Sarkis,20 years old, was born to a modest family consists of four people, his parents work in the same school, his father is a bus driver, his mother is a cleaner and his sister woks and studies at the same time.

“My parents did their best, but they never encouraged me to continue my education”, Sarkis decided to quit school and learn hair styling to gain enough experience and become a well-known barber.

He worked in a barbershop since 2014, but due to the travel of the employer, the shop was closed, then he worked in many other barbershops to provide a better income for his family.

During the war, Sarkis was displaced with his family several times to rented houses after shells fell near them and their home was damaged.

"My parents were very worried about the future, especially under these hard circumstances and now, because of Micro-Projects I was able to purchase all the necessary equipment for my new barbershop and be able to open my own business”.

The will to survive cannot be stopped, no matter how difficult the circumstances are"

With this sentence, Mr. Shukri opened his speech, defying all difficulties and struggling in the face of the daily life. 

Shukri did not complete his studies, but had to leave the school early when he was just 12 years old to help his family to provide the income; he worked for one of the best mechanics in the area and learned to disassemble and assemble the car engine on his own without any help.

In 2004, he opened his own workshop in Bustan Al-Basha area, he was just 30 years old at that time, and became famous in the area, as he reached a stage where he had more than 150 types of car engines, which he repairs and sells at the same time.

But the war knows no mercy, as with the entrance of armed groups into his area, they robbed the shop, including the tools and materials it contained, and Shukri became without work, in the hope that the war in the city would end. 

During that period, he was forced to sell his car, for the sake of his family's livelihood, especially since he adopted the daughter of his relative, whose family was martyred as a result of the war, which increased his responsibilities.

He did not give up but returned forcefully to search for a new job and worked in a shop for 10 years, until the employer sold the shop and traveled abroad.

Now after being funded by the Hope Center, Shukri returned to work, but this time in his own shop to support his family.

Life takes a heavy toll during war times. people start to lose hope.

Hagob is 57 years old and lives with his wife in their modest house. He has been working in satellite dish repair for 25 years. He had a kit but in the war, his house was damaged by a shell, and all the furniture was stolen, including his tools that he used to use for work.

Although he was able to repair his house, he could not make up for the loss of the tool which was his source of livelihood. Currently, he is borrowing equipment from his friends, but he wants his own equipment to be independent in his business. His wife works as a goldsmith in her cousin's gold workshop to help her husband.

Hagob was funded with the necessary tools to start his work, in the hope that his project would develop and become able to obtain a greater income that would provide him with a decent life.

"Due to the displacement, the illness of my son, and the loss of all my savings and my home in Raqqa, I am no longer able to bear these difficult living conditions all by myself." Kamel said.

Kamel is 61 years old man, worked in several fields, such as blacksmith for a period of time when he was in Raqqa, a valet parking for about 3 years in Lebanon, and when he settled in Aleppo, he resorted to the state function and worked there for 20 years, then retired and no longer had a job to support his family.

His 23-year-old son, Majd, was suffering from a spinal problem. He left his university after the third year of mechanic engineering when he underwent an operation because of the pain he suffered, and he could no longer stay standing for a long time; he then changed his university to a trade and economy university because it does not require a lot attendance.

Unfortunately, all of the family's savings were spent on treatment costs. Kamel had a blacksmith shop in Raqqa but he had to sell it. He is now dependent on his second son, who is studying abroad, in order to pay the rent for the house.

This project will change his life because it will reduce the burden of expenses on his son, and will finally be able to secure a sustainable income by working on the taxi.

The biggest loss for me was being forced to leave my workshop and sell all the machines I had. With these words, Vahe described his loss during the war.

Vahe is 47 years old, lives alone after his mother passed away 7 years ago, and the effects of war and shrapnel are still in his house until now.

He used to work in his own workshop before the war, and he had all the necessary sewing machines. After that, he sold them to secure his needs. He first started working on sewing machines in 1987 and worked for a long period of time in Lebanon.

Due to the current situation and the lack of demand in distributing clothes between workshops, Vahe took a job with his neighbor in the shop, helping him repair the clothes with a low salary.

