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The equipment that he has are from the day he opened the shop back to 1987, which became outdated and not useful anymore, that's why upgrading his shop became essential for him so that he won't lose more costumers.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

There will always be difficult challenges to face every day, but with great faith, one will be strong enough to defeat those challenges as Jamil Bshara did his entire life.

Jamil is 49, married to Silva Hamwi and together they have amazing three children; Eleanor and Alber born in 2003, and Enji born in 2005. Jamil and his family live in a small rented flat in Jaramana where he works in packaging at the Syrian Trade Corporation.

Before the crisis, Jamil used to have his own shop that sells toys and other stuff, his income was enough to secure a good living. After about 7 years of working in the shop and with the outbreaking of the Syrian war, Jamil had to close it due to the increasing prices.

However, he didn’t hesitate to do any job available because he had a family to feed and kids to educate, so he worked as a cleaner in Saint Mansour Monastery in Sednaya until 2013 because the situation there became very dangerous. After that, he started working in a local food restaurant in Jaramana and for many years he worked more than 12 hours a day and did his best to provide the best life possible for his kids, and he succeeded in his endeavor as his son Alber is at the informatic engineering college and his daughter Eleanor is at the architecture engineering college while his third daughter is from the top students on in her class.

“what you give out, will always return to you”

Jamil spent his whole life giving his family all the love, attention, and care, and it was time to reap the results as his request for the mini-market project was approved, and now Jamil is hoping that after all those tough years, he will finally have a thriving job that will enable him to be independent with a sustainable income.

Abdo had a peaceful and stable life with his family living in Sednaya town, Damascus countryside.

During the first years of the war, the situation began to worsen gradually, until it became very dangerous to stay in the area, as his house was severely damaged by the shelling which forced the family to leave their home without being able to take any belongings.

Abdo and his family moved to Damascus where his friend helped him rent a small apartment in one of Bab Touma's old neighborhoods to shelter there, as his children were still at a very young age.

Abdo worked in a small shop in Kashkool area, and he tried hard during those difficult years to secure the basic living necessities for his family, but his income was barely matching the high living expenses which prevented him from moving to a better house or buying new furniture and his financial condition was getting critical.

Unfortunately, by the end of the war, the economic crisis exploded, then the Corona pandemic started, which affected the business situation severely and Abdo had to close the shop in 2020, he began to look for any source of income to secure the rent and his children basic requirements.

He started working on his old car making deliveries or special requests with the help of his friends and relatives, but the car was worn-out and its malfunctions cost a lot of money which banned him from improving his work or his income.

Now after getting the approval, Abdo is touring the streets day and night with his new taxi, seeking to get as much work as he could in order to enhance his income and his family’s living conditions.

Kinan’s life was never easy, each chapter of it contained a lot of pain and bitterness, but he never gave up and was sure that all the faith and love he gives, will return to him.

He lived in Al-Qadam area in Damascus where he worked as a gypsum statues sculptor. He was like any young man of his age working hard and planning for his future as he established his own workshop, bought a mini pick-up to increase his income, and got engaged to Antoinette Ahmar but unfortunately, the war came to waste his efforts, and destroy all his dreams as Al-Qadam area was one of the conflict places that was severely destroyed by the daily bombing including Kinan’s house and workshop. He had to flee the area without being able to take any of his belongings or his work equipment.

In 2012, Kinan had to start from scratch since his career wasn’t demanded anymore so his uncle offered to share his house. Kinan worked any job available to afford his living expenses, but his financial situation was getting worse day by day. However, his fiancé Antionette stood beside him and refused to leave him. She waited eight years until he decided to sell his pick-up so he could marry and rent a house to live in with his wife and mother.

Despite the hardships, Kinan and Antionette got married in 2018 and had their son Sam one year after, they both worked together to overcome all the difficulties; Kinan rented a pick-up and started working as hard as he could to provide for his family and his wife was also doing handcrafts at home to support her husband.

Kinan was looking for a chance to improve his living conditions and had strong faith that life will turn up for him thereby, as soon as he heard about the micro-project program in Damascus, he applied for the pickup truck full of hope and determination.

Indeed, the darkest chapter of his life was closed and now he has his own pick-up truck that will increase his income and provide a second chance to have a decent and stable life.

Salwan Alnasr is 43 years old, married to Rita with a 13-year-old son called Jack.

Salwan and his family live in a modest rented flat in Al-Dwalaa, He used to work as a tile setter for more than 13 years. Despite the fact that his work was very hard and affected his health on the long term, he kept working to afford the best life for his family because during the crisis years, no matter how hard he worked, his income didn’t level up with the high costs of livelihood.

Unfortunately, in 2017, Salwan started to suffer from severe pain in his back and the doctor told him that he has to go through surgery that he couldn’t afford, but “the Good Shepherd Association” covered the surgery’s costs and after the operation, he had to stay for about 18 months in bed rest. During that period, Salwan had to spend all his savings to afford the basic living needs and after his recovery, his brother helped him to start a small shop close to his house where he could be able to support his family without much physical effort.

