“Where words fail, music speaks.” That’s how George replied when we asked him about the reason behind his love for music. 

Since he was an 8-year-old, George was fascinated by music and the industry in general.

His parents decided to enroll him in a music institute where he chose to learn Cello, his love for music didn’t stop there, he used to go to his uncle’s studio to watch him produce music for many artists. After a short time, he started helping his uncle with his work for 15 years till the war started.

In 2011 George joined the army and served his country for 10 years, in this decade a lot changed; during this time, he lost many of his friends in the army and his family was in danger back home, it was very tough for him to go through all that by himself.

After finishing his service George found himself back at the starting point, not knowing what to do and where to head. Despite everything, he refused to give up and decided to follow his passion for music and try to turn it into a career.

With a big dream and lots of plans, he applied for the Micro-Projects program to get the support he needed to start. Now George has a small studio in which he records and produces music for many local artists.

George is married and has worked in the carpentry profession since childhood with more than 40 years of experience, he had a full workshop with a kit, but because of the war he lost the workshop with the entire equipment, unfortunately, he cannot return to his former work area because its still under control of armed groups.

During war his home was exposed to a shell explosion, which led to great damage to the house, as a result, the family was displaced for more than 10 years. 

Because of his great experience in His profession and his desire to develop his business, George applied to the Micro Projects in order to buy a machine that helps him save time and increase his income, George launched his project and added new models to his work that helped him bring new customers, which led to an increase in his monthly profits.

The Micro Projects Program was able to achieve one of George's goals, to help him strive to work harder and develop faster. 

Elias is an example of the patient and strong father who faces life’s challenges for his family, Elias is married and has two sons, one of whom is serving in military, life challenged Elias differently at each stage, in the period of war he was displaced from his home, and his son was exposed to a war injury during his mandatory service time. 

Corona came to be one of the most difficult periods he went through; it kept him away from his work and family, but as Elias said:  "Our Mother Mary did not abandon me and helped me overcome this ordeal." Elias now works as a guard in a private school in Aleppo with a low salary, he wants to improve his income, so he decided to apply for a taxi, which he sees as a strong source in order to meet the requirements of life and his family's expenses.

At the end of the meeting Elias said that his dream is to be able to buy a taxi so he can be more financially independent, and he achieved this dream to be his first strong step in the face of life hardships.

The years of war were not easy for Fadi's family, however, it didn't stop them from pursuing their dreams of living in peace and stability. Fadi’s family suffered a lot during the war, especially in the first years as Fadi is a resident of the village of Al-Jadeeda in the Idlib countryside, which is one of the Christian villages in the city of Idlib. He was displaced with his family from the village after they were besieged by armed groups.

At the beginning of the war in 2011, Fadi volunteered to defend his land against the armed groups, then He was discharged from the army in 2021 after serving for ten years.

Before the war, Fadi worked in the aluminum craft in his village. He had a shop since 2004, but he lost it afyer leaving the village towards Kasab. In his last years of service, he worked in this profession during his spare hours intending to return to it after service..

After his discharge, he moved to Aleppo to settle there and began working in the aluminum field, but his income was not enough to secure the family’s needs, and he strived hard to start his project to secure a sufficient source of income for his family.

The Micro Projects Program was able to fulfill this family's dream of stability, and Fadi now has his own shop, which will enable him to provide a decent life for his family.

Elias is a strong man who defied the difficulties of life for the sake of his family’s happiness despite all the harsh circumstances he went through. 

Elias is married and has three children, he suffered a lot during the war; he had a taxi in 2014, but unfortunately it was destroyed by a shell in 2016, despite the difficulty of the situation he was able to overcome this incident for the sake of his children and started working as a driver for a local institution with a modest salary.

Elias held-on to hope, his many losses during the war did not disappoint him, and despite the suffering of life, he was not satisfied with his little income, he kept searching for an opportunity to improve his situation and a ray of hope that would change his life; for him it was a taxi that he would work on after his shift to help him secure a better income, Elias applied for micro projects and upon approval his joy was indescribable. Today Elias looks forward to starting a new life chapter full of hope and blessings.

Naeem is an example of strong personality who will face crises with positive adaptation without suppression or confusion, married and has two sons, he works in the field of sanitary installations, solar energy installation and electricity extension.

Naeem tried to develop himself in his domain of work despite all the difficulties and challenges he faced, he is a creative person who added with his experience of more than 15 years working in the field of central heating, he rented a shop in order to start a stable life and a small family. 

Despite many difficulties and the war that hit Aleppo, Naeem did not leave the city and remained working hard to secure a good future for his children, his house was damaged by the earthquake and he did not despair and was able to restore it.