Vahe will not give up despite all the tough circumstances, with the help of the micro initiative he will resume his work on the new machines with hope of regaining his business and securing better life.

Khajadour, 55 years old, lives with his wife and two sons, and tries hard to secure a decent life for them. since he was young, he suffered from the harshness of life, as he left school early and started to work in a lathing workshop, where he learned this profession.

when he was just 22 years old. He was able to open his own shop and became very famous and developed himself through several professional courses within the country and even abroad in Italy and obtained international certificates.

But the war was difficult on his family; his shop was completely robbed with all the equipment, so he remained for a short period without work until he volunteered in the church committees, and he was one of the people who helped the displaced families and provided them with support and assistance. 

He suffered a lot of material and emotional losses, but his greatest loss was when a shell landed on his house, which led to the injury of his pregnant wife, and consequently to a miscarriage. After the end of the hostilities, the church helped him restore his shop and bought him a small machine. He returned and opened his shop and set out to work again with great hope to improve their living situation. 

Today, thanks to the donors, Khajadour was able to buy a large machine for his shop and provide him and his family with more work to increase his income and secure a better future for his children.

In this fast-moving age, with the development of education and modern technologies, people strive to secure jobs after graduating from colleges and universities. Despite their efforts, many young adults in different parts of the world have a frustrating experience of finding a long-term job.

Shagik Kevork, 24 years old, is a recent graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry, coming from a family with a small income consisting of four people. She graduated in 2022 and worked in laboratories and clinics to increase her experience and enrich the training she followed during her studies.

Her father had previously worked as a blacksmith for agricultural machinery at the area of ​​Marea in his rented workshop during the war period. He lost his work there and the family's dependence became on the mother salary.

Shaghik's mother was fully prepared to sell the house and buy the equipment she needed to fulfill her daughter's dream. Her financial obligations and the high cost of living prevented her from opening her own clinic, so she started working within the clinics to gain a good reputation and increase her experience.

Now, after she has been funded by the micro program, the lovely family no longer has to sell the house, in addition, Shaghik can finally fulfill the dream that she long waited to achieve and secure a source of income for her family.

Abdul Masih Shammo 72 years old, is from a simple family of three; they are originally from  Al-Hasaka City in northeast Syria.

He works as a blacksmith specializing in manufacturing all kinds of agricultural vehicle's accessories, such as harvesters, water tanks, and trucks, he learned this profession when he was only 20 years old.

In 1995 he moved from Al-Hasaka toward Homs city looking to start his own project in a new city, he worked there for 6 years but unfortunately, the job didn’t reach his expectations so, he decided to move again but this time to Aleppo which is considered the major industrial city in Syria. 

In Aleppo, he rented a shop in the Bustan al-Basha area and launched his work there until the war started in 2011, the armed groups took over the area and all his equipment was stolen... he lost everything he had.

His loss was huge, but he didn’t surrender and he insisted to continue, so he rented a small shop in Deir Hafer village next to Aleppo to sell agricultural equipment and reentered the labor market again, but the spread of the Corona virus made him suffer a lot, his works stopped again and he was fell ill so he had to spend all of his savings for treatment. After he recovered, he went to his shop and found out that it had been completely robbed.

once again his determination pushed him to reopen his workshop through the support provided by the donors, and thanks to this initiative, Abdul Masih will now return to work to provide a better future for his family.

In 1992, Bashar started learning on the sewing machines from his uncle and practiced this profession with his brother. Then, they decided to open their own workshop, but unfortunately because of their father's death, they closed it.

During the war Bashar had to move to Mashta-Al Helou for more than four years. but there was only few sewing projects there, so he worked in restaurants to meet the needs of the family, and then returned to Aleppo after the end of the fighting in the city.

Currently, Bashar is still working in the sewing domain, but he doesn’t have a workshop; he works between his brother's workshop and that of his relatives, trying to secure a good income, especially since his mother is sick and he looks after her.

Bashar is still working despite not having a workshop or sewing machines of his own, in addition he was able to keep his customers. All he wants is to have the necessary requirements for his project, to work in the field of cotton, and he will be able to achieve a successful business.

