George Dayekh is a 51-years-old owner of a metal lathing workshop, since this father of two (Gabriel and Naya) was the sole provider for his family, he had a heavy burden to carry on his shoulders. The family lives in Al-Serian, a neighborhood that was considered dangerous in Aleppo city, exposed to all kinds of shell attacks. But George had other challenges besides the lack of safety. Soon after the war started, George discovered a lump in his back, he was worried, further diagnostics were even more worrying. When his back condition started affecting his job, George had no choice but to sell his workshop tools and equipment, and put his workplace in Al-Midan on rent so he can live-off the money and head to Damascus for the treatment process. 

George had to go through a risky tumor eradication procedure to remove the tumor located near the spinal cord. Although the surgery was successful, but it took George many years to regain his strength and health and be able to work again. The problem is that George has sold all his machines and equipment to pay for his surgery and medical costs.

Now in the midst of this economic crisis, he is not able to repurchase even a part of the machinery needed after their prices were tripled. It is why George is seeking help to re-open his workshop, his workshop is empty now, the only thing remaining is to find the financial support to purchase the machinery for the workshop and George can resume his long-postponed career.

Johnny Marta is an enthusiastic young man, all ever since he was in his early twenties, he started working in car repairing and maintenance and he got skillful in this job.

Johnny lives with his parents in addition to his brother Rami who got called for the military service during the war in a very dangerous city: Daraa, he got injured four times and his life is always threatened. The mother and father are of old age so they need constant care especially that they suffer from several health conditions, thus Johnny is the one who is looking after them and he has big responsibility to provide for the house.

During war, the family house was hit by a shell which caused the ceiling of the living room to fall off while his parents were in the house, it was very frightening for them to go through such experience and it will not be forgotten easily, the mother is always concerned about her children and their future.

Also, the workshop where Johnny used to work was robbed and the equipment that were left there were gone. It was too dangerous to even go there to check on things and try to get the equipment out, in that period the people going there were getting kidnapped. After things got better in Bustan Albasha area in 2016, Johnny returned there and he started working again but unfortunately, people now are afraid to leave their cars at the workshops especially in the farther areas while it gets repaired for few days.

The harsh livelihood situation obliged Johnny to look for another income source to provide for his family, he has been working for couple of months on a taxi for his friend and he found it profitable, he needs this support to have a taxi and improve his living situation especially that he is engaged to be married.

Rezk Rezk is from a village near Idleb called Al-Jdaideh. It was his hometown and the place where he spent his life in until in 2012, he was forced to flee the town under threats from the armed groups who took control of the village with the start of the war.

The 41 years old Rezk took his wife Julia and children Simon (14 years old), Emily (12 years old) and Michael (11 years old) and went to Latakia after losing their house, farming land and his supermarket. Rezk didn’t leave alone, his parents and in-laws also became displaced due to war. The three families headed to latakia and at the beginning he stayed with his parent in a rented apartment to decrease the costs for a while before renting his own house. The five years were extremely hard on Rezk. He worked in a supermarket, in retail shops and as a driver.

When in 2018, one of Rezk’s cousins decided to open a clothing workshop in Aleppo city, he offered Rezk a driver job in that workshop knowing that he was in need, he took his family and settled back in Aleppo in a rented apartment in Al-Midan neighborhood. Since then, Rezk has been battling the hardships of life alone, since he is the sole provider for his family of five and his modest salary is not enough anymore considering the economic crisis and its implications on everyday life. 

And since driving has been one of the things Rezk worked in before, he applied for the Micro Project Program hoping that he will be able to purchase a taxi car provide a better income for his family. 

Having a taxi of his own will impact Rezk’s life immensely, it will be a glimpse of hope for the family that once lost everything.   

In Syria, the war changed the life of people in many different ways, millions were either displaced or have lost a loved one or sometimes a property, but what’s definite is that all Syrians were financially affected somehow. Many were forced to change their careers or start from scratch after losing everything, others like Antoine started working additional jobs only to survive the hard times. That’s actually how Antoine Kassis became a part-time taxi driver…

The 45-years-old Antoine is a father of two; Elias (14 years old) and Jean (6 years old). Since 1990, Antoine works as an employee in a car-parts retail shop in order to take care of his small family. The economic crisis started to suffocate Syrians specially the middle class, and his long experience in his job was not enough anymore to bring income for a family of four. 

