Many people have lost their property during the war, when most of them had to sell their homes and cars, trying to survive at a time when finding a job become difficult.

George says: “I lost the only thing I have ever owned when I sold my car, trying to save emigration money, searching for safety for my family, hoping that by leaving Syria I can build a better future for them, but unfortunately, we lost our opportunity to emigrate and lost the only property we had".

George and his wife have a lovely daughter "Janet", they live with George's mother at her house, and take care of her because she is suffering from paralysis in addition to other elder diseases.

George told us "My main job is a taxi driver, but after selling my car, I rented a taxi and began working as a driver for a charity in the mornings, and after that, in the afternoon, I work on freelance to be able to secure our requirements, I have to drive all the day because I am the only provider for my family, and I have to save for my daughter’s university, and my mother’s medicine".

Having a taxi will help George to increase his income, so he can use it in his current job without paying the car rent. This project will provide his small family a better livelihood.

Serving in the military for more than 9 years has forced many young men to leave their jobs and change their lives, which led to the loss of the opportunities to gain vocational experience, but Hovhannes didn't want to give up on building a career and he wanted to restore his previous experience and return to his profession and practice it again.

Back in the day, Hovhannes worked in the field of car maintenance for about 8 years. He lost hope of being a workshop owner after spending nearly 9 years in military service, and getting injured. That prevented him from practicing his profession for a long time. 

However, things don't last long, after his release from the army, good things started to happen, Hovannes got married and started his small family.

In order to provide for his family, Hovannes was working in a car mechanics workshop, barely earning what can make him meet the ends. 

When he got married, the economic situation was better, while his current income isn’t commensurate with the high cost of living, and with the a newborn on board, Hovannes can no longer afford the large expenses of securing a comfortable life for his growing family.

The Micro-projects program decided to help him with all the necessary equipment that he needs, he become an independent business owner. The support will improve his financial situation, ensure he and his family have the financial stability they desperately need

Berjouhi's family has become small after all of her children have scattered around the country due to the horrific shells falling around their house, causing at times little damages to their apartment, and affecting their psychological state immensely, to the point that Berjouhi's son decided to leave Aleppo and join his sister in another governorate in search of safety.

But Berjouhi stayed at her home with her husband, who works in a metal lathing workshop, and despite her age and the harsh circumstances she started looking for a job that suits her situation to be able to help her husband face the difficult economic conditions.

In the past, Berjouhi attended several courses in the field of tailoring. She actually worked as a seamstress in a nearby sewing workshop for more than 10 years. She left work only when the workshop was damaged during the war.

 After her children left, Berjouhi was feeling empty nested and this gave her additional reason to occupy herself with an income generating activity, so she decided to work from home utilizing an old sewing machine she previously owned whenever she had the opportunity.

Berjouhi enjoyed being a productive person, and is considering her home based job more seriously, but in order to do so she needs reliable sewing machines that enable her to respond to the market demand and make a good income at the same time.

It is said that a mother spares no means to take care of her family and offer the best for her children and loved ones and sometimes does what seems to be impossible, like Siranoush. 

Siranoush's biggest challenge was the loss of her husband who passed away leaving her behind, to face life alone with no source of income no roof over her head and with the great responsibility of taking care of her disabled.

By the time her husband passed away she had already been through a lot, she had lost her house because of the mortar shells, and moved back in her parents' house and not only she settled in the house where she lived her childhood in but also she went back to practice sewing which she learned from her mother when she was little.

long story short, when Siranoush's financial situation was getting worse she decided to work from home on an old sewing machine even though that machine couldn't operate as she wanted, but having no money to replace it with a better one forced her to stick to what she had in hand.

When the outdated machine started to become an obstacle in the way of Siranoush's small business and started compromising the workflow it became a necessity for her to apply for the micro projects to be able to upgrade her sewing machine, especially that Siranoush's opportunities have increased due to her growing experience and the fact that her daughter also worked in the same domain, which meant that she could provide better job opportunities for her hardworking mother.

