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. 

From behind his old steering wheel and for over 9 years, Aara was fighting all the difficulties of life. The 55-year-old man has experienced many hardships and yet, still has a warm smile and strong will.

Aara Koiskian is married with two children Arda and Kevork. They lived in Al-Dekhanieh area in the countryside of Damascus, but after the beginning of the crisis in Syria their house was destroyed completely and they had to move out. In 2013, a shell exploded near him and his left hand was hit by shrapnel which hindered him from working in his profession as a goldsmith that he practiced for many years. Aara had to sell his car in order to pay for the treatment and he found himself losing everything; his house, his car, and his left’s hand ability to work. 

However, despair wasn’t in his dictionary, soon after his recovery, Aara rented a microbus and started to work as a driver for as much time as he could to support his family. Due to his respectable and honest personality, he was entrusted by a school to transport students to their houses. Unfortunately, half of his income was going straight to the microbus owner which forced him to work extra hours which he did with gratitude. 

He spoke with determination: “I am willing to work until the last breath I have to secure a decent life for my kids and support their future” 

By helping this self-esteemed man with a microbus, he can have a sustainable source of living to keep his dignity and take good care of the family. 

Being a mother of three little girls without a partner or a supporter within the most difficult circumstances is beyond stamina, yet Shadia had always gathered her strength to keep fighting and overcome obstacles for the sake of her daughters who were looking up to her knowing that she will always be there for them.

Shadia Sawaya is 46 years old, with three adorable girls: Sandi (2001), Sidra(2007), and sally(2012). Her husband passed away 8 years ago by a gunshot during the war leaving her heartbroken and alone. She had to get over her grief and depend on herself to support her family and work in the salon for long hours to put the food on the table at the end of the day.

Her mission was very difficult and she had to face many difficulties; from the increasing living expenses to the lack of electricity and water which affected her work directly as her income was not enough for the basic needs. However, the owner of the salon was generous enough to keep the rent low as she wasn’t able to afford a big monthly payment.

Years passed and her daughters grew to support their mother, Sandi started to work while Sidra helps her mother with house chores and in taking care of her sister Sally.

life has been tough on this family but Shadia didn’t lose her faith and through the Micro project program, she applied for an electric generator and other equipment that will give her a push to improve her salon and stand on her feet again.

Spending your life as an employee thinking that you will have a secure future and spend the rest of your days enjoying your time with your family, was the dream of Marwan AL Yousef who retired after 25 years of working at the Rubber Company, but sadly he found himself facing an overwhelming war that changed everything to the worse.

The 57-year-old man is married and has three lovely children; Rita, Maria, and Joseph. His main concern was always to offer them the best living and proper education but unfortunately, he struggled in the last few years just to keep them safe from terrors and violence, especially after his brother was killed in the explosion of Jaramana 2013. This shocking incident had a huge impact on Marwan, but his faith in God was stronger than this disaster, he just kept praying for the safety and security of his family.

After his retirement in 2016, Marwan decided to keep working and fighting all the difficulties. He turned one of the rooms of his house into a small shop to work from so he could afford the living expenses, until 2020 when his small business was affected badly by the coronavirus pandemic and was about to shut down.

However, sometimes life pushes us to the extremes and only our will and hope can allow us to survive. Thus, when Marwan heard about the micro initiative, he applied for supporting his shop with the goods to maintain the sustainability of his work and a stable income for his lovely family. 

George is 49 years old, married and a father of three children.

At the beginning of the crisis, George was living in the city of Jaramana, Damascus countryside. His life was going peacefully until the Syrian war began and the family started to suffer from the terrible situation.

To protect his family, George decided to sell his only house to secure enough money and get away from Jaramana, he went to the countryside of Homs and lived there for a few years. he wasn’t able to work there due to the difficult circumstances and started to spend his savings until the situation in the city of Jaramana settled down, so he returned and started over from scratch.

George went back to work in his profession as a painter and his wife started working in the field of make-up and beauty to support her husband financially, but after about three years, she began to suffer from Neuritis; inflammation of nerves in her hand and neck, pains which stopped her from working anymore.

George was forced to work long hours to take care of all the family expenses and keep them from poverty, but unfortunately, when he was working at the Nuns’ monastery in Bab Toma, he fell off the ladder from a height and lost consciousness so the nuns took him to the hospital. Due to the heavy fall, he had a broken nose in addition to a compound fracture in his wrist. It took him about 6 months to recover, but he was no longer able to work in the same profession.

When asked how he was managing his living since his injury, he said:

“You can manage to eat whether with 4000 SYP or 20,000 SYP, what’s worth the most to me is that we are healthy and together.”