Today Bashar rented a workshop and through the Micro-Projects he was able to purchase all the necessary machines for his project. hopefully life will turn around for him and better days are coming on his way.

Without hard work, there is no success in life.

Finding and getting a job can be a challenging process. It is something very important to everyone and, unfortunately, most young men do not have jobs these days.

After spending several years exploring the job market; Youssef worked in several fields (cleaning dishes in a restaurant, sanitary installations, a sewing workshop, etc...) trying to find his career path.

the 21 years old, lives with his parents and his sister, with modest means of life the family face the high cost of living and difficult living conditions, especially after his sister suffered from a pituitary mass.

This hard-working young man didn’t depend on his father for income, but he tried to work two jobs at the same time to help him, but his mother did not work and his sister, after recovering, continued her studies. His last job was as a hairdresser. Through his work in a salon in 2020, he learned about this profession.

Due to the lack of returns to face these difficult economic conditions, Youssef wanted to increase his income by working in the customer’s houses, since he had acquaintances and his own equipment, and maybe in the future, he would be able to open his own salon.

Youssef was blessed to have the support of Hope Center by getting all the necessary equipment to be able to help his father and his family.

Being old does not mean being unwilling to work, the 76-year-old Anissa does not know the meaning of giving up, laziness, and sitting at home without work, she does all her hard work by herself and supervises people who work with her personally and follows up on the smallest details continuously.

Anisa has been working in the field of wedding decorations for more than 22 years, today she is considered the best and almost the only one in the city. She is distinguished by her good reputation, quality of work, excellent dealing with customers, honesty, and integrity. 

This unique profession is very profitable especially in the wedding season during the summers, in particular after Anissa has gained a great reputation and she has many customers, but at the same time, the costs of this profession are very high, as the profits are divided among several people between transportation and assistant costs, in addition to the costs of cleaning and repairing, as she suffered from major and continuous breakdowns of her washing machine until the engine broke down and could not be replaced due to the lack of spare parts for the 40 years old machine.

Today, thanks to the funding from the donors, Anissa bought a new washing machine and a sewing machine that save her time, electricity, and effort.

Having a supportive partner can truly change your life.

The ambitious young Suzi, 34 years old, is a mother of a little girl called Elsa, she works hard to support her husband to buy a house.

Her husband works in selling and maintaining watches in his rented shop, it was no longer sufficient to secure his family's expenses, so he decided to work as an accountant to increase his earnings.
Before marriage, Suzi worked as a teacher in a kindergarten and after it was closed due to the war, she moved to an office as an employee for 4 years and left her job in 2016 to return to the field she loves.

Her work in a salon since 2016  made Suzi gain much experience. Currently, she wants to work alone at home, Because of her beautiful little daughter, Suzy can no longer stick to her shift at the salon she's been working at for 7 years, but at the same time does not have the equipment to be independent at work.

It was very important for Suzi to enhance her project and buy the essential requirements and through this support, Suzi became independent with her work, and now have her own equipment in addition she will have the chance to increase her income and thus enhance her family’s living situation. 

Hanna is the only provider for his wife, their two children, Maya and Fadi, as well as his elderly mother.

He has more than 35 years of experience as a floor tiler, which he has gained through hard work between Homs' urban center and its rural outposts.

Hanna had most of the essential equipment, but he needed some additional tools to improve his work since he was forced to stop working for four years during the war and spent all the family's savings to cover their needs. Later, he couldn’t afford to buy them, taking into consideration the economic situation in the country and the financial obligations of living that are growing continuously.

Hanna's productivity will increase now that he has everything he needs, especially the electric generator, in addition to the electric bike, which will allow him to save on the daily expenses he used to pay for transportation costs.

Samer fought cancer bravely after a painful battle in 2019 and resumed working in his profession as a floor tiler. He lives with his wife Ragheda who is, unfortunately, suffering from cancer too, in addition to their two sons Asaad (18 years old) and Ronny (14 years old). 