Eventually, Siranoush's micro-project turned out to be a family business, where all members of her family can participate in, even her son will help around despite his disability. That way Siranoush will become an independent breadwinner and live in dignity.

Life disappointed Joseph many times, one of which was when his wife's life was jeopardized after one of the mortar shells fell near their house while she was home. This painful incident destroyed Joseph’s wife’s life she had to go through nine surgeries to undo the damage was has caused. 

The second disappointment was the immigration of his five children, who have fled from the dangerous city of Aleppo to a safer place leaving their father behind. 

Despite all the challenges and disappointments that made joseph lose hope at some points, he never thought of leaving instead he was always trying to be resilient and pursue his dream, even in his career, Joseph who started as a government employee left his job to become a professional furniture upholsterer, and in the course of 40 years he started as a worker in this domain to later own and run his own upholstery workshop. But when war broke out and destroyed everything his business was all gone. 

Today, Joseph is doing his best to be the breadwinner of the house and a good caregiver for his wife, but he can’t do that without a little help from the micro-projects program which will give him the opportunity to restore his equipment and start over after long-sufferings. 

Gracia and her husband's paths have crossed in the workplace, when they met as two teachers in a private school and together created a lovely family with tow children; a daughter Mirella and a son George. 

After retirement the couple felt helpless, on one side the livelihood expenses were four-folding on the other hand their pension was not enough to make them survive and taking action to improve their livelihood situation became  a necessity.

the war also cost the family the loss of Gracia's husband's second job, which was a freelance touristic guide, but since the war started this job came to an end. 

The rapidly worsening financial situation forced the family to sell their car and lose their savings and even at times they had to rent a room in their apartment to strangers only to be able to have a better income.

Gracia has always been thinking about improving their situation, and as she had a very small experience in sewing, she decided to take a sewing course to improve her skills, and slowly the idea of investing in sewing machines was forming in her head.

This idea was making more sense, as Gracia was thinking of it, especially that her son George was working random things to be able to cover his university expenses and if he helped his mom in her self-owned business everyone would be happy.  

 Everything was well planned, the execution, responsibilities even the few clients and acquaintances that could help them launch.

All Gracia needed was financial assistance to buy sewing machines and start this project, hoping that getting what she needed will be a huge contribution to her success.

Working as a Taxi driver had a good impact on Elias the 55 years old, father of two (Marianne and Gabriel). It upgraded his lifestyle and made him feel more secure and content at least financially.

His start though was  in car maintenance (1988) in car maintenance but later he no longer worked in that domain as he sold the workshop and changed the course of his career.

In 2000, he rented his uncle’s car to be able to work and later in 2012 he started working as a school bus driver to have an additional source of income.

Unfortunately Elias and his family went through displacement, when shells were falling in Aleppo, their house was damaged and they had to leave their apartment for more than five years before they were finally able to rehabilitate their damaged house and settle in it once again.

The economic situation forced Elias to think about having two jobs, especially that his income from his day job as a school bus driver was not sufficient anymore. It became very clear for Elias that he should utilize his driving skills and to take advantage of his spare time after school hours by working as a taxi driver 

 The taxi is a life-changing step for Elias, that suits his health condition, and at the same time, will give him a good income.

The 48 years-old Fares, is an ambitious person and wants to do his best, no matter what difficulties come in his way. His dream was to own a mini pick-up truck to work on in addition to his regular job at the university hospital.

Fares's previous working experiences were diverse, He used to work in laundry and ironing services, then in electrical maintenance and in 2011 he started to work in a hospital.

The war years were hard on fares and his family, the thing that breaks his heart the most is the psychological trauma his son had been through because of all the horrific shell attacks around their house.  

When he was serving in the military, Fares had a military driver's license, but this license wouldn't allow him to drive in the civilian areas, that's why when he started considering having his own pickup truck, he went and got a driver's license to get the car.

He wants the mini pick-up truck to move the goods, and this work will help him to increase his income as he can use it in his current job and work on it later too, and this is a new chance to depend on himself as a provider for his family.