George's story resembles the case of most Syrians affected by the war, yet he did not stop thanking the Lord for all the blessings in his life. By helping him, we are rescuing a family from destitution, and enabling them to have a decent and respected life. 

Our lives are not measured by the number of years, but by the size of our determination, experiences, and compassion. This is what Sandy Suleiman, 21 years old, proves with her story.

Sandy lives with her parents and sister at her aunt’s house in Jaramana because they couldn't afford to rent their own house under the pressure of the financial crisis. They all work and support each other so they can handle the tough livelihood circumstances in the country.

Sandy’s father works in a restaurant and her mother companies the students on the school bus, while her sister is studying Chemistry in the college and working at the same time in designing logos. Sandy also worked after her baccalaureate as an assistant in a dental prosthodontics lab, and in 2021 she graduated from the Dental Prosthodontics Institute after gaining the required experience to follow her dream of establishing her private Lab and being self-employed to support herself and help the family.

When she heard about the Micro project program she didn’t hesitate to apply for her lifetime project. When we asked Sandy whether she wants to travel abroad, she said she would only consider traveling to work, save money and return to open her lab in Syria and stay close to her family.

Sandy was passionately talking about her project, full of enthusiasm and determination in addition to a clear vision and constructive ideas about how to start her business and develop it in the future, this initiative is created to support people such as this young lady and participate in her success.

Being brave enough to overcome domestic violence, emotional and physical abuse, losing a husband and a son savagely, and spend 24 hours living and working in a 10-meters rented shop, and yet still be sane, ready to start over and fight all life obstacles is something heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time.

This is a brief description of Rania's life, the 43-years-old woman who despite all the tragic incidents that she went through in her life which ended with her husband and her son being murdered, still has the will to survive and continue the journey of life, working in her small shop in Jaramana in the day time and sleep on an old bed at night praying to God to have the peace in her heart and soul.

Rania works in repairing people’s used clothes and at the same time, helps anyone in need by selling their clothes without any return. Behind her appearing smile, you can see the deep sadness from the tears hidden in her eyes which she always tries to hide.

she is still striving to work and secure her own expenses so she doesn’t need anyone’s help or sympathy.

Through the micro initiate in Damascus, Rania was supported with the required sewing machines to empower her work, improve her income and maybe in the future restore her life balance.

Within the previous crisis years in Syria, one could hardly handle his life hardships, let alone be responsible for others especially if they are struggling with a disability or sickness.

Nader Assaf is 49 years old, single, and lives with his brother’s family and his sick father in a modest house in al-Dwalaa. He worked as a painter in several workshops since 2003, he spent all those years supporting his parents and providing all their needs and expenses, which hindered him from having his own family. In 2017, his health began to deteriorate, he suffered from high blood pressure and recurrent signs of clots and had to go through surgery, he became unable to make physical efforts or be exposed to the paint odor, so he had to quit his profession and search for a suitable new job.

He worked in a secondhand shop for few months, but the salary was so little it wouldn't even cover the basic needs. Nader was forced many times to skip his medicine to buy food for the house and medicine for his father, since his brother could hardly support his own family expenses, and Nader had to work from home to stay by his father's side as his situation is critical. 

Nader wanted to improve his life and start his own business, but he needed financial support which he deserves for being such a caring and responsible person. Through the Micro Projects program, he started his small grocery store near his house so that he could work and take care of his father at the same time. 

Millions of Syrians have fled their country to seek a better life due to the war conflict that started in 2011, seeking safety and better living. 

Tamara Gergos and her family were one of those families who suffered a lot during the crisis in Syria, they traveled to Lebanon dreaming of a safe and secure life and to try to find a way to live abroad, but that was very difficult to achieve especially due to the high living cost in Lebanon and the expensive school tuition which forced Tamara to come back with her children to Syria while her husband Hisham stayed in Lebanon and worked sometimes three jobs a day just to send money back for his family.

However, after the huge explosion in Lebanon, the economic situation there deteriorated and Hisham became unable to afford his living and no longer was able to save any money for the family. 

Despite the hard situation, Tamara didn’t feel sad or despair, on the contrary, she got some help and started a mini-market in Jaramana to support her family. Indeed, her small project succeeded in taking care of their expenses and her husband got the courage to leave Lebanon and go back to work with his wife and be close to his children who were growing up fast.

Through Micro Projects, Tamara's market was supported with all the required goods to improve her business and helped to get this loving family back together. 

Paulo Horani is not the type who would sit around and wait for his parents’ help. He is a very creative young man and also very active who despite all the difficulties in his life, found a way to balance both study and work at the same time.