In 2012, Samer lost all of his equipment and in order to provide for his family, he started to buy used tools each time he had the chance, but they became worn out over years and negatively affected his work, however, what made things harder for him was not having an electric generator that is necessary for his work. At the same time, he couldn't afford to buy new equipment being the sole breadwinner for his family.

Samer applied for new equipment and an electric generator to improve his business productivity, which will enhance his income and allow him to ensure a better life for his family. 

Elias is a young man who was compelled by the cruelties of life to abandon his childhood and school to support his family when his father was diagnosed with a psychological disease.

The 11-year-old boy was forced to find a way to support his parents and sister; his mother used to be a seamstress, but she was sadly diagnosed with cancer, which stopped her from working, since her profession was tiring and she underwent a critical surgery.

Elias found that the best solution was to learn his uncle's profession; he stayed for 2 years in a village near Homs where his uncle lived and worked with him in his car repairing workshop.

Being the only son, he returned to the city of Homs to take care of his family, which counts on him; Elias had one goal that he focused on throughout the years, which was ensuring his family a decent income. 

He moved between many workshops and traveled to Lebanon to acquire the needed skills, which helped him a lot, but again, he couldn’t leave his family for a long time.

The difficult financial situation was the obstacle that stopped him from launching his own project; he worked for a workshop in Fairouza village, and his sister Mary left her university to work and support him. The Micro Projects Program was a great chance to take his first step, which will allow him to support his family. 

Elias's heart was full of hope that this project would be the light in his family's life and the way to improve their living conditions.

Antoinette played the roles of both a father and a mother for her children and carried the entire burdens by herself.

Her husband died after 11 years of suffering from cancer and kidney failure; she is the mother of two children, a boy named Rami, who is 14 years old, and a girl named Naya, who is 15.

She worked as a cleaner on a farm in order to provide for her children's needs and secure a place for them to live when they were forced to leave their home in Wadi Al-Sayed neighborhood due to the war in 2012, and everything she did was in an effort to ensure that her little family lived a decent life. Antoinette took care of the farm for eight years until its owner sold it, posing a new challenge for the mother and her two children.

However, being a strong woman, she didn't give up and moved with Naya and Rami to a rented apartment in Fairouza village, where she worked in the preparation and sale of homemade meals, and later, with the aid of her brother, she was able to rent a small shop and open a modest mini-market, providing for her and her family with a source of livelihood.

Inflation had a bad influence on Antoinette's mini-market, and sadly, her brother, who used to assist her, is now battling cancer.

The Micro Projects Program gave this hard-working woman new hope for the future by giving her the necessary support to revive her project.

Ghada is a strong lady who bravely faced the hardships of life on her own after losing her husband, who was her only family. She overcame throat cancer and went through a long treatment journey.

She has worked as a seamstress for more than 40 years, and thankfully, when her health began to gradually improve, she was able to resume her work. Also, for 29 years prior to her retirement in 2011, Ghada worked as a school bus assistant.

However, she wasn’t spared the calamities of the devastating war, and her house was destroyed in Bab Al-Sebaa neighborhood. Today, she lives in a small rented apartment and relies on her simple pension, in addition to sewing for a living, but the bad situation of electricity decreased her productivity and sometimes, she had to borrow her relative's manual machine to finish on time.

Helping her to solve this problem by providing the suitable batteries guaranteed the continuity of her main source of livelihood and ensured this woman, who has always depended on herself, a life of dignity.

Simon's story with this profession began back in 2000, when he learned all about sewing from his wife Amal, converted a room of their house into a workshop, and worked for more than 20 years.

The couple were specialists in producing women's pants, and their small business was flourishing, which allowed them to ensure a decent living for their family, which consists of two children and Simon's mother, who lives with them.

The simple workshop was impacted by the war, particularly the economic crisis and the severe lack of electricity, which hampered productivity for the past three years.

Simon and Amal were left with no choice but to switch to a different energy source in order to save their project, and for the family providers, who barely had enough money to cover the necessities, that was almost impossible. 

With this initiative, Simon managed to buy sewing machines powered by batteries, which will guarantee sustainable work and a better income for the family.