The war forced Edmond, aged 61, to work anything in this harsh economic situation, so he gained a lot of experience in many jobs, such as wall painting and electrical maintenance. Not only that, but he also traveled alone to Lebanon to be able to send money to his children, then returned to Aleppo, bought a mini pick-up truck and worked on it for more than 3 years, then sold it when the situation became worse.

one of his jobs was in a local café, working as a guard in a café from 10:00 PM to 10:00 AM with a low income forced Edmond to look for a better job in the morning, to provide better income to secure his family's needs.

He now lives in his sister's house, which was badly burned and damaged by four shells during the war. He couldn't even save any of his possessions, so they had to start from scratch. the only reason to live in his sisters house is that his own is somewhat in worse condition, and he can’t live in it, so he rents his sister's house and takes the rent of his house to pay for her.

His wife always wanted the best for her family, so she started working as an employee in a school, and his son works in his free time in a lathing machine workshop and is learning a new profession simultaneously with his studies in university to ease the burden on his parents.

The only thing that would really help him was owning a taxi, as an additional source of income for the expanding family. It will change the lives of all family members and will bring them some peace and stability in their financial situation.

Antoine has always been a business owner. In partnership with his brother, they used to own a workshop for car mechanic's in Bustan Al-Basha, which was, unfortunately severely damaged during the war. 

In the past, the business was prosperous and Antoine was able to provide a comfortable life for his wife and three sons. But with war falling upon Syria, the family's life took a downturn. The eldest son was called for military service, and soon after joining he got severe leg injuries that many surgeries and treatments could not undo the damage. Also, the lack of safety in Aleppo urged their other son to settle in Tartous. 

Actually, the safety of the whole family was jeopardized when shells were falling near their home, so Antoine's family moved to his sister’s apartment, temporarily then the family fled to Latakia and stayed there for over two years, while Antoine stayed in Aleppo trying to find a suitable job after the sever damages the workshop was subjected to, prevented Antoine from running it. 

Antoine didn't want to give up the long experience he had in running a car mechanic's workshop that started in 1994 and was only interrupted by war in 2012, that's why he took it upon himself to rehabilitate the workspace and make it ready for relaunching his business, but the pricy rehabilitations have drained all Antoine's savings and he couldn't purchase the machinery and tools without support.

The micro projects program helped Antoine realize what he has been working so hard for by enabling him purchase the tools and equipment and giving him the encouragement to go further with his dream of being independent.

Edward, the 20 years old man, studies economics while working in a car mechanic's workshop, to be able to support his family and pay for his education.

2015 was the worst year for him, the sudden death of Edward's father was catastrophic for him, it took him a long time to understand what had happened. The shock numbed his feelings and he was in denial of the tragedy.

Soon the responsibilities mounted on Edward's shoulders. At an early age, he had to become the provider for the family, but he didn't want to give up on his studies and despite all difficulties he managed to make it work, but the deterioration of the family's conditions forced them eventually to sell their house.

When Edward started working in a car mechanic workshop he learned a lot about the profession and after a while when his employer left the country, Edward became in charge of the workshop. His mother also began working in a sewing workshop to provide for her family's needs, and his sister also worked in a clothing store.

Edward's ambitions and his constant quest to provide a better life for his family made him apply for a car inspection device. He is going to utilize his workshop location and the already existing customer base to launch his own little business, and in the future, Edward hopes that this little step that may have started as a side hustle, might eventually turn into a thriving business for the hardworking man.

The hardest thing in life is the loss of a loved one, especially the loss of children and this is what happened to Nader when his 18 years old son had passed away. 

Tragedies continued to befall on Nader, after the loss of his son, Nader's 30-year-old daughter who's a mother of two had heart disease and she had to have a pacemaker implant to regulate her heart function.

Nader who used to work as a driver in a hospital for around 30 years, transporting staff every day to their work and back home, has spared no means to support his children and fight for their health, to the point that he spent everything he had to take care of their medical expenses but when his son lost his battle against illness, Nader had to withdraw his pension compensation from the hospital to pay for his son's funeral.

the Loss of Nader's retirement compensation started worrying this 63 years-old-man who will have no source of income in case he stops working.    