Naeem applied for the necessary equipment which will help him increase his income and secure the needs of his family. He believes that everything will turn out for the best, and that tomorrow is more beautiful, Hopefully this project will be the beginning of beautiful days for him and his family.

Dr. Ghassan have been working in the clinic for more than 30 years, he has extensive experience in the field of dentistry, his work was greatly affected during the war because his place was exposed to a lot of shells, and when the area became safe, he decided to develop his clinic's devices because the equipment was worn-out that it became dilapidated.

The earthquake destroyed all Ghassan’s dreams for the enhancement of his clinic and his house from which he and his family were able to get out safe and sound, and because life must go on, Ghassan decided to submit an application in order to develop his project with support from the Micro Projects.

Ghassan held-on to hope despite all the difficulties of life that he faced in the past, the strength that he possesses despite all the challenges and crises that he went through, his patience and will can overcome every painful hardship.

Dr. Ghassan launched his project with the new devices that helped him develop the clinic and achieve part of his dreams that he patiently longed for. 

Shant is a passionate person, aspiring to be proficient in his work, self-reliant, in order to secure a decent life for his family; Shant is married and a father of two, he works day and night for the wellness of his family.

Shant works in the profession of car spraying, and has extensive experience in this field, he currently works in a workshop but the equipment is not his, and the wage he receives is not commensurate with his experience and insufficient for the requirements of life.

During war people are exposed to many material and physical losses, this period was difficult for Shant, he lost his shop and equipment. His mother, father and sister were injured in the war, Shant wants to be independent in his work, so the idea of applying for his own project through the Micro Projects Support was a ray of hope, Shant started his project and is now working with passion and enthusiasm in order to achieve his life goals and take good care of his loving family.

Hanaa Hakeem lives with her sister in Aleppo. In addition to taking care of her sister and the house, she also works as a teacher in a public school in the city of Aleppo to support her husband.

During the war in Aleppo Hanaa and her family refused to leave their home and their memories behind and decided to stay no matter what.

By the end of the war, the Hakeem family faced a difficult financial situation with low income and high rates of inflation, which made Hanaa take a new step in the field of makeup and nail-care to help with the family’s income; she took plenty of make-up courses and started learning how to do nails in a nail salon. After a short time, Hanaa made her own customers and started making money out of her new passion. 

But that wasn’t enough for her, she wanted to grow her business and increase the number of customers which wasn’t easy to accomplish by herself, that’s why she applied to the Micro-Project program.

After getting the support she needed, she was able to get a new nail kit and became independent in her own work.

Nihad Ghazal is a 65-year-old with a passion for baking and making pastry since her childhood; she used to make all different types of pastries and give them to her friends at school to try.

As she grew older her love for pastry grew bigger, she used to help her mother with cooking and doing kitchen chores, that’s how she learned her mother’s baking recipes, her secrets and tricks for a perfect bake.

The Ghazal sisters suffered from the war, but unlike many, they stayed in their house refusing to leave the memories they have in Aleppo.

Despite the lack of power, gas, and clean water, Nihad always managed to find a way to practice her love for baking. In the middle of the war with all the bakeries closed she had the idea to do what she loves and sell what she bakes targeting the neighborhood she lived in.

Now by having the support from Micro-Project, Nihad is now capable of growing her business and increasing her income doing the one thing she loves the most.

Carla Ishak is an ambitious dentist who recently graduated from Aleppo university, being a dentist was her long-lasting dream. When she was a little girl, she used to go to her father’s clinic to watch him at his job while pretending to be his assistant.

Going through the war in Syria was harsh for Carla and her family, as they had to evacuate their home due to several bombings. The prolonged fights and the damage it caused forced the family to move to the grandparents’ and even though the fight was halted, the financial hardships prevented them from rehabilitating their house and kept them from going back.

Carla began practicing dentistry right after her graduation with her father’s support in making her dream come true. Once she cultivated her skills, she decided to take another step towards her big dream and open her own practice.

By applying for micro-project, she had the awaited opportunity to a fresh start in her career after getting engaged to the love of her life.

Now dr. Carla is living her life dream; treating patients, making people smile and also helping her family to move back to their home.

Fania's life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Bassam, fell ill, leaving him unable to provide for their family. With a studying son to support, her mother-in-law, and her husband's health deteriorating, Fania knew she had to act fast. 

Determined to secure a future for her family, she seized the opportunity presented by their small shop. With hope, She applied for assistance from the Micro Projects Program, seeking support to stock shelves, buy a refrigerator, and purchase goods to transform the shop into a mini-market and dairy shop, envisioning a lifeline for her family.