For so long Antoine was worried about the family’s financial status, but not much he could do, with the lack of resources and his disability of having one arm, not every job suited Antoine; when he used to work on a machine to dye the clothes and his hand got stuck in it and they had to amputate it. This accident left its permanent impact on his life forever and made his working choices very limited.

But in 2016, when the financial situation became so bad Antoine’s brother helped him to buy a taxi car in order to work and have an additional income. It was a severely needed help, he couldn’t be more grateful for this generous gesture, but after couple of years the car was getting old and technical issues were turning up almost every other day. 

The maintenance costs of the taxi are becoming a heavy burden, rather than a supportive income. Antoine wants to replace his old car with a newer one to cut the huge repairing costs he is spending now without a profit in return, but the harsh circumstances of life are a huge obstacle in his way. With your help Antoine will be able to have a good taxi which will definitely reflect on his life positively, and that will guarantee a stable income for many years to come.

A long time ago Mousa was a goldsmith, he worked abroad in the gulf for many years then he came Back to Syria to live a peaceful and content life with his family after all the hard work, and since he was originally from Al-Yakoubieh village, his income was primarily coming from the lands he has there and from its harvests. Life was going good before the Syrian war interrupted their peace of mind and safety…

Mousa and his wife Nelly with their two daughters; Elena (25 years old) and Carla (20 years old) live in AL-Suleymanieh area. When war started, it changed the life of many people including Mousa’s life. Soon Al-Yakoubieh became under the armed groups control, lands were confiscated, and anyone who thinks about going there or claiming their land was threatened to be killed. This was devastating for Mousa and his family, it was their hometown, their life and their main source of income.

After this incident, Mousa didn’t know anything about his properties there, and after a while he started looking for a job, but his age wouldn’t allow him to work in many fields that require physical effort.

When a friend of his, who owns a mini van offered Mousa to work on the mini van as a transportation vehicle, Mousa agreed. It was exactly what he needed to fill his day schedule and make an income, even if it was not that much. 

With the escalation of the economic crisis Mousa’s job became inefficient; the long hours of driving do not garner enough money to split between the car owner and Mousa, and he found himself in need of any help he can get in order to secure a decent life for his family. When he heard about the Micro Project Program, Mousa applied hoping of owning his own car which will make a huge difference in his life. It will give him the opportunity to work in the domain he has an experience in, and increase his income during this economic crisis that seems to be an ongoing situation for many years now.

Mousa has the faith that someday he will be able to see his home and land in the village that he loves, the hope that this taxi will give him to continue and push forward in his life.     

When Abdullah's car broke down due to a technical failure (back in 2014), it was parked near the Red Crescent hospital in Aleppo city, the last thing he expected was that he would wake up the next day to find nothing!

The war has already overwhelmed the 43 years old Abdudllah, the father of two boys; Shaker (11 years old) and (Karam 10 years old) that solely provides for his family, he had already borrowed money from a relative to buy the car and use it as a taxi, So when it was stolen, he was devastated about how to repay his debt and provide for his family.. Lucky for Abdullah, his relative was a kind person and he understood the difficult situation.

Abdullah and his wife Sonia and their children lived in his mother-in-law’s house in Al-Jabrieh street, which meant all five people were living off Abdulla’s job, thus losing that job was catastrophic for the family. The church did not abandon them, on the contrary, they helped the family with food baskets and also with the children’s school tuitions. In 2017, Abdullah joined a church program as a part-time worker with a salary to live from.

At the same time Abdullah worked with a friend on a taxi after finishing his morning hours at the church center, he needed to work two jobs and make as much income possible for his big family. This was the only way to survive such hard circumstances. But the car owner taking most of the profits didn’t leave much for him. 