The idea of having a plan B to live a decent life or at least feel secure was constantly swirling in Nader's head and eventually his fear of the future and his desire to be self-reliant when it came to his financial security, were the things that encouraged Nader to apply for the micro-projects asking for a Taxi.

However, what Nader was striving to find besides the livelihood, was hope, and the taxi was a step that changed his life and rekindled hope in his heart after all he's been through.

Elias’s family refused to leave their only house in Bab Al-Sebaa neighborhood which was exposed to the scourge of war, and they lived with fear and horror every day until the situation has stabilized. Elias works as a floor tiler since 1980, he is the sole responsible for his wife, his daughter and son. 

After all these years of hard work and experience, he didn’t expect that one day he would have to start from scratch. When the war started in Homs, and he lost all of his equipment; Elias was working in a construction site in a neighborhood called Jourat Al-Shayah, which was a battlefield back then. The armed clashes lasted for a while and unfortunately, he couldn’t take his equipment to a safer place.

Since then, he used to finish his work by using some simple tools or borrowing the essentials from the other craftsmen in order to provide for his family. 

Supporting Elias to regain his independence helped him to guarantee better work conditions and the most important thing, to improve his family’s living situation.

Hussam paid the heavy price of the vicious war, and like many Syrians, he has a long story to tell!

On the 4th of August 2015, Hussam was heading to his work as usual when he was attacked and kidnapped by  armed men, he remained in captivity for three months until he was freed by an agreement. 

After this incident, he decided to leave Homs with his family; they fled to their home village “Al-Qaryten”, where they stayed for a short period of time, sadly the situation there started to get worse, they lost their village house and were forced to leave again seeking safety. The family had no other choice but to return to the city of Homs, their house was damaged but they managed to repair it and started a new life from scratch. 

Hussam lost his job as a physical therapist because of the war and had to work as a taxi driver by splitting his profits with the car owner, which used to take a big amount of his income. In 2017, he found a job in his field of specialization, although the salary wasn’t good enough, he started working in order to provide a sustainable income. 

Today, he lives with his wife, their baby daughter, in addition, he is their sole provider of his parents and sister. He experienced many great losses due to the brutal war and now he is trying to build up a new life all over again. Hussam is unable to start his own project by himself, It’s time to have a new beginning after all the suffering he went through, and working on a taxi will help him improve his living situation especially that he gained the needed skills by working as a driver for nine years.

Anas worked in the field of mobile phone maintenance for three years before the war started in Syria. In 2010, he was called to serve in the army and his service lasted for ten full years.

Adapting to all the changes that happened during those years wasn’t easy at all; Anas found himself without a job and even his previous experience didn’t allow him to start a business as all the technologies he used to deal with were outdated and not used anymore!

His new situation left him disappointed but he didn’t give up and kept fighting for his dream. His family and friends encouraged him to apply for a vocational training program, which helped him to gain the needed skills, but unfortunately, his limited financial resources were a huge obstacle in his way and he couldn’t achieve his dream of starting his own mobile phone store. Anas lives with his elderly parents and he didn’t want to increase their burdens so he had to work as an employee in a shop just to help them cover their essential needs. 

Supporting him to implement his life project restored hope in his heart after missing it for a long time. Now, Anas opened his shop and he is ready to put all his experience to maintain a successful business, hoping that he will find the stability he needs and compensate for what he had missed because of the vicious war. 

Jamil and his family experienced the horror and brutality of war when they were forced to leave their home village Al-Dwair by force in 2013. And since then, he lives in a rented apartment with his wife and their son in addition to his mother and sister after losing a whole life.

Jamil worked in plumbing besides his wide experience in installing central heating systems, his career started in Syria back in 1994 then he traveled to Lebanon where he worked for a French company, and that helped him to gain skills in those two fields, which allowed him to have many good opportunities. 