He worked in the shop with his brother until his traveling in 2020 when Salwan took the responsibility of running the shop by himself and he became very popular in the neighborhood as people got used to buying from him.

However, due to the Corona and the huge increase in prices, Salwan couldn’t support his shop with new goods, and day after day it became empty besides a few materials that were left on the shelves. Salwan was in a bad financial situation and he wasn’t able to make a balance between his income and his family’s living demands. 

“Don’t let life bring you down. Remember that God gives you struggles to test your faith.”

Salwan’s faith was stronger than his struggles, and now after being supported by the micro-project program he is able to support his shop with a good amount of goods and products to improve his income and restore his life balance.

The cruel war forced many people to live far away from their families and children, seeking better income to afford decent living conditions.

Dekran Kendmian worked in maintenance and his salary was good enough to meet his daily expenses, but with the beginning of the war, his profession was affected badly and he became unable to afford the basic needs.

Dekran couldn’t stand watching his children deprived of having a good life or proper education, so he decided to travel to Lebanon where he started to work there in his profession and send whatever he earned to his family back in Damascus hoping that someday he would bring them to live with him. Unfortunately, the high living costs in Lebanon prevented this dream and he spent 9 bitter years waiting for the day of their reunion.

However, with the beginning of the Lebanese revolution in 2019, the security and economic situation in Lebanon worsened, and he decided to return to Syria.  But the Corona pandemic, and the quarantine that happened after, reflected negatively on his financial situation as he started to spend his savings with no income.

Dekran was a hardworking man who couldn’t stand letting his family live in need and poverty, he said:

“I am willing to tear down the walls with my bare hands to secure my family with a better life”

Through the Micro-project program, Dekran got a pick-up truck so he could be able to make a sustainable income that will improve the family's living circumstances.

In 2010, Tony left his village and headed to the city of Damascus with hope and determination to make a change in the life of his family. He settled in Al-Dwalaa neighborhood and started to work in any available job and send most of his wages to his mother and brother who suffers from sight disability. 

Unfortunately in the first years of the war the security situation in Damascus deteriorated badly, and soon after, he was asked to serve in Hama.

Tony accepted the bitter reality and for more than eight years he served in very dangerous zones, went through several hardships, and survived many calamities. Yet, he didn’t let his situation bring him down, on the contrary, he learned the hairstyling profession and while he was serving in Hama, he worked at Marmarita village then when he was transferred to serve in Damascus, he continued his work there and gained good experience by the leading of professional hairstylists in the area.

The day that Tony was looking forward to, had arrived and he was discharged from the military service. He didn’t hesitate and started to work many shifts during the day to improve his financial situation, he wanted to save money to have his own salon, but his family’s situation wasn’t stable and he was sending them money every month to secure their basic living demands.

Tony’s dream of being independent and having his private job was fading away with the increasing costs of living, but he kept on the hard work until he heard about the micro-project program so he came with all hope asking for support.

Now, after being financed with the necessary equipment and the electric generator, Tony has finally reached his goal; having his own salon, and being independent to mprove his living circumstances.

"Being responsible for a lovely family with two little girls under current circumstances in Syria is something very difficult, it breaks your heart not to be able to secure the simplest needs of life and see your daughters growing in deprivation."

All that George was seeking for, is to secure a decent living for his family. Unfortunately, within the economic crisis in the country, no matter how hard he worked he couldn’t afford even the daily food.

In the previous years of war, George moved between several jobs as he worked at a coffee store for a year but his salary wasn’t good so he quit and started a Shawarma restaurant in partnership with his friend, but after one year his friend traveled abroad and George couldn’t handle all the expenses alone so he had to close it and worked as a waiter in a hotel. Since 2019, George has been working for more than 12 hours a day trying to afford his family's livelihood, but the situation is getting worse year after year and his income isn't enough to meet his monthly obligation.

He takes courage and determination from his daughters' innocent eyes to keep working and trying every day, because his main concern is providing them with a decent life.

Through the Micro-project program, George was supported to open his Coffee shop, so he could be independent and able to improve the living circumstances of his family. 

For 23 years, Nawal worked as a teacher to many generations who learned from this wise woman, she didn’t just teach them the typical curriculum but also planted true values of life in their mind and you can see that from her sons whom, despite the difficult financial and living condition of the country, were supported by their mother to become successful in their education. Hani is now in the third year of Agriculture Engineering, Fady is in the first year of Informatics Engineering and the youngest, Dani is in the eighth grade.

Unfortunately, the last decade was very hard for the whole family, as her husband’s job was affected badly by the war in addition to losing their house and land in the village of Rakham, Daraa governorate, with 125 olive trees that were cut and burned.

However, despite the losses, Nawal and her husband kept their faith as they started to work together to raise those young boys and provide them with basic needs and proper education, and even after her retirement in 2016, Nawal insisted on playing a major part in her family’s life; she tried to find a job but with the deteriorating condition and the increasing prices, nothing was suitable to secure the income she needed.

