In the midst of war and economic crisis, establishing a business is nearly an impossible thing for young people like Samer. 

Eight years ago, the 31-years-old man who takes care of his mother, wanted to enter the blacksmithing field, gain a ton of experience in order to be able to open his own workshop one day and be an independent individual. The hard financial situation stood in the way of Samer's life and prevented him from achieving his goals and dreams, and the worst thing that he lost his job too. When all doors closed in is face, Samer went to Lebanon, to work there. He stayed for four years until he decided to return to Aleppo last year after Lebanon’s recent emerging crisis. 

Today Samer wants to take a chance with lots of hope and determination to open his independent blacksmithing workshop after purchasing all the tools and machines that will allow him start his work soon. It is a huge step for this young man but at the same time a very important one for his future life. 

When Rober and his family fled their house in Al-Midan in a hurry in the middle of the night due to the armed attacks, they didn’t imagine it would be the last time they will see their sweet home. The family left their residence with the start of war in 2012, and started a long journey of displacement and suffering. 

For four years they were homeless, they had to live in a shop under terrible conditions, and because the blumbing workplace became dangerous, Rober had no choice but to leave Aleppo and go to Latakia, seeking a new start. 

It’s been four years since Rober came back to Aleppo, and since then, he has been struggling to provide for his family and mother. He worked as a driver, a cleaner and many other jobs before he decided to go back to his profession, which was extremely hard since he didn’t have any equipment or tools to start again with.

It was hope fulfilling for Rober to know that there are people who still care and are willing to support him to be able to purchase his equipment and revive his livelihood. Now Rober is doing what he knows best and living a decent life with his family.

On a gloomy morning in 2012, Antoine’s life turned upside down, when he was kidnapped on his way to work. It was the hardest 15 days of his life, when he was finally set free, he made the decision of leaving Aleppo.

Antoine took his family of four to Latakia leaving behind his furniture spraying workshop and equipment. Settling there was not an easy thing, Antoine started looking for jobs in his original field of work, in order to provide for his family. It wasn’t until 8 years later when he returned to Aleppo, only to find out that his workshop was destroyed and his equipment were stolen.

Since the workshop needed a lot of repairs, he could not use it quite yet, but a good friend of Antoine’s rushed for help offering his place and tools so that Antoine can start working temporarily and provide some income for his son and daughter. 

Today thanks to the Micro Projects Program, Antoine was able to buy his own tools and equipment and carry on the persistent, hard work for the future.

Throughout his life years, Whether it was as an employee in a shop or for clients everywhere, Armen’s job has always been in the sales domain.

He started back in 1990 and his hard work paid of after long years of persistence and Armen’s acquaintances’ list grew longer specially when he became a salesman. His position allows him to drive a pick-up truck full of merchandise to sell and distribute them around the city. 

Although Armen liked his job, but due to war, it became very hard for him to provide for his family of five and for his mother who shares her residence with Armen’s family. 

When Armen applied for his project, he was trying to make a better income from a domain he enjoyed working in and also had long experience in. Having a pick-up truck will give him the flexibility to collaborate with many retailers and steadily expand his business and increase his income. 

Despite the fact that their house was hit by a mortar shell in 2012, but Najeeb, his wife May and his three sons have never left their house or lost their hope and resilience. The close bond between the family is what made them strong while facing the dangers and even the financial troubles.

For many years, Najeeb and his older son used to work in the beauty industry, they’ve been specialized in producing hair extensions, hair care products like oil baths, masks and conditioners. But the war and the economic situation had eventually limited their abilities as either raw material were not available or they became unaffordable. Before the war, the family had plans to invest in a new product; Hair dyes, but such an expansion was not realistic with the ongoing war circumstances. 

Today the father and sons are trying to revive their old dream. With the support they got, purchasing the material for their hair dye product became possible and the rest was quickly figured out by this hardworking family. They now have their own trade mark and are preparing their shop to display and market their products full of hope that one day their business might spread to other branches and cities. 

While Bassam’s Mother and three siblings lived and worked in Aleppo, Bassam was living in his hometown in Al-Yacoubieh village, finding inspiration for his artworks in its mesmerizing tranquil nature. Bassam used to work all year to prepare his precious pieces in the quiet of his home garden, then when his sculpture collections are complete, he would display them in art exhibitions in Damascus and Lebanon, where art collectors would appreciate his unique sculptures and buy them right away. Unfortunately, the war came and Bassam’s life was turned upside down. First, his hometown was confiscated by armed groups, Bassam then lost his home and his equipment, and ended up moving to a small town near Lattakia.

