My name is Elias Zghen, 37 years old from Aleppo, Syria.

I am married to Maria Toutinji, we have two children; Rita 9 years old, and George 4 years.

I am also responsible for my brother Rami who is autistic, he is 30 years old, and he has been living with me since the beginning of the war, I take care of all his needs, my other brother George recently started to help me in this matter.

I used to work as a sales representative for cars accessories in the Saudi company “Betromin” here in Syria, that was before the war in 2012, but due to the deterioration of the economic situation and the difficulties of importation and exportation movement, the company closed completely.

I was in front of a crossroad, I couldn’t work in my field of experience anymore, I started working on a taxi, the owner would take a percentage from the profits and any repairments were on my cost.

I’ve been working in the same job for the last seven years, without any progress in my life.

Owning a house or a car is like a dream now, everything is very expensive and the rents are high, since me and Maria got married, we have been moving from a house to another, all in rents and every time the owner start raising the cost until we can’t afford it anymore.

the church help us with the rent of our current wife, but I need to have a better income and that’s why I applied for a taxi, it will provide the stability that I need in my life and hopefully my dream will come true in having my own car to work on.

A long time ago, Magi started working in the sales business, she worked with many materials like make up products, cotton wear and clothing in general.

The 52-years-old mother of three, had her life changed drastically because of the ugly war, after it teared the family apart; one of her sons lives in Lebanon, the other is now settled in Netherlands, he left the country after an unfortunate kidnapping accident he went through.

Like all of that wasn’t enough to burden Magi with worries, her husband went missing 6 years ago, and till this day they have no idea what happened to the poor man. Magi lives with her third son Krikor in a rented house in Al-Suleymanieh area after they had to sell their old house when the war started.

Today Magi works from home in selling clothes, she’s been doing this job for many years now and made good acquaintances in the market, and many clients that she works with regularly, she also participated in seasonal galleries for three years in a row. However, there are many obstacles facing Magi, like the increasing costs of the used materials and the bad financial circumstances the community is having. In these hard times, the hardworking woman has to work extra hours, for instance she works as a hair dresser between houses in order to increase her income.

With the help of this program, Magi will be able to stock many items at wholesale price in larger amounts, thus she will increase her profit margins, and thus provide a more decent living for herself in these difficult times. 

Elias Masheq is a 64-years-old man who still has the perseverance to work and be an independent individual and a provider for his family.

He has four daughters with his wife Maria, all married too, leaving the old couple living alone in their house. But due to Maria’s health condition (heart disease and recent open-heart surgery) and the shells on their neighborhood, they were obliged to leave their house in Al-Midan several times, seeking refuge in their daughter house until the couple eventually settled in Maria’s sister house that is on a lower floor which is convenient for Maria’s health.

Anyhow, Elias had other problems too. The 64-years-old used to work on his mini pickup truck when the war started in 2012. All roads were shut over the city, which made it impossible for him to continue working in the driving job, in order to secure his daily bread, he started selling popular local beverages on his car, but later when winter came, he switched to selling homemade pickles tat Maria used to prepare to help make a living. However, it wasn’t long until the pick-up truck was broken down and Elias didn’t have enough money to repair it, so the car was parked for a long time and Elias had to continue working using a cart to sell his products around the city. 

Today, Elias is tired of wandering around the city his cart all day, as he himself is getting older and this kind of routine is exhausting. He is wishing to have his own taxi, it is the only thing he could think of that suits his age and condition, it provides a much better income for him and at the same time is more comfortable specially that Elias has a driving license that allows him to practice this job.

Maher Dayoub and his wife Victoria with their seven years old twins; George and David, all live in Al-Midan area, in a borrowed house for one of their relatives.

Before the war, Maher worked in tailoring and clothes industry for many workshops. He was married and living with his parents at the family house. Things were good, but the war changed everything. When Victoria gave birth to her twins in 2012, the war had already reached the heart of Aleppo city. 