Since he was young, Nader tried all the fields of construction work but the main profession that he loved and mastered was renovating old houses, in addition to his special skills in decorating and stone carving. 

In 2011, he had to leave his house in Homs due to the vicious war and moved to "Mashta Al Hilu" town where he continued working with other craftsmen despite all the difficulties, 2014 was the year when he managed to return home; unfortunately, his house was damaged and he didn’t find most of his equipment, which forced him to work for others. 

Nader lost his chance of working independently after losing his equipment and being the sole provider for his wife and their two lovely daughters, he was in real need to improve his work conditions and income, especially since he has all the required experience to achieve complicated work. 

With more than 20 years of hard work, Nader deserves all the support to go forward and develop his work.

When things got tougher, Mounzer, who is the only provider for his wife and their three children, had to find additional sources of income to guarantee that all of their needs would be met and that his kids would have a proper education.

The hardworking man works as a government employee besides working in the field of floor grinding and polishing, which has been his main occupation since 1991. 

Before the disastrous war began and had a negative impact on everything, Mounzer's work was thriving and everything was going well. He lost all of his equipment in 2013, and in order to support his family, he worked as a wall painter until he was able to save up enough money to purchase a new grinding and polishing machine, which allowed him to restart his business. 

Yet, the majority of the craftsmen who largely rely on the availability of electricity have found it to be a tremendous challenge. 

Equipping Mounzer with an electric generator will improve his income and alleviate the financial burdens of renting one, resulting in a better  livelihood conditions for him and his lovely family.

Sami has been working in the construction field for 25 years and this is his source to provide for his wife and their three children. His older son Jalal went for his mandatory military service, his daughter Jackie repairs dresses to cover her own expenses, while Elie, the youngest is a school student in the 7th grade.

During the chaotic situation of the war, Sami lost his equipment that was stolen twice and suffered a lot to compensate for a part of his loss. As the provider for a family of five, he thought of increasing his income, which became hardly enough for the essential needs and since his main work is building concrete blocks, he wanted to add the service of lifting blocks at the construction site, but securing the requirements for this process, especially the mini-winch was difficult due to the severe inflation, and in order to buy the equipment, Sami would have to borrow money and fall into debts.

The Micro Projects Program was his last hope to develop his work and ensure a decent living. Today, Sami's work opportunities will be doubled after having the needed equipment, and he will be able to guarantee a dignified life for his family. 

John had always been the man of the house. With a great reputation and skills, He had built a successful aluminum workshop with all the equipment needed, but tragedy struck in 2011 when he lost everything, leaving him with huge losses, he could never recover any time soon. 

Devastated and unsure of what to do, he decided to travel to Lebanon in hopes to provide a better life for his family. Unfortunately, financial issues prevented him from making a living and he ultimately had to return to his home country with nothing left to start over with.

When he arrived back in Syria, he had no place to go. He had sold all his furniture to pay for his travel expenses and was forced to live with his wife and two kids in a small, poor room since 2012. Determined to provide for his family, he learned how to build graves to make a living and worked with his career as much as he could. However, he didn't have any tools or a proper place to work, making it challenging to progress further.

Despite the harsh living conditions, John's children remained resilient and focused on their studies. They were emotionally and socially damaged by the environment they had to grow up in but refused to let it hold them back from accomplishing their goals.

Just when John thought he could never overcome his unfortunate circumstances, he received a life-changing opportunity. He was funded by the micro-project in Damascus with all the tools he needed to start a new workshop. Finally, he had a chance to reclaim his life and provide a better life for his family.

John, his wife, and his children all worked together to survive. With determination and hard work, they were able to pass the years living in very bad conditions. While they may have faced unimaginable hardships, they refused to let their situation define them and instead focused on building a better future for themselves as a family.

Diab had always been a hard-working man. He supports his parents not just his small family. It is his duty to take care of them after all they had done for him growing up. He is a loving husband and father of two children, but life had not been kind to him; he lost his parents’ house in Maaloula by a mortar shell, leaving them with nothing but clothes on their backs.

Diab had heart issues and asthma, which made it difficult for him to work in stressful situations. But he had no choice, he had to support his family. Before the war, he used to work as a sales representative, traveling between cities. But he had to quit his job with the danger on the roads.