Unfortunately, after moving to the city of Homs, he couldn’t afford buying new equipment due to the high prices so he had to use some simple tools and borrowed the essential equipment from the other plumbers. His productivity was affected badly and his income dropped while all he had in mind were covering his family’s daily needs and paying the rent! 

Now that he has all the requirements for his work, Jamil will be able to improve his living circumstances and focus on providing a better future for his only son.

Even though he spent 8 years of his life serving in the army, Bahaa did his best to compensate for all he lost because of the brutal war. He lives with his wife and their two-year-old son in a rented apartment and he is the only provider for his small family. 

His start in the field of mobile phone and computer maintenance was in 2007; he has always loved his job and managed to have great skills within a short period. In 2010, Bahaa joined his mandatory service, which lasted until 2018. Although he couldn’t afford to open a new shop when he finished his service, he enrolled at the University of Homs to continue his education and studied marketing in an effort to make up for what he had missed. 

At the same time, Bahaa worked at home with some simple tools, but his income was barely enough to cover his family’s daily needs so he found a job as an employee for a recruitment agency with a reasonable salary. Unfortunately, in 2019, he lost his job after this company had stopped due to the spread of COVID-19. His financial obligations started to increase while not having the suitable maintenance tools and equipment deprived him of many job opportunities. 

All he hopes for is being able to ensure his family a dignified life and a better future for his baby son by having his own project, which will improve his situation and allow him to settle down with his family. 

Imad is a wall-painter; he started working in this field back in 1984 and has a long experience, gained by working in different countries throughout his long career. He lives with his wife Sahar and their only son Nayef who is a maintenance technician. 

Lately, the equipment he used to work with became completely worn out through the years and he couldn’t renew them due to their high prices. Naturally, his productivity started to decrease and he was forced to rent the needed equipment just to have his job done on time. Working that way took a big amount of his income, and Imad and his son barely managed to cover the family’s increasing needs during the bad economic situation. 

Supporting him will help him save his only source of livelihood and will allow him to have again better work opportunities. 

At the age of seventeen, Fouad who is the only son of his parents had to leave school when his father, the sole breadwinner, became severely ill and was no longer able to continue working. This small family was living in a rented apartment in Al-Hamidia until the cruel war forced them to flee to a village near Homs called Fairouza. At the beginning of 2012, Fouad found a job in a relief program at a church in Homs; he decided to move back to Homs with his parents and rented an apartment in Al-Sabeel neighborhood, but unfortunately, this program was suspended after  a short period of time in 2019.

He started looking for another source of income all over again and in 2020, the church helped him to open a mini-market where his mother worked with him. His shop was the only one in the neighborhood and Fouad was a well-liked person who managed to build good relations with many clients quickly.

Unfortunately, the negative impact of the economic crisis started to increase and affected all the activities especially the small businesses. Fouad’s shop was affected badly by the huge inflation and he became no longer able to supply it with enough commodities. It wasn’t easy for a young man to bear all these pressures, he almost lost his family’s only source of livelihood while their needs were increasing every day making his financial burdens heavier. 

Reviving this project was like a second chance given to him, supporting Fouad will ensure him a sustainable job to preserve a dignified life for his parents who depend on him. 

At the age of 20, Tarek started his career in the field of pro-lighting for events and despite his young age, his name became well known in the city of Homs for his special skills within a very short period. 

Buying all the lighting requirements was almost impossible during the post-war period and he used to rent all the needed equipment until the renting costs became very high and he had no other choice but to travel to Lebanon in a search for better opportunities. Unfortunately, the situation there wasn’t much different and he couldn’t find a job in the same field so he worked in a hair salon just to cover his own expenses. In 2019, the situation in Lebanon started to get worse and Tarek was forced to go back home after three years.

Today, he lives with his father Ghassan who works in his mini-market and his mother Nahla, while his brother Nabil is serving in the army. Although life wasn’t fair with him, he didn’t give up and kept searching for a way to provide an income and help his family; he managed to find a job in the lighting domain but this time he was an employee with a simple salary. He had to accept this offer and work in tough conditions just to alleviate a part of his father’s financial burdens, which have increased a lot lately. 