Her shop flourished and Bassam will find solace in being able to contribute as much as possible. 

Through her microproject and the support of the program, Fania not only sustained her family's livelihood, but also inspired others with her resilience in the face of hardships.

Working in the marketing field was all that Khalil known for his entire life, he is 39, married, and has two kids Youssef and Yohanna. Before the war started, Khalil was living with his family in Al-Jdaideh area and his job was selling lockers and keys to the shops. However, soon after the war began, he lost his job and became unable to pay the house rent so he moved with his family to live at his mother-in-law’s house in Jaramana.

Khalil didn’t take long to start a new job as a salesman and started driving late hours daily to distribute food products for shops and markets, but his salary was low compared to the living expenses. His wife wanted to work and support her husband but her mother was suffering from nerve disease so she had to stay beside her.

Khalil was trying hard to secure a decent living for his family but with the deteriorating conditions his income was barely enough to cover the daily living, so when he learned about the Micro project program in Damascus, he didn’t hesitate to apply for the pickup car because having this chance will save the expensive car rent and enable him to work independently. Having this project will provide Khalil with a better and more sustainable income to improve his family's living situation.

Suad Alawadh 32, is one of the strong women who was willing to do her best for the sake of her family. She is married to Samir Demmar and they have two sons and a daughter. Her husband works as a car mechanic and they live in a small room at her in-law's house in Bab Tomah. 

During the years of war, Suad and her family went through financial hardships as her husband was called for the reserve service which affected their life. At that point, Suad couldn’t keep watching her husband struggling alone and decided to support him so she enrolled at Al-Mammon Institute and took many courses in the nail care domain until she got the required experience to start working and support her husband in affording the livelihood demands.

Even with the limited tools she had, she didn’t hesitate to work for nail salons to gain more experience and increase her income, but staying out working for long hours was getting very hard and she wanted to be close to her kids so she could take care of them and work at the same time.

Supporting this determined woman with the materials and equipment to start her own nail care salon was one of Hope Center’s goals in supporting women and empowering them within these difficult conditions to have their own source of income and preserve their dignity.

Like many young men his age, Johnny did not have the opportunity during the ten years of war to have his own work or save any money for the future. On the contrary, he was working hard just to be able to have his daily food which put him in a state of desperation especially since his mother passed away and his father was injured in a mine explosion during wartime, which led to the amputation of his leg; for the past seven years he underwent treatment and surgeries in Lebanon on the expense of Johnny and his uncles.

Johnny tried many careers but none of them could provide him with a decent income to secure his living, so he started working with the help of his uncle in transporting vegetables and fruits from the village to the city and distributing his loads in the markets but the car he was working on was rented which prevented him from having a proper income because he was paying most of his profits to the car owner.

Today, with the help of Hope Center, Johnny was able to purchase his own pick-up truck that will form a huge support in his work allowing him to be independent and have the ability to improve his living.

When Deeb was only thirteen, his father passed away, which made him give up his toys, his childhood, and his studies to become responsible for himself and share with his brothers the living expenses and look after their mother, as they were living in financial hardship.

Deeb had to work at an early age to handle the responsibilities, but he was a strong young man with determination and faith so he buried his sadness deep in his heart and began to face life’s difficulties to secure his livelihood.

Deeb worked as a delivery boy between several places at the same time to earn a proper income. In 2008, he started to work in wholesale and retail clothing sales in Al-Hamra markets until 2013, when he was called for military service until 2021, but because he was suffering from a Patent foramen ovale (which is a hole in the heart). His service was in administrative procedures, which allowed him during the evening to work in selling food products, but he was exposed to a fall during the service, which caused him an injury to the fifth lumbar vertebra in the spine, as a result he was discharged from the military.

However, Deeb did not want to be dependent on anyone, and he insisted on working so he rented a taxi and started working as a private driver transporting passengers in Damascus. Despite the little income, as he wasn't the owner of the car, he continued because he could not work in any other profession due to his injury.

Deeb’s biggest dream of having his own project was achieved after he applied at the Hope Center for the taxi. Today, after being supported, he is so grateful and willing to do his best in order to improve his income and ensure a decent living for his family.

Kinan had no opportunity to work or do any job for about a decade because after starting his twenties and finishing his education, he was called for military service, and for the next ten years all that he learned about was being a driver because he was appointed during the service as vehicles driver.  