This hardworking woman kept searching for a chance and didn’t hesitate when she heard about our initiative to apply for a stationery shop which was approved. Nawal received the necessary equipment and materials to start her stationery shop where she could work along with her sons to get a sustainable income that will improve their current situation and hopefully their upcoming future.

For more than 27 years of experience as a shoemaker, Elias Alhelo has devoted all his life to the sake of his family and his three daughters Maha, Ayda, and Hanin.

They lived in Aldekhanyeh area in peace where Elias had his workshop and the profit was sufficient to secure a decent life for them.

Unfortunately, after the beginning of the crisis, things started to worsen gradually until the year 2014, when armed groups entered Aldekhanieh and started to shoot at the houses spreading violence and horror and terrifying the citizens including Elias and his wife who were in great fear for their daughters’ lives, especially that their daughter Hanin was still a newborn. Elias was forced to take his family and flee immediately without taking any of their belongings.

They became homeless, with no money or shelter so they stayed for two months in an unfinished flat until Elias managed to get some money to rent a small apartment in Kashkoul. He found himself forced to start everything from scratch; so he doubled his working hours just to afford the household necessities.

Although Elias was a skilled craftsman, being an employee at a workshop didn’t provide him with enough income to meet the living costs or secure his daughters' education costs, he was looking for a chance to improve his living circumstances.

Giving Elias the opportunity to have his own shoemaking workshop will make him independent with a sustainable income, in addition to restoring hope to his heart that life can still be kind to the ones who believe. 

Jana and her family had a quiet, peaceful life in their home in the city of Sednaya.

Unfortunately, this situation changed completely two years ago as Jana's father passed away from a heart attack, after that the family began a journey of pain and misery.

Before their tears dried, they were asked to leave their home because it was given to the father as a work benefit, so they were left without shelter or support. They moved to the city of Damascus, hoping to find better work opportunities, and rented a small house in Jaramana, all family members began working together to secure the daily food and their basic needs.

Jana's mother started to do cleaning work, but it was very hard for her as it affected her health and damaged her back, so she had to undergo several surgeries and stay at home.

Despite her young age, Jana decided to help her family with the household expenses, so she worked in several jobs then started to learn the profession of nails care and gained good experience in this field, but the lack of money prevented her from buying the necessary materials and improve her work.

Through the Micro-project program, Jana was supported with the necessary tools to work and save money so she could be able to support her mother and siblings in improving their livelihood conditions.

“Either you challenge life or let it defeat you”

The words of a woman who was hit by life’s hardships many times and came out stronger and wiser.

Clemance Akhras is 46, a widowed mother of two, Mouna 23, and Naser 22. She used to live happily with her family in Aleppo, working as a seamstress to help her husband with the living expenses.

With the start of war in 2011, her husband passed away from a heart attack, leaving Clemance heartbroken and alone in face of the horrors of war. She did not have time to mourn her husband, as the crisis struck the city of Aleppo and soon violence and death spread all over the city, then her house was destroyed by the shells and she couldn’t take any of her belongings out. she and her kids escaped with only their clothes to find themselves scared with no shelter or support.

Clemance decided to resort to the church where she stayed for two weeks then she moved with her children to Damascus hoping to have a new start there. With the help of the priest and the nuns, Clemance was able to rent a small flat in Al-Dwalaa and got employed at the Good Shepherd center as a children’s supervisor. In the afternoons, she worked as a seamstress at a sewing workshop.

Clemance worked day and night to provide her kids with proper education and basic living needs, but no matter how much she was trying, new challenges emerged; the workshop was closed and her income became much less than the increasing living demands. 

“I just want to grow old with my son and daughter beside me, not in a faraway country”.

This little dream of Clemance is our main purpose in the Hope Center, she was supported to have her own sewing workshop so this strong lady could have her independency, a sustainable and decent income to improve her living, and hopefully keep her children by her side. 

Firas Haddad, 46, lives with his mother in a modest house in Jaramana, Damascus countryside.

as a child, Firas went through very difficult circumstances as he was exposed to a fire accident in his childhood that caused severe burns on his hands and face. He has undergone many surgeries since then and still suffers from deformities, but it didn't prevent him from working or having a normal life.

In 2010, Firas started working as a salesperson using his small car, and even during the period of war, he continued to tour on the roads, trying his best to afford his living expenses and take care of his sick mother; secure her medicines as she suffers from severe back pains and osteoporosis which needs lots of attention and permanent treatment.

This situation continued until the year 2020, when Firas had a health problem, as a result of which he had to go through a stents placement operation, then he had to stay at home to rest. During that period, his financial situation was affected greatly, especially after the high treatment costs and the increasing living expenses, after his recovery, he wanted to start working again, but the prices had risen dramatically, and that prevented him from buying any new goods.

Firas and his mother became reliant on the church’s relief support, he kept looking with all hope for a way to restore his old life. It was when the church's priest told him about the Micro-project program, so he applied to be financed with the goods and materials to get his job back, secure a decent income for him and his mother, and become an independent and productive person once again.