In addition to the constant fear and lack of safety, Maher faced other challenges like being the only provider for the family, his job depended on clients’ orders so there wasn’t any consistency, with the start of the war the business flow decreased drastically until Maher’s resources were drained out, he fled with his family to a village called Skailbiye; where some of his relatives live. When things got a little better in their neighborhood in Aleppo they returned, but this time Maher was obliged to find a new and stable source of income, and renting a taxi was the only suitable option.

This time Maher wishes to work on his own car to increase his income, and what he realized from his own experience is that this profession can make him a stable profit, and it could provide a decent life for the family, specially that his responsibilities are getting bigger as his twins are getting older.   

Since his teenage years, Hovig Chaprazian entered the mechanical cars maintenance field, and it has been his profession for 25 years. But this road hasn’t been easy, the war with its start cost him his job. The workshop he worked in for many years was closed and he was unemployed for a while, but being the only provider for his parents he had to do something. For a while he worked in a similar field of industrial engine maintenance to provide a living in a time that was very hard on the whole city of Aleppo. Their house was in a dangerous zone of Al-Midan and as much as the neighborhood was targeted with mortar shells that the family had to move out. Hence, in 2014 Hovig with his parents and sister were displaced to a relative’s house in a much safer neighborhood for a while. 

Hovig wasn’t happy about how things ended, he was offered a job in his main profession in Latakia so he went there for 4 months. After coming back from latakia, he made a partnership with an acquaintance for approximately a year, and since things were going good for them both, Hovig felt relieved and was thinking about starting a family specially that his relatives offered him their house to stay in, and indeed he got married in 2016 just after Aleppo situation got a little better. But unfortunately, not all good things last, like his business partnership, Hovig lost the workshop, all that he was left with is some tools and equipment he was able to maintain and keep. Like losing his livelihood income wasn’t bad enough, his relatives that gave him their house to stay in, asked him to evacuate the apartment, Hovig had no choice but to leave.

Today Hovig, with his wife rosy and two-years-old son Mike are all living with Hovig’s parents in the old house, after repairing the damage that occurred because of the war.

Hovig is the only provider for them all, since neither his wife or his old father work. With a little help Hovig will be able to rent a workshop and purchase the tools needed to proceed his work, specially that his acquaintances and clients are all very supportive of him. This way he will be able to provide a decent life for his family. 

Charbel Mamo is a 27-years-old young man who went against all expectations and while a great percentage of Syrian youth did everything to leave the country or even wished to leave, Charbel couldn’t stand being away from his family and fiancée so after four years in Sweden he couldn’t wait to come back to his hometown Aleppo.

During his stay in Sweden, Charbel worked in the food business, in a pizzeria place and he excelled that job, on the busy weekends he used to serve up to 600 pizzas a day, his job was the only thing he enjoyed there. 

All the experiences Charbel had gone through and what he learned from his father in sales field, gave him a good knowledge in having a successful project of his own. And despite the diversity of the domains he worked in previously, he knew exactly how to benefit from these experiences when planning for his project. At first, he wanted to open a small restaurant or a pizzeria since it had been his latest job, but the costs are unbelievably high to start such a project from scratch. That’s why he decided to open a retail shop for women’s sportswear and sneakers.

The location of his shop, the decoration to attract the customers, and the advertising techniques all are well planned elements that Charbel have to start a thriving business for years to come.

Geovanni Fakkas is 33 years old, married and a father of two; 11 years old Jeanette and 9 years old Sadek. 

He and his wife Antoinette have been struggling for long to provide a decent living for their kid, since their losses during the Syrian war were massive.

When Geovanni started his family in 2007, he was living with his parents, he didn’t have his own house. Two years passed and with the birth of his second child, he was able to move out to an apartment in Sheikh Maksoud with the help of the church.  It was a good start for the growing family, but after just three years the Syrian war started and Geovanni was displaced from Sheikh Maksoud like the majority of the neighborhood’s residents. Having nowhere to go to, they sought refuge at the “frère Mariste” convent who opened their doors to welcome many displaced families from the damaged areas. Although living in dorms with strangers for more than seven months was hard, but that wasn’t the only suffering they had to go through, Geovanni’s job was at risk too, the area of the warehouse where his work place was located was also confiscated by armed groups, and after many negotiations they were able to rescue a part of the merchandise, but the employees like Geovanni knew that they will be dismissed, and indeed in 2014, Geovanni was looking for a job to provide for his family.