In 2021 Kinan’s brother joined the service so that Kinan could be discharged as being the household only provider and for the first time in ten years he was free to do anything he wanted. He returned to his parent's house to live and to take care of his parents especially since his mother suffered from cancer and went through intensive treatment until she recovered while his father had also suffered a stroke and both of them were in need of medication on a daily base.

Kinan tried to work as a doorman at a hospital and then worked as an employee but the salaries were low and not enough to even cover his own expenses not to mention his parents’ medicine and the living demands.

During his journey to find a proper income he learned about the Hope Center and found out that the only way to improve his living was by applying for his own project so with great faith, he visited the center and applied for the taxi project considering his long driving experience during his service years.

Now, after being supported to have his own taxi, Kinan is very grateful because, after all those hard years and the miseries, he has the opportunity to work independently and improve his living conditions. 

Like most young men of his age, Elias Al-Mezel had to start working from an early age to help his parents with the living demands.

He is 26 and lives with his family in his grandfather's house in Al-Dwalaa, his father was working as a shoemaker but he started to suffer from Asthma in addition to other health issues that made him unable to work. on the other hand, his mother’s health was also in bad condition which forced Elias to start working at the age of fifteen in car maintenance with his uncle in order to handle the huge responsibilities and his parent's medication costs.

During wartime, the maintenance work faded, so he worked as a warehouse keeper for five years until 2020, when the economic condition worsened and the salary became not enough to match the livelihood demands he quit, Elias started looking for other sources of income but most of the jobs he found were for low wages, so he started working as a private driver hoping to enhance his financial situation.

Elias was trying hard to earn as much as possible but without having his own car, he couldn’t get a decent income to meet the basic living needs and was in need of support to have his own project.

With the help of Hope Center, this determined young man was supported to purchase his own taxi hoping that it would form an opportunity to provide him with a better and sustainable income to improve his conditions and ensure a decent living for his family.

Rabee has always been an expert at sewing, he had even owned his own workshop since 2003 in a small village, where he lived with his wife and three kids.

However, trouble came knocking at his door when an armed group attacked the area. Rabee and his family had to flee for their lives, leaving behind their rented small house and all their belongings, including his beloved sewing workshop.

Rabee had to start from scratch and find a way to provide for his family. He decided to move to Damascus, where he heard that it was a safer place to live. He went from one workshop to another, working as a laborer, to put food on the table and find a safe place to live, But he didn't give up on his dream of owning a sewing workshop again.

With the help of the micro project in Damascus, Rabee got all the tools and equipment he needed to start his own workshop again. He was grateful for the opportunity to recover his lost livelihood and finally earn a living for his family.

Rabee is now able to provide a better life for his family, thanks to his hard work and determination. He would never forget the hardships he and his family had faced, but he is proud that he persevered through it all.

At the age of 17 Elie Hannoun decided to leave school and start working at a hairdressing salon in his hometown Saydnaya to support his family and handle his own expenses.

soon he became very skilled and well-known in the town but he couldn't expand his work because after the war outbreak, the devastating impact spread to Saydnaya region, and all its residents became living under danger and threat, which led to the cessation of work in most professions, including Elie’s work, as he was forced to move with his parents to live in Damascus.

unfortunately, their displacement synchronized with the deterioration of his father's health as he was diagnosed with cancer which forced Elie to stop working and support his father throughout the treatment period, which lasted for four painful and harsh years and ended with his father's death in 2014.

Elie and his mother remained alone living in a small and poor flat in Jaramana and he became the breadwinner of the house, so he started working at a hairdressing salon in Jaramana to cope with the difficult circumstances but with the Corona pandemic and the quarantine started which affected his work and forced him to stay jobless for a period until he was able to continue working trying as much as possible to provide the simplest requirements of life and even his mother started looking for a job to help he son.

Elie was seeking to have his own salon, through which he could be independent and obtain a stable income matching the high cost of living.

Therefore, as soon as his friends told him about the Micro-projects program in Damascus, he immediately applied for the hairdressing salon project in Jaramana, and today, after his project was approved, Elie regained his energy and enthusiasm for work and he is opening his salon from the early morning with all faith that this opportunity he got will change his life for the better and help him secure a decent life for him and his mother.

Raymon Al-Badawi, 30 years old, is married to Yara Haddad, and they have adorable twins, George and Charbel who were born in 2021.

Raymon, his family, and his old parents live in a small rented flat on Al-Qurayyat Street, Jaramana city. his father works as a tailor and his mother is retired so basically Raymon is also the responsible for their expenses.

At the beginning of his twenties, he started working at an aluminum workshop and soon after he was able to learn the profession and became very skilled in it, he wanted to empower himself more so he could have his own workshop in the future because he found that this profession provides stable and sustainable income that will secure his livelihood.

