh school in Jaramana as a buffet lady. Although her body was getting weaker, she kept working trying to afford the basic living needs, especially after her son Essa was called for mandatory service in 2012. Josephine prayed every day for the safety of her son, especially since he was located in the most dangerous areas, indeed, God responded to her prayers when her son survived death after an explosion, but sadly he lost both of his legs. 

Despite this terrible incident, Josephine’s faith was strong. She quit her job to be close to her son and support him physically and emotionally after what he had been through. The family needed to trust in God’s great mercy which was not strange from a mother like Josephine who was willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of her son.

With the support of the wounded of homeland project, they rented a small shop in Jaramana in 2020, Josephine didn’t hesitate to work with her son in this shop trying to support him as much as possible but they couldn't afford to fill the shop with goods because the financial situation was very bad which threatened to shut down their small business.

Yet, Josephine didn’t give up; as soon as she heard about the Micro project program, she asked for help to get all the needed goods for her mini market, which we provided with pleasure as this iron lady deserves to get all the possible support because she had already given so much love and sacrifice to her family. 

For more than 20 years old the 50 years old Aziz Shakur would wake up every day put on his uniform, kiss his wife and three children goodbye, and head to his job as a traffic officer in the streets of the Syrian capital.

His long hours of work under the glaring sun and frosty wind would end only to jump into the other side of the road and pick up on his second job this time as a driver on Damascus' busiest routes called "Al Dwalaa".

During the war in Syria, "Al Dwalaa" became under constant danger as many killing and kidnapping incidents were occurring, and being on the streets made him more exposed to many dangers and threats, that he didn't even have the luxury to comprehend and be scared of in comparison with his main concern; to secure all the household supplies and life basics for his beloved family. In fact, his family was what made him strong to endure all the hardest years of war until they all reached the shores of safety.

While war couldn't shake the ground under this strong man's feet, his daughters recently diagnosed tumor surely did.

inheriting her father's resilience Joelle went through two major surgeries and a long journey of treatments and tests ahead. Her medical condition cost a lot of money and Aziz had to spend all his pension to afford it.

Despite Aziz having reached the age of fifty, he is still in the same spirit and same determination to wake up in the early morning doing his work for the sake of his family.

His hope is renewed with every shining sun and with every rising opportunity that hope of owning a livelihood and providing a better future for his family would be renewed. And even after he retired and reached the traffic department, he wanted to become a self self-employed that roams the street of Damascus looking forward to living with dignity and make his best to support the family that counts on him.

Given the reality we're living in, one has to work day and night just so he can manage to secure the simplest life expenses, especially if he is the sole breadwinner of the family and has young children like the case of Sarkis Al Haddad (42 years old), husband and father for Serjios, Pamela and Paula.

Before 2011, Sarkis worked as a restaurant manager in Jaramana, he was happily planning for his wedding, renovating his house, and having his furniture custom-made. Unfortunately, those plans were postponed for several years because of the war outbreak, as the security situation worsened a lot and Sarkis' job at a restaurant deteriorated rapidly until he became unemployed. He also couldn’t finish his house renovation, the family house in Maaloula was hit by a mortar shell and severely damaged, all the furniture was lost after the carpentry workshop was looted then destroyed in the countryside of Damascus.

Sarkis suddenly found himself starting over from scratch; struggling to find a job and establish a family, but he had to find a solution and start a new career, so he took a bold step outside his comfort zone and applied at the television and radio administration, and through the new job he learned about photography and became a channel photographer. Sarkis loved his new profession and got skillful, he even collaborated with other photographers for covering private celebrations. 

Despite the long working hours and having two jobs, Sarkis’s financial situation was still weak, half of his income was going straight to his employers and he was hardly able to afford the basics for his family.

Sarkis needed a strong push to improve his situation, by applying to the Micro-project program he was supported with the necessary equipment that would allow him to be self-independent and achieve better livelihood circumstances. 

"It takes a lot of courage to push through hard times, a lot of love to care for others, and a lot of faith to go on in Life", those words are a good description of Elias Najjar as a person. 

Elias grew up in a modest house, between loving parents. After attaining his baccalaureate, he didn’t have the chance to continue his studies because he had to work and support his parents and siblings with basic living needs. Although their financial situation wasn’t good, they were glad to have each other.

However, things got harder during the years of war, the father went back to the village and worked as a farmer while Elias kept working in a restaurant for three years but the income was very low despite the long working hours, so he quit and decided to travel abroad hoping to improve his situation. He traveled to Lebanon where he stayed for another hardworking two years until the Lebanese security situation deteriorated rapidly by the end of 2019 whin in turn reflected badly on the economic situation that resulted in Elias losing his job.

He returned to Syria hoping to have a better chance and started to work with his cousin in electrical maintenance workshops. His cousin was an expert in this field and Elias began to learn until they decided to start a workshop together. Sadly his cousin was infected with Coronavirus and passed away, leaving Elias heartbroken in great shock.

Elias had no time to grief because, at the same period, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo serious surgery and radiology sessions (that she is still continuing).

Despite all the hardships he has been through, Elias never gave up and kept believing that good things are coming his way. He wanted to work but he had to stay beside his mother to look after her, that's why he had the idea of turning a room from the house into a mini-market.

Supporting Elias with the goods and equipment to start his mini-market will make a positive impact on the family’s life, and at the same time allow him to take care of his mother during this difficult period. 

Despite all the ugliness in the world, one can still be inspired by how much love and care the human relationships hide, that’s the moral message we took from Ibrahim and Bashar’s partnership.