In 2015, he started to work on a rented taxi, and after a while he got used to it and actually loved what he did for a living, during the last four years he changed many cars but never changed the profession, even when he traveled to Lebanon for few months ,when his rented house became in the range of snipers and it became extremely dangerous to stay in, his job there involved driving for an installation company. However, Geovanni couldn’t stay away from his city for long.

One of the advantages of this job is the freedom that it gives for the driver and the flexibility of the working hours, which is something Geovanni gets to have if he gets his own car, the thing that will also increase his income and improve the quality of life the family has.     

When you start your career since 1980, and practice it for more than thirty years it becomes a part of who you are, and what you are known for in your community.

Today, Nuhad Lucsa has worked as a driver from the age of 19. It was more like a family business, he was working on Idleb highway, while his brother worked on the Homs-Lebanon highway, the two would occasionally exchange places. 

Nuhad has always loved what he does for a living. The man spent his life driving between two cities, but in winter he used to stay in Aleppo. He was a well-known and trustworthy driver hired by more than one school, and by the Christian Sunday schools and when the school year is over, he goes back to Al-Qnayeh village his hometown in Idleb city, where his family stays while he goes back and forth. In 2010, Nuhad bought a house in Al-Midan for the family to settle in, not knowing that one day they will flee from Al-Qnayeh and live in Aleppo for good.

When Al-Qnayeh was taken by armed groups, the empty houses like Nuhad’s were confiscated forcibly which was a huge loss for the family, but what overwhelmed them even more was that Nuhad lost his job, since most of the highways were closed or extremely dangerous, and also most schools had stopped transferring the children by bus. All the family was left with Sana’s (Nuhad’s wife) retirement salary which obviously wasn’t enough, so Nuhad sold his mini bus to get some money.

Today, Nuhad works on a rented taxi and he has to split his hard work profit with the car owner, let alone the possibility of losing this source of income at any moment if the owner decided to sell the vehicle. 

With a little help Nuhad can have his own car, a thing which he have been wishing for a long time, he has many school students that will hire him, and a huge list of clients to work with when having his taxi. 

Antranik Khalloush is a 31-years-old man, originally from Al-Ghassanieh; a village that is still suffering from the armed conflict of the war. Antranik and his wife Joudy have a 3-years-old boy; George, and the couple are expecting a second child soon. As much as it is exciting to welcome a newborn to the family, it comes with big responsibility for Antranik. Specially that the economic crisis has put its tall on people during the ongoing war. 

Antranik who has been working in a cloth manufacturing workshop for the last two years, is also financially responsible for his parents, since his father is retired with a very modest pension. This type of business has taken a great hit during the war, Antranik felt the challenge. 

Torn between the high costs of livelihood, the monthly house-rent installment, the school fees for little George and solely providing for two families, Antranik made a decision to cut the expenses by moving back with his parents.

Since knowing about the baby, Antranik has been worried about securing a better life for the family. He started thinking what can he do to increase their income. He had some experience in many domains; like the clothing business, hair dressing for approximately eight years, and driving on his friend’s taxi for some while. But the clothing and the hairdressing fields require high expenses to launch which Antranik can’t afford.

The only thing that would truly help him is having a taxi, as an additional source of income for the expanding family. This way even Antranik’s father can help him. It would be life changing for the whole family, and will bring them some peace of mind knowing that they are ready to welcome the newborn child.

When you hear Sarkis explain How he manufactures his products (electrical breakers for cars), you can see how passionate he is about his profession. 