Helping Abdullah by securing his own taxi will have a huge impact on the quality of life he and his family live. It will give them the financial stability they lack.

George Hanna, his wife Faten and their two children Elias (12 years old) and Joelle (10 years old) were living peacefully in a small city near Al-Raqqa. George was a workshop owner for cars maintenance when the war started. At first, war was far from their little town, but when armed factions started to move East towards Raqqah and Deir Ez-Zor governorates, threatening the lives of citizens and confiscating their properties. George decided it was time to leave for the sake of his family’s safety. Faten’s mother offered the family a place to stay since she lived alone in Aleppo, so without hesitation George sent his family to Aleppo while he was hoping to finish his obligations. Unfortunately, things weren’t going as wished, George couldn’t finish his work on time and his escape journey ended up with kidnapping… 

During captivity, George went through a spiritual challenge, his heart was filled with bravery and his trust in God strengthened him when his destiny was completely unknown. His faith did not fail him, after stressful couple of days George and other hostages were released and he was reunited with his family at last.

George’s challenges did not end there, in 2015 he was called for service and his station assignment was in Damascus, so he was separated from his family for a long time, until in 2019 he was finally discharged. When George came back to Aleppo, he had no financial resources that would qualify him to open a workshop of his own, a step like that required a huge capital which he did not own. George made a partnership with a craftsman in the same field of work, just to get started. 

Although this partnership is enabling George to put bread on the table. However, with support, George can expand his business and increase his profits drastically. The majority of the tools George wants to purchase are essentials in his profession, and obtaining them means a better life for the whole family in the future. 

Since he was 13 years old, Fadi Kremesh chose his profession for life, when he dropped off school and started working in a barber’s shop to master this skill. When you enter the industry in an early age like Fadi did, you start small and gradually learn the tricks until you can be independent and establish a salon of your own.   

Before the war everything was going just as planned, Fadi was saving money to open his own salon and meanwhile he was living with his parents and his siblings Micheline and Michael in the family residence in Telephone Hawaae. The start of the war in Syria and other personal circumstances forced Fadi to stir-up the peaceful and promising life and go to Lebanon on a hurry. However, when he sold his tools and equipment before traveling, he did not lose his passion for his original job, but he took that with him wherever he went. In Lebanon, he managed to find a salon to work in and when he felt stable enough, he sent for his family to join him because their safety was jeopardized under the random shells and missiles falling all over Aleppo city at the time.

With Lebanon’s crisis reappeared last year, Fadi and his family came back to their hometown fully acknowledging the challenges lying ahead of them and at the top is finding a job…

This is when Fadi heard of the Micro Projects Program, he felt that he would be a perfect candidate to apply for this kind of support, specially that he had the experience and the skills, he even has many acquaintances and customers if he opens his salon. The only thing standing between him and his dream is the lack of resources needed to purchase the tools and equipment for his future salon. Helping Fadi will be life-changing for the young barber and an opportunity for a new beginning.   

38-years-old Aboud Qudsieh, his wife Hanadi and their twelve years old daughter Cecilia, live in their rented house in Al-Jabrieh neighborhood. Maybe Cecilia was too young to remember when the war reached Aleppo, but Al-Jabrieh was not where her family used to live. They were renting in Al-Midan back then, but due to the dangerous situation in Al-Midan and the non-stop shells’ attacks, they were forced to find another place to stay. The same fears daunted Aboud about his workshop, Aboud who owned a furniture upholstery workshop in Al-Midan was horrified when the residents of the neighborhood and his fellow workshop owners started to evacuate afraid for their safety. He already was not able to work because of the unstable situation, he was worried that his machinery would get stolen in the deserted streets, that’s why he sold his machinery and transferred his work to other workshops in safer places. 

Aboud did not stop working (even when he had to share his profit with other carpenters) except for a year in 2010 when he was called for the military service, it was a hard time for Aboud and his family. 