Tarek wants to stand on his feet and make his first steps towards a better future but he won’t be able to start his project without help. Getting all the required equipment will surely improve his situation and make a positive change in his life after all the disappointments he experienced. 

Mazen lives with his wife Christine and their three-year-old son Marwan, he works in his “plumbing and electrical supplies shop”, which he opened back in 2013, and he is the sole breadwinner for his family. 

His shop is located in a popular neighborhood, and what helped him to attract many clients, is that he is a helpful person who has always tried to offer some simple maintenance services in the shop besides selling these requirements.

Unfortunately, Mazen’s successful business was affected negatively during the bad economic circumstances and his shop lacked many essential merchandise. His sales rate dropped and he was no longer able to secure more supplies for the shop. This project is Mazen’s only way to provide a dignified life for his family and restoring his business will help his small family to settle down and improve their living situation through these tough times. 

Toni is a dentist; he lives with his father who is a retired government employee, his mother who is a teacher and his two sisters. Being the eldest son in his family, he has always depended on himself and has always tried to stand by his parents.

In 2018, he graduated from the University of Homs; as it is known in Syria, each newly graduated dentist must serve for two years in a rural area by opening a clinic there. Toni chose a village near Homs called Al-zhouria and with some help from his family, he managed to rent a small clinic with the essential equipment and started working at the beginning of 2019. 

Lately, the increasing rent costs became a heavy burden on his shoulders, which deprived him of implementing a clinic in the city. When he finished his rural service, he decided to go back home and settle down with his family. Back then, Toni couldn’t stay without a job so he worked as a teacher in the university with a modest salary just to ensure an additional source of income and to contribute in providing for his family. 

All Toni had in mind when he applied to the Micro Projects Program was getting the needed support to fulfill his life dream by having his own equipment and opening a clinic. Helping him to make his first steps will ensure him the stability to improve his current situation and focus on building up a better future as an ambitious young man! 

Firas is the sole provider for his wife Faten, his two sons Suheil (18 years old), Jawad (13 years old) and his only daughter Haneen (9 years old). He worked in his packaging materials' shop for four years then he decided to close the shop and work in distributing these products, everything was going well and his business allowed him to ensure his family a dignified life. 

When the economic situation started to get worse in the country, Firas’s income became insufficient at all for the family’s increasing needs and his financial burdens started to get heavier especially that they are living in a rented apartment. 

He needs to reopen a shop to guarantee a stable source of income depending on his old experience and the wide relations he built throughout the years. Supporting Firas in his next step will help him to settle down with his family and to improve their living situation. 

“Now my life has begun!” with these words, Tarek described his situation when he had the chance to start a project after serving in the army for 8 years. He is a single man, he lives with his old parents and his younger brother Remon who works in a shop. The two brothers are doing their best to provide for the family.  Tarek worked in a restaurant for a short period then he worked in a battery shop but the income was insufficient and he couldn’t depend on it for a living. He had no choice but to work as an employee just to ensure a monthly source of income.

While his elder brother Toni is a married man and a father of two; a girl (9 years old) and a boy (7 years old) and he is the sole breadwinner. He used to work in a factory but his modest salary encouraged him to find a better job. 

In 2014, Toni had an opportunity in Lebanon, he immediately traveled hoping to improve his situation, and worked in a restaurant for five years until the economic circumstances became very bad and he was no longer able to stay there. When he returned home, he didn’t find a job so he started working as a salesman, he sold cotton clothes but that was exhausting, he thought a lot about another way to provide for his family and at the same time, guarantee him better work conditions away from sweltering summers and freezing winters. 

Toni and Tarek decided to start a project together by opening a cotton clothes shop so that they could support each other and improve their living circumstances. Unfortunately, they were unable to afford the costs of implementing a new business during this hard period of unstable prices. 

Supporting this project will make a great change in the lives of two families and help the two brothers to take their first step towards a brighter future.