Sarkis Habib is a 37-years-old who lives with his wife Vartouhi and their two daughters; Zovig and Rita in their grandmother Zovinar house, he is the provider for all of them. After his father passed away Sarkis kept his father’s workshop working for a long time. He used to spend the majority of his day in the workshop where he put his equipment and tools and he would lose track of time. The process of manufacturing one piece takes a lot of time and effort and lots of steps on different machines, each designed for a specific purpose.

With the start of war, the father of two was burdened with the collapse of the Syrian currency, and the rising living costs. The high material prices made it impossible for Sarkis to invest in new ones, it would make the whole process financially inefficient. He made the hard decision of closing the workshop, and then started the search for a job… 

After a while he started working as a delivery guy for a mini market, and that became the source of income for the family. Although it is helping them to survive but it is frustrating for a man like Sarkis to give up the job he loves and work for others, while his own workshop is closed.

All what Sarkis needs to restart his business is to be able to purchase the primary material needed for the production process, going back to his workshop would mean the world to him, and this will be a new beginning for the whole family.

When you practice the same job day after day for more than 25 years, it doesn’t only turn to a daily routine but it also becomes a part of who you are.

That’s how we can describe Sarkis’s case. Since 1991, Sarkis Avakian (58-years-old) has been touring the streets of Aleppo city, driving the school bus, gathering kids to take them to their school every morning. Driving the school bus is the way Sarkis provides for his family of five; his wife Ani, his son Mesrop, daughter Aline and his 75-years-old mother.

To support the family’s livelihood the 26-years-old Mesrop works as an automobile’s electrician, Aline his daughter does her best too, she works part time to cover her expenses as she is still a college student. They are barely making things work depending also on the financial aid the church distributes.

During the war, the family was no exception from all the people that were affected, specially that they live in Al-Midan neighborhood which was targeted with all kinds of missiles and mortar bombs, being near the contact lines between conflicting forces… one day the inevitable happened; a missile hit Sarkis’s building... the lower floor was burnt off completely and four people died on that day… 

Luckily Sarkis and his family were safe, but their house was damaged, many cracks occurred in the walls, but with all the high costs of living they weren’t able to do the needed repairs, specially that Alice; Sarkis’s mother suffers from serious health problems, like heart and kidney failure which demand permanent medication, his wife also suffers from Thyroid insufficiency which requires medications, all of that put additional burden on Sarkis’s back.

In couple of years Sarkis will reach the age of retirement, that’s why he is thinking ahead and trying to have a plan B for his career. It’s how the idea of owning a taxi came to his mind. And since driving is almost his only career for more than two decades, it will suite him the best and at the same time it will improve his income significantly, that way he will be able to repair his house and support his family. 

Milad Nakkoul is a 36-years-old man married to Vima. Milad and Vima chose to start a family at a young age, they have a 4-years-old Antonio and 2-years-old Ibrahim. When the couple started their family, the war had already started. Milad who used to work in a goldsmithing workshop lost his job due to war, then he was offered to guard the health care clinic of “St. Asia Al-Hakim” in Al-jdaideh street in the old city, it was convenient for him since he was about to get married, and the guarding job included residency. Shortly after, the old city became extremely dangerous, the armed groups entered the area and Milad had to leave the clinic immediately. 

Milad took his family and refuged to his in-law’s house, until he could find a solution, after a while he found a similar job, to guard a villa in al-Hamdanieh, so the family moved again to the new place which is a small room in the villa that Milad is looking after. When the work conditions became unbearable, both Milad and Vima were feeling exploited, they found themselves obliged to search for a new place to live.

When Milad found a job in guarding a building in Al-Sabil neighborhood, the couple were already exhausted from constant moving, specially that Vima was pregnant with her third child by that time.

Although the pregnancy news was exciting, but by the time of her birth Milad was informed that his services are no longer required and within a short notice he should evacuate the place.

Milad is now a father of three, with no stable job nor a place to live. And as much as he is grateful for the church’s help in securing an apartment for them temporarily, he is tired of being dependent on others. 

Having his own pick-up truck will make him break this cycle of dependency. And with his hard work and the support of his friends and family he will be able to provide for his family.