However, during the years of war, life became very difficult and despite all the hard work he was putting in, he was only earning 20% of the workshops income, while the rest was going to the workshop owner which made his wages barely enough to cover the daily food and he started to suffer from financial distress and became unable to meet the household demands.

Raymon was certain that if had the chance to have his own workshop, things will get better especially since he got the experience, acquaintances, and the demanded skills to run the project.

With great faith, Raymon applied at the Micro-project and his request was approved as he was funded with all the machines, tools, and equipment to start his own workshop which he considered the lifetime chance that will give him a strong push to be independent, have a better income and help to secure his family's future.

Aleen Salhani, 31 years old, lives with her parents and sister in a modest house in the city of Jaramana, Damascus countryside. She graduated from the Agricultural Technical Institute and started working as a seamstress assistant in a workshop, then she worked several jobs, trying as much as possible to earn enough money to afford the house demands because her parents suffered from several health problems and were unable to work which made Aleen and her sister responsible for the household expenses. 

This responsibility became heavier during the difficult years of war, especially after a mortar shell destroyed their car and ruined a part of their house. Even though the family survived but they had to pay a lot of money to repair the house which overwhelmed Aleen with more obligations. 

Aleen has always had a passion and talent for decorations and handicrafts, so she started working with her relatives and friends and tried to grow her talent into a project with the deterioration of the financial conditions in the past years, because her job was no longer providing her with sufficient income to meet the house needs, and wanted to use her talent in handcrafts to start her own project.

Every success in life starts with a small step, and Aleen took that step when she applied to the Micro projects program. Now, after being funded with all the materials and tools, she was able to have her own handicrafts shop, which made her full of determination and hope to enhance her work so she could improve her living conditions.

Jad Aghaby is 27, he lives with his mother and sister in Jaramana, his father left the family a long time ago and didn't take any responsibility for taking care of his children.

Since his childhood, Jad and his two sisters Joel and Jessica had to be self-dependent and work to afford their expenses.

He graduated from the Accounting Department and started working but unfortunately, in 2011 he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent two years of intensive treatment and had two surgeries.

In 2013, Jad and his sister Jessica decided to travel to Lebanon and work there because of the terrible condition of the country, but a year after, his sister was also diagnosed of having Leukemia and had to return to Syria to take treatment but the disease was in a late stage and she passed away in 2014.

The loss of Jessica was devastating.. and it took them a long time to get back to their normal life, especially for Jad, who suffered from the same disease and always felt death surrounding him.

However, he stayed in Lebanon until 2018 then he returned to Syria and started to work as an accountant in a clothing store until 2021 when he quit from work because of the low salary that didn't match the increasing costs of living.

Jad decided to try a different job so he worked with his friend at a detergent store to gain experience and then applied to the Micro-project program for his own detergent shop because he thinks it is a lasting career as the materials are required and always consumed.

supporting Jad with the detergent shop didn't just provide him with a good and sustainable income, but also helped in improving his psychological condition to overcome the tragedies he went through and have a positive outlook for the future

For more than fifty years, Nabil Al-Nasser lived in Al-Swaida city, got married there, had children, established a successful trading business, and had a stable home. He was about to reach his retirement age thinking that he had secured his family's future and would retire peacefully, but by the year 2010, his life had changed completely.

In the beginning, he lost all the goods of his shop due to a snowstorm that hit Al-Swaida city, which led to the collapse of the warehouse and damage to all the goods. His loss was great, and when he tried to start over, the war began in Syria, and soon its devastating effect reached the city of Al-Swaida, so he had no choice but to leave everything behind and travel to Lebanon.

Along with his family, Nabil took shelter at the Capuchins' monastery where he worked as a driver. He stayed in Lebanon until 2020 when the security and economic situation deteriorated there and his income became a lot less than the high costs of living so he decided to return with his family to Damascus, hoping to have a better life there. Unfortunately, their return coincided with Corona pandemic, and he, his wife, and his granddaughter were infected with the virus. unfortunately, his wife remained in intensive care for more than 6 months, which ended with her death in the year 2021, and it was a great shock to him and his children

Nabil’s psychological state was greatly affected by his wife's death, especially since his two daughters traveled abroad, and he remained alone with his son in the house. He decided to work and help his son with his living obligations so he started to work in a taxi but his income wasn't enough to cover the high taxi rent.

After being funded by the Taxi project, Nabil feels that he has regained his dignity and energy to work as he has become independent and capable to handle the house expenses and secure his future.