What Aboud struggles with today is that due to the expensiveness of life and the economic crisis, he is not able to repurchase new machinery and tools instead of the ones he once sold. He is now back to his own workshop in Al-Midan, but since he does not have a sewing machine or other necessary tools, he is ought to involve other workshops to complete the work; which means splitting the profits with these other parties. In addition to the extra time consumed in this process. If Aboud becomes independent again his profits will increase just like his productivity, and his family will be financially more stable.

There is some unique bond in big families like the Sayeghs, which makes the family members stand together through the good and the bad no matter what, that is what the story of this family is all about.

Elias is 35; ever since he got married to Sandra, the couple lived along with Elias’s family that consist of his mother Elaine, his grandmother Maro, his brother Antoine and his wife and their children, in addition to his other brother Johnny. 

The family not only live together, they also share a business in wooden furniture spraying. Elias and Antoine inherited this profession from their father and uncle, their workshop was located in Al-sheikh Maksoud. Unfortunately, with the start of war in 2012, they lost everything. They all were displaced to Al-Suleymanieh where they stayed for six months, but when finding a job became a difficult challenge, Elias decided to part from his family and head to Damascus to look for jobs there and bring back the profits to his family. 

The family spent long years in Damascus, when they came back to Aleppo they rented in Al-Nayyal with the help of the Blue Maristes. And since then, a lot has changed. The three brothers had another thing to worry about, George the youngest and Antoine the oldest are both serving in the army, leaving Elias to be the sole provider for the big family.

Every couple of weeks, Antoine comes to Aleppo to help his brother in the workshop and to see his wife and children, the brothers want to improve their workshop and expand their business, since the workplace they are currently renting is small and not efficient. Elias was thinking to change the location to Bustan Al-Basha where the spaces are bigger and more suitable for their specialty. However, a lot of challenges face Elias from the lack of electricity and fuel for the generators, all the way to the general economic situation. But despite all difficulties, Elias realizes that in order to give his family a decent life he has to take this step towards independence knowing that that this project will be offering him hope and support.     

Starting a family in a war-stricken country can be an extremely hard mission without the support and the help of parents and friends. Actually, Yorgi went through that struggle when he decided to start his own family in late 2016. Although the city of Aleppo was in a truce phase, but that did not mean that everything was going to be okay! His fiancée’s house in Al-jabrieh was hit with missiles and Yorgi himself was struggling to find a place to live in with Samira, his soon to be bride. Luckily for them, Yorgi was offered a place to stay in for free, and the now 33-years-old man was able to tie the knot with his bride, and the couple were blessed with two sons, Lee-Andrew (3 years old) and Joshua (1 year old). 

Business-wise, Yorgi was a craftsman in Aluminum manufacturing since an early age, but his workshop that he had established before the war was in Hreitan rural area near Aleppo. Hreitan was a very promising landscape which was in construction and develop at that time. Carpentry and Aluminum workshops were very busy there with the good work flow. But with the start of war, armed groups targeted that area and took over the whole place, Yorgi and his fellow workshops’ owners escaped their workplaces on a hurry and thus, losing all their assets there. 

Yorgi who is hardworking and resilient, did not lose hope nor determination; he started searching for jobs to be able to provide for his family since his wife was a stay-at-home mom, taking good care of their two toddlers. For a short while, he worked in clothes manufacturing workshops, but it didn’t suit his skills. Yorgi wished to go back to his original profession, so he compromised a lot when he started to work for others, since he does not own his own tools and machinery.

Giving Yorgi a second chance to reclaim the business he once had, and be independent again is so important for Yorgi himself and for the stability of his family, specially that the constantly increasing prices are making this dream of Yorgi’s impossible to achieve without help and support to buy the equipment and machines.

Wassim Haddad is a good husband and a father of Soheil, his 2-years-old son. 

Wassim is a hardworking man, since 2000 he has been in the Aluminum manufacturing business, a business that requires physical strength, skills and experience, first he started in Telefon Hawaae area until he could be more independent and resourceful, he moved to Al-Ashrafie neighborhood and established his own business. Wassim was working day and night to prove himself, his main focus was to expand his work, that’s why any additional profits he made was invested in purchasing the primary materials or renewing his tools. 

Wassim had a promising future in business, but unfortunately, war changed everything!