Paulo is 22 years old, originally from Maaloula village but lives in the city of Jaramana along with his mother and two siblings. the father of the family passed away when Paulo was still a child and his mother took the responsibility of raising her kids and educating them to become self-dependent and strong-willed individuals.

Unfortunately, the war in Syria had its toll on the family as their house in Maaloula was robbed and destroyed completely, in addition to losing every sense of security and safety. Despite all the hardships, they continued their life and the three siblings grew up to become very successful in their study and work; Paulo is now at his fourth year at the faculty of trade and economics and after his university, he works in his uncle’s workshop as a jewelry designer making his own income and helping with the livelihood needs.

Although Paulo gained incredible experience in the field of jewelry design, his wage wasn’t sufficient enough, so he searched for a method to increase the income and started to make 3D designs to create shaped molds for jewelry. After he succeeded in this field, he realized how important it is for him to have his own printing machine and that is indeed what he applied for to start his project.

Paulo was confident when he told us about his work and he assured us that you don't have to leave abroad to succeed, with some help and great hope, one can make his own success story in his home country.

Violet Razzouk, 51 years old, is one of those women who lived their entire life struggling for the sake of her family and children without any hesitation or tiredness. She spent the past 30 years working as an employee in the morning and selling items to her friends and work colleagues in order to support her family's situation as much as possible.

Violet's husband was also an employee and he worked a second job in the afternoon as an electrical repairman in order to have an additional income for the daily needs. Both Violet and her husband were fighting against the hard financial situation to provide the best education and life for their children, and they succeeded as their daughters are studying at the engineering colleges and their son is in the first year of his university study.

However, the last few years had a heavy impact on the family; their financial situation was getting worse day by day, their children tried to get part-time jobs to support themselves, but their income was very little. 

Violet didn't surrender to the difficult situation, she wanted to start her own undergarments store based on her previous experience in sales. Her ambition led her to our office and we were so glad to give her the support needed to start her project.

She affirmed that having her own career will not only improve the financial situation, but also the interaction with people will take her mind away from all the hardships and restore the hope in her heart.

“My family is the most important thing in my life, I won't hesitate to spend all the hours of my day working for their sake”

These were the words of Ziad Al-Assafien; 50 years old, married to Rana Sahdo, and the father of their 11-year-old girl who is the light of their lives.

Ziad has been working at his workshop for laser cutting and making plex-art pieces for more than 17 years, his business was very prosperous before the Syrian crisis, known for making very beautiful pieces with a special touch, but unfortunately, right after his marriage, the crisis began in Syria and the financial situation quickly deteriorated because his products became a secondary need for people during the years of war. 

However, he did not give up and tried to use the workshop to make wooden pieces or any other craftwork but still, his income was less than the daily expenses, especially since he is also responsible for his old parents, he couldn't afford the house rent so they lived in the workshop which was a basement of a building in Jaramana.

Ziad and his wife endured living in a humid and poorly ventilated place to be able to provide the best education and needs for their daughter. For the last 8 years, this family lived very difficult circumstances and tolerated many difficulties hoping that one day the work will improve and they can have a decent apartment again.

Their dream seemed to be far away, yet Ziad didn’t surrender and started to look for a solution to keep his project. But those who lean on God are never disappointed. The Micro initiative supported Ziad's workshop with new machines and tools which will improve the income and have a positive impact on the family's life.

43-years-old Elias Edsi has worked in the field of jewelry making for 20 years, devoting his life to his work and taking care of his elderly parents.

the family lived in an old, traditional Arabic house in Bab Toma, and in a workshop in Alqassa street Elias worked as an employee setting zircon stones on jewelry all day long.

During the Syrian crisis, Elias’ career was affected badly; the demand for gold jewelry decreased which negatively affected his financial situation. At the same time, his father started to suffer from health issues and had to go through several surgical operations which were expensive. The family had no choice but to sell their hardly earned house to afford the surgical expenses, their savings weren't spared either in those difficult times because the medical treatment of the ill father was the only priority. 

Unfortunately, the treatments couldn't save the old man's health which deteriorated and he became disabled. Elias became the only supporter in the house, he had to look after both of his parents as it was becoming harder for his old mother to take care of her husband by herself.

with the end of the war in Syria, Elias's career began to recover but due to the difficult circumstances he went through, he wasn’t able to get his own workshop. Despite the great and long experience that he had, he decided to work as an ordinary worker to provide the house needs with dignity.

Supporting this young experienced man not only enabled him to become an independent business owner, but it also made him realize a dream he lost because of the cruel war.