Bassam tried to start again, he couldn’t stay away from his work and passion, but for the second time war stopped his ambition, Bassam soon had to flee again, this time he came to Aleppo where the rest of the family used to live. 

The vicious war, could not hinder Bassam’s determination to start over for the third time, in Aleppo. A good friend of his, offered him a place to work and with the funds Bassam purchased his equipment and is now able to put his passion and skills into making the most unique art pieces and sculptures.

George Harero has been in the cloth manufacturing business since 1995, it is the field he chose and it became his main profession. In the start he started in making women’s dresses, but later he expanded his business by opening a small workshop for cottonwear. When the war started, things got bad quickly, their house in Al-Midan became in danger and even his brother lost his job in car mechanics. It was then when George suggested that his brother come and work with him, and ever since the two stood side by side trying to keep their business running in the midst of this economic crisis. Over the years, George's sewing machines have been worn out and he wasn’t able to replace them with new ones because of the financial burdens and livelihood conditions.

Today George’s ambitions and dreams were renewed just like his machines and he is more than ready to keep going into the future. 

Majd is a hardworking young man, who is trying to be an independent and productive part of the community.

His first job experience started back in 2016 in the culinary business, Majd started working in restaurants’ cuisines on many tasks, it was his livelihood since his father had passed away and he became the provider for him and his mother. 

But when Majd saw that his job was taking him nowhere career wise, he decided to learn something new, so he chose to search for a job in a different domain; embroidery design. Majd quickly gained experience and mastered working on the machinery, and started planning and saving money to establish his own embroidery workshop. But, unfortunately the war caused damage to his house, and the tight financial situations which prevented Majd from achieving his goal. But he didn’t give up at all, on the contrary he attended a start-up-business course to thoroughly plan for his project, and applied to the Micro Projects Program.

Today, Majd started the first step of what became a family business, as his brother started helping him in preparing the patterns and designs that Majd implements and produces in his new workshop. 

Garabet’s original profession has always been in car repairs and maintenance, it was the family business for many generations. From an early age Garabet started learning about it and it became his full-time job. 

But in 2002, a sever leg injury turned Garabet’s life upside down. He was in Damascus when he fell from a three stories height and his untreated condition got complicated to the point where he was at risk of losing both legs. 

The next four years were painfully hard, Garabet went through several surgeries, metal implants, and long physical therapy to eventually be able to walk again. Although doctors managed to save his legs, but Garabet lost the ability to go back to his work in the car maintenance career as it requires a lot of physical effort and put stress on his joints and legs.

When war started things even got worse, Garabet’s father workshop was damaged and they even had to be displaced from their home for a long time. 

All these challenges limited Garabet's work chances, the solution for his case was to be a taxi driver, in order to secure a decent life with consideration of his health. And today owning his taxi car will leave a positive impact on his life and will surely increase his income significantly and help the family of five.

Ghassan Kalayji, the father of three, has a long experience in silver crafting and precious stones setting. It was a choice he made many years ago to enter this field that required both skills and artistic taste and became his main profession. Ghassan surely had his ups and downs in business, but what the war has caused became pretty hard to take, specially that with the economic crisis, this business had a decrease in demand and was one of the most businesses that were affected by war’s economic implications. 

Over the years Ghassan became very skilled and well reputed in this field of work, now the biggest workshop ask for his work but the thing that is hard for him is that he doesn’t have enough money to buy all the tools and requirements, and another problem that Ghassan faces is that he doesn’t own a workplace, so he has to work in different workshops which is both time and energy consuming for the sixty-years-old man. 

With the support of Micro Projects, he purchased all the machines he lacks to take his business to the next level and he started his own work in an independent shop. 

When Fadi inherited the family's business from his father, he never knew that someday he will have to start over from scratch. The workshop was located in Al-Ramuseh industrial area and their specialty was heavy-trailers manufacturing and maintenance. But in 2012 everything was gone; the building was damaged by shells and the machinery were stolen. Their family also suffered, Fadi’s parents immigrated so the family was torn apart and Fadi himself sought safety in Marmarita during 2014-2015 where he had to work as a salesman in order to provide for his family of four, specially that his daughters were still too young. 