Ibrahim Alkhouli was born in 1967 in Al Zabadani town. When he was only 14, he started to work as a blacksmith then when he got older he opened his own workshop, where he shared work with his childhood friend Bashar, even after Bashar got married, he kept working with Ibrahim and they shared good days as well as their life and work challenges. 

However, When the war broke out in Al Zabadani, the town was daily hit by dozens of mortar shells in addition to the armed conflict. Ibrahim and Bashar witnessed the brutality of war and were forced to flee out of the area under bombing and shooting to save their lives leaving everything behind. They went to Bloudan where they stayed for two years, where they spent all the savings just to afford their basic living needs. They were informed that their houses and workshop were destroyed completely with all the possessions and equipment. 

As a result, Ibrahim decided to move to Damascus and start working in any field so he could support himself, he stayed at his nephew’s house in Jaramana and worked as a blacksmith in different workshops then Bashar followed him and they once again spent countless hours working together and shared living expenses; especially that Bashar’s daughter Dalaa was suffering from diabetes and needed high-cost treatment every month.

“We suffered a lot, lost everything we worked for, started from scratch to fight for our daily food, but God manage our life with his great mercy every day” Those were Ibrahim’s words. 

Indeed, God’s hand reached out to the two friends, and through the Micro-project, they were supported with machines, equipment, tools, and electric generator so they could start over their blacksmithing workshop and have a second chance in life.

Nothing can describe the experience of having a disabled child, surviving a deadly war, living in a deteriorating economic situation while being responsible for your family. 

This is the case of Hani Fares, 57 years, married with two sons (Jean 1999, Dani 2001) and a daughter (Rama 2002), Dani suffers from cerebral palsy and requires a lot of love and extra care.

Before the crisis, Hani worked as a warehouse guard at Al Abbaseein Mall and his salary was enough to afford the basic living expenses, but with the outbreak of the war in Syria, Al Abbaseein area was exposed to shelling and sniping, thus the mall closed and all the employees were discharged including Hani who found himself all of a sudden unemployed facing huge responsibilities.

However, one must do what he has to do, so he started a new job and had to juggle all his life hardships. Especially with his son Dani who needs his attention more than anything else. Hani worked for ten years as a salesperson in a supermarket, gaining a big experience in this field, and although the salary was at the minimum, he was grateful for having a job under such difficult circumstances.

Unfortunately, the supermarket owner decided to sell it putting Hani once again at the edge of unemployment, but he did not surrender to despair, he borrowed some money from a relative to start his own mini market and the whole family started to work together for late hours to keep a steady income. Unfortunately, the current economic situation and price instability affected the work very negatively.

Supporting Hani with goods will secure the sustainability of their mini-market, and ensure that this close-knit family has a better livelihood in the future.

"When you have faith in God, you don’t have to worry too much about your daily bread, you just do what you can and let him manage your life” Those were the wise words of Khaled Al-Hreira.

Khaled is 58 years old, married with three sons (Oday born in1998, Qusay and Loay born in 1999).

He is a mechanical engineer and for the last 30 years, he has been working as an employee at the Drinking-Water Corporation in Damascus. During the years of war and under the most dangerous circumstances, Khaled kept going to his work every day because his main concern was to provide his kids with a decent life and proper education despite all difficulties.

khaled's children became the first in their classes, and they are now studying informatics engineering and helping their father as much as possible considering that they are in the age of military service which limits their work opportunities.

However, Khaled didn’t mind to start over, he transformed a room from his house into a small shop where he started to sell bread and some food materials. His good reputation made him very popular in the area, despite the shortage of goods in the shop, people became familiar with it. Khaled was so excited about his new project but the income was very low in comparison with the family's needs, which made him struggle to keep it open.

In the most challenging days, Khaled’s great faith in God didn't weaken, and through the Micro Project program, he was supported with the essential equipment and goods to save his shop and improve his income.

Samira Ayoub, 54 years old, is a single woman living with her sister in a very small and old house in Aldwalaa area in Damascus. Her sister Nawal suffers from some health issues and has no one else to look after her but her loving sister.

Samira worked as a seamstress in sewing factories since 1984, through the years she became highly experienced in the sewing process with all its details, she even made time for fixing clothes at her house in the afternoon after she was given a sewing machine from the ‘holy cross’ church.

Samira spent many years of hard work without hesitation or complaint, despite the significant hardships and the fact that she has no supporters, Samira still sought a better life. She is not able to achieve much in her current job because her salary is very low, but as soon as she became familiar with the micro projects concept, she decided to apply for a sewing workshop in which she can be independent and get a better income at the same time. 

Neither Samira’s age nor her life challenges have hindered her from taking this opportunity to fight for her success, and our role is to empower this strong woman to live the rest of her life in dignity without the need of anyone’s help.

Jamil Demmar is an efficient, hard-working man who spent the past thirty years of his life working as an employee in a goldsmithing workshop. Despite his great experience and professionality of work, he could not save enough money to get his own workshop because of the high costs. 

Jamil lives with his elderly parents and two brothers in a modest house in Bab Touma, the three siblings all work just to afford the house needs and the medical expenses for their parents.

However, within the difficult past years of the crisis, the economic situation became very tough, and his brothers’ income failed to meet all the financial obligations, which forced Jamil to work extra hours to be able to secure all the necessary needs. Unfortunately, his long hours behind the table and the nature of his difficult work led to the deterioration of his health, until he was forced in 2020 to go through three surgeries, after his recovery, the doctors warned him from going back to his old profession and he suddenly found himself unemployed. 

Jamil had no choice but to start searching for another source of living that doesn't require a previous experience, and through the Micro project Program, he was supported by a mini pick-up truck so that he could work and secure a good life for his family.