Wassim was subject to harassment and religious discrimination in the area of his work place, he was the only Christian in the area which built up the tension, not long after in late 2012, the armed groups took over and the threats became reality, Wassim was not in the shop when this incident happened, but the next day when he went there to check on the workshop, it was emptied completely, nothing was saved from robbery and Wassim was left with nothing… 

Losing all his investments in business was not the only loss Wassim experienced; his family was forced to leave their rented house in Al-Midan neighborhood as it became extremely dangerous and moved to a slightly safer place, he also moved his workshop after his great loss.

The new equipment and supplies Wassim applied for are essential for the continuity of his work, since the economic challenges are exceeding the expectation and the tolerance of craftsmen like Wassim whom already have lost a lot but still want to work his way towards recovery.

Shaza used to work as a hairdresser for 23 years, she is a single woman who lives with her old mother whom she is responsible for.

The nature of this job requires standing for long hours which caused Shaza many health problems and forced her to quit and think of another way to make a living. In 2019, she rented a shop, her shop was the only shop in Al-Hamidia neighborhood after the war and everything went well for the first few months. 

Unluckily, things changed as a result of prices inflation and Covid-19 which made it more difficult for her to purchase new goods. Her sales rate dropped with the income too, one day a friend told Shaza about the Micro Projects program and advised her to apply, so she applied immediately then got the help she needs to strengthen her business. This support revived her self-confidence again and encouraged her to continue her career as a working woman despite all the difficulties.

Ruba has many dreams just like all the other girls of her age, one of her dreams was having a peaceful life with her family at their lovely home! Unfortunately, the brutality of war destroyed everything she looked forward to and also with them her family's only home.

The family had to hide from the falling shells in the shelter for a period of time, but the suffering didn't stop there and the family lost some of their loved ones, Ruba's family had no choice but to flee from their village to the city of Homs.

Her father, the only provider for the family worked in Homs as a driver until one day he got injured by an explosion and lost his vehicle, his only source of livelihood. Ruba wanted to help her father in supporting the family as her brother is serving in the army, she was very close to churches and she found that no one is specialized in preparing scented frankincense so churches have to buy it from outside the city. As a result of her good relation with the church, a priest helped her to find a monastery where she learned how to prepare this material.

Today after all she went through, it's time for Ruba to put everything behind and to start her project, this way she would be able to help her family and to dream again of a better future.

Mttanious worked as a wall painter since 2005, working for a long time in this profession was not easy at all and had very negative impacts on his health, which made him go through many surgeries like knee replacement and open-heart surgery which forced him to leave this job as it requires a lot of physical effort. 

Being the sole breadwinner for his small family; his wife Souhaila and his daughter Ghazal, he couldn’t stop working and thought of another way to support his family, so he decided to open a grains and spices shop because there isn’t such a shop in his neighborhood, these food commodities are highly demanded every day but unluckily, his limited financial resources were an obstacle in his way and he couldn’t start his project. 

When Mttanious heard about the Micro Projects Program, he was certain that this is his opportunity to start his project, the help he got was a great support, and this way he would be able to provide a good income and ensure a better livelihood for his wife and daughter.

“The cruel war affected all Syrian families and made many of them lose everything they have, even their ability to take care of their daily needs. and it became luxurious at the post-war period to think of installing a solar system especially when people’s major interests were repairing what was destroyed and finding a livelihood to support for their families.”

Samer Kabak is originally a plumber, he also worked in solar system installation since 2008, he lives with his mother and his brother. His business was affected badly during the war and he lost most of his important equipment. Over the economic crisis, the increase in the price of fuel reflected on the provision of electricity which forced people to use an alternative solution making it possible for Samer to restart his project again.

All that encouraged him strongly to get back to work in this field, but the main barrier in his way was the lack of most essential equipment. Obtaining the needed support helped Samer to facce this severe crisis and stand on his feet again.

Jean worked as a taxi driver for 20 years, back in his home-town Aleppo for 13 years, then the war forced him to leave his city to a safer place, Mashta Al-Helou was his destination and he stayed there for a year.