Eventually, Fadi came back to Aleppo and settled in with his in-laws, hoping that he can somehow restore his lost workshop. This dream became true when Fadi purchased all the machines he needs to reopen his workshop in Al-Ramuseh with the help of the Micro Projects Program. Of course there are still many obstacles in Fadi’s way, but with determination and hope Fadi is ready now to look forward to the future. 

Rami Haddad is like most middle-class workers, battling against the blundering economics and trying to provide for his family of three and his mother whom they live with. During the war, Rami’s work suffered from an immense set-back. The whole chaotic situation resulted in great losses in business; many of Rami’s old clients fled the country without paying him, and many merchandise shipments were confiscated on the unsafe highways between Syrian cities. Eventually Rami had to close his workshop and sell his car so he can financially survive. Instead of owning a workshop, Rami became an employee, working for other people with a modest salary and limited opportunities. 

Today, with the support he got, Rami is restarting his business, having his own sewing machines and workspace will not only improve his income, but it will also give him the chance to regrow his business again and be a productive individual of the community. 

Life was not easy at all after Sahar’s husband death, who was the sole provider for the family when suddenly she found herself responsible for her two daughters Mary and Sarah.

Sahar made her decision to fight for the sake of her family and worked in making pastries for four years; this job was very difficult and tiring for a woman of Sahar’s age that forced her to think about another possible choice which provides her and her daughters with a dignified life.

Her husband had a small grocery shop that was completely stolen during the war, Sahar used this shop and opened it to sell wool with a little help from the church, and she also sold many hand-made pieces such as: scarves, hats and gloves. As a seasonal shop, Sahar also thought about selling cotton clothes during summer time in order not to stop working.

With the needed support, Sahar became able to provide her customers’ requests, and now she will ensure that her daughters have a good life with the stable income from her project.

Issam is an enthusiastic and energetic young man who lives with his parents and two sisters.

He works in his own Aluminum workshop that he opened in 2017 by borrowing some tools from his relative, this young man became well-known for his good reputation and his wide experience in this field among the other craftsmen.

Issam remembers very well his tough experience during the war which made of him a stronger person; In 2011, Issam and his father were kidnapped and the hardest thing they faced was witnessing the killing of a person in front of their eyes! they remained in captivity for 24 hours which were the longest and the most difficult hours in their life.

After this horrible incident, the family decided to flee seeking safety so they went to a village near Homs and stayed there for 6 years, through these years Issam worked in an Aluminum workshop and learned this profession very well.

When the situation improved in Homs city, they came back home and Issam started working immediately after he rented a workshop and hired a worker to help him.

The frequent electricity blackouts negatively affected his productivity. in addition to the need for some equipment that he was forced to rent from the other workshops which reflected of decrease in his profits.

With the help of Hope Center, Issam has the chance to improve his business and continue his career more successfully. 

Issam works in plumbing and solar system installation since 1984, he lives with his wife Lama, his son Fouad and his daughter Katia. The family went through many hardships during the war as they were living in Al-Hamidia which was a main battlefield back then, so they moved to a village called Mashta Al-Helou.

Issam didn’t stop working while staying in the village, but living away from home was not easy on the family, so when the situation became better in Homs Issam and his family decided to go back. Their house was robbed and Issam’s shop was empty too so they had to start over from scratch.

Issam is working now in his shop with minimum tools, but his income dropped due to the economic crisis which made him unable to buy all the equipment needed. All these hard circumstances affected his business and there were so many services that he couldn’t offer as a result to the lack of equipment and tools.

Today, Issam has all the equipment he needs to work properly and ensure a decent life for his family.

Wadih is a hairdresser who lives with his family of four; his wife Marilyn, his daughter Angy and his son George.

He learned this profession in Lebanon and he became famous for working with television presenters, Wadih went back to his city Homs and opened his own salon in 1996 which was one of the first salons in Al-Hamidia; his wife also helped in the salon for 16 years until the war forced him and his family to flee in 2012 to Mashta Al-Helou.

Leaving Homs was a very hard decision, but Wadih continued working in his field during that time among his clients' houses for almost a year, then he rented a salon for another year. In 2014, Al-Hamidia neighborhood became more safe; when Wadih heard this great news he hurried back with his family to their home where he helped in cleaning the streets and removing the ruins which the war had left behind, then he repaired his house and salon and started all over again.

Post-war results started to appear, most notably the economic crisis which affected Wadih's job and made him unable to provide some services to his clients. When Wadih has the sufficient support for his salon, it would improve his income and help him and his family to continue their life during these hard circumstances.