In 2015, he had an opportunity to work in Lebanon as a truck driver for a furniture company, unluckily, the company he was working with shut down, and he had to find another job as a taxi driver. 

After one year, he had to leave Lebanon due to the bad security situation and went to Homs searching for another chance, his brother helped him and they bought a car together so Jean could work on it and they share its profits, in 2018 he got married and moved with his wife Widad to live in with his mother-in-law.

Currently, Jean is working on a car but his income is very low to cover the maintenance costs and insufficient for two families (his family and his brother's family) during these difficult economic conditions.

Jean said it felt like God's hand came from above and pulled me up when he had the opportunity to get a taxi which will allow him to drive around the city and to get his life back together after all these tough times.

Bashar is a married man who lives with his wife Sulaf, his son Fouaad and his daughter Tala. He used to work as a taxi driver since 2010, and he is the only breadwinner for his family in addition to his elderly parents, during the cruel war he was forced to sell his own car and travel seeking a better life in Lebanon where he worked as a driver too. 

Unfortunately, his father’s health started to deteriorate, being the sole provider Bashar went back home to look after him and spent all of his savings on the treatment. Having no livelihood source was very hard on him so he had to work in a different field for a living. 

Bashar needs to have a taxi because this job was always his experience, he would be able to do what he loves and to provide a stable source of income for his family.

Syrians lives are no longer the same as they were before the war which had a major impact in all the aspects. As a result of this cruel war, Attiah lost his previous job as a maintenance technician because the company he was working for shut its doors in 2014, which forced him to find another livelihood source being the only provider for his family of three and his mother. 

He didn't want to stay without a job, and his experience in maintenance helped him to have a new start working as an electrician among clients' houses. His simple beginning encouraged him to continue and this job became his source of income. Currently, Attiah aspires to expand his work by opening an electrical maintenance shop so he could repair and sell electrical devices. This opportunity will be a push towards a better income and provide more stability and independence. 

We all have dreams, but we don't always have the courage to pursue them like Manar did. Manar is a 42-years-old writer who lives with his senior parents.

He was studying math and working as a logistic in a church but his father's severe illness forced him to leave his study and work. Treatment expenses were a huge burden on the family's finance; they had to spend all their savings. When his father’s health gradually improved, Manar found a job in a Community Support Program as a supervisor of children's section but unluckily, this program was limited by a period of time and his contract expired by the end of 2020.

His passion has always been a great motive since he found pleasure in working with children, developing their imagination and intellectual abilities, all that led him to search of a way to support his family and ensure a stable income, so he created the interactive and educational stories which is a model of stories consisting of a story and a memory game, this way the children can live the events till the end by doing some activities in groups or individually.

Manar could not implement his dream project because his financial resources were limited. Now he has the chance to start his project and prepared a joyful place for children called House of Stories Center. This center provides many services such as interactive & educational story workshops in three languages (Arabic-English and French), chess and a little library, making this center the only one to provide such services in the city of Homs.

For the time being, Manar aspires to make learning and reading more fun, he is also working on cooperating with more centers and kindergartens to reach more children in Homs and Syria.

Saeed loved working in carpentry since he was at a young age, and this job was more like a hobby to him, he mastered this profession without knowing that someday he is going to need it as a source of living.

Saeed is the sole provider for his family of five; his wife and three sons, he worked as an electrician since 1998 in his small workshop, and he did not expect that he will have to leave everything behind seeking safety in 2014 when he moved with his family to Lebanon and worked as a truck driver there in the port of Beirut.

The security situation in Lebanon started to get worse in 2017, which forced Saeed's family to go back home. luckily their house was not damaged a lot, but the bad news was that all the tools he used to work with had been stolen.

He immediately rented a workshop and started working by utilizing his skills in carpentry, and like all the craftsmen he was forced to rent a workshop, most of Saeed's income was being paid to the workshop owner which made his income insufficient to provide for his family. 

When Saeed had the support to purchase all the tools and machines needed he said: “this project will be my last hope to change my family’s life for the best”.