He then started working as a private driver for a businessman. It was not the safest job, but it paid well. However, when the war intensified, the businessman stopped traveling, leaving Diab without a job once again.

He had no prospects and started working as a rented taxi driver. It wasn't ideal as he had to pay most of his profits to the taxi owner, but it was the only job that suit his driving experience and health situation. He would often work long hours just to bring home food.

With the support of the Micro-project in Damascus. He was funded with a taxi that changed his life forever. He was able to provide a better life for his family and parents. He could finally breathe easy knowing that he could support those he loved.

Diab's story is a tale of resilience and determination. Despite the circumstances, he never gave up. He worked hard and took every opportunity. He is a true hero, providing for his family even in the hardest of times.

Nabil was a man who had experienced both hard work and tough times. He lived in a small three-room house with his wife and children, but they could only afford to use two of the rooms. The third room had been rented out to help make ends meet.

Nabil's son knew the necessity of contributing to the household income, so he dropped school to work and help his family. He also had two daughters in college. One of his daughters used to tutor to make extra money to ease the financial burden on the family. However, she had to stop due to surgery in her ear, and the family couldn't afford to provide the additional medical assistance required.

Nabil's wife worked as a government employee, which helped ease some financial pressure, but it was still not enough. Nabil had been an employee for over 15 years, but after he retired, he couldn't work due to his poor health. He had high blood pressure, heart, kidney, and nerve issues, poor vision, and diabetes, which limited his employment options, and cost him a lot of money for daily treatment.

Determined to support the family, micro-project Damascus funded him with a mini-market, which he will operate from the rented room in their house. Although his health is declining, Nabil's son has some experience working in retail, and he will help his father. Together, they will set up the mini-market, to become a source of income for the family.

Despite their hardships, Nabil and his family believed in the power of family and resilience. They pulled together to overcome the obstacles they faced each day and celebrated every hard-earned success that came their way.

Nasim was a professional house painter for 10 years before everything started going downhill, which forced him to change careers. He started working with motorcycles alongside his father in his hometown.

Regrettably, financial issues led to the retrograde of the family business and relationship, which forced Nasim to leave his job and his hometown and move to Damascus with his wife and kids to start a new life. He rented a small room until he could find an affordable place for his family to stay. But as soon as he arrived the rents started getting way higher, and he ended up moving to his in-laws’ small house to keep a roof on his family's head.

With no tools or good opportunities to support his family, Nasim took up a job in a supermarket. It was not enough, but it was the only option available to him at the time. In the afternoon he fixes motorcycles as a side job to make more money.

Nasim's luck took a turn for the better when he heard about the Micro-project program in Damascus. If he could obtain the tools he needed, he would start his own business and provide the life he yearned for his family.

He applied for the program and was accepted. He was overjoyed when he received his tools and started working tirelessly on plans to start his own business. Owning the tools gave Nasim the break he needed. With sheer grit and determination, he started his own motorcycle repair shop. 

Nasim's journey was not easy, but he persevered with his dreams and family in mind. He is a testament that with tenacity and a little help, anyone can turn their life around.

Samir was a man who had seen too much of the world's cruelty. He lived with his father and sister in his grandparents' house, which was a safe haven for his family. However, life was not easy for them; his father suffered from heart disease, and his sister had stomach cancer, which needed regular treatment.

Samir used to work as a tourist guide, which helped him earn enough to support his family's needs. He was fluent in four languages and volunteered as a special needs guide. However, his life changed when he had to serve in the army for nine years. During his service, Samir was surrounded by danger in one of the most critical areas. His family's lives were at risk, and he had to move them to a safer location.

The trauma left Samir with communication problems, which affected his ability to work. When he finished his service, he found himself jobless. He worked in a small restaurant owned by his friend to make ends meet. With time, he learned the skills necessary to run and manage a restaurant in a different area.

Samir's hard work paid off, and he was funded by the micro-project in Damascus with all the equipment and tools he needed to open his own small restaurant. He is determined to provide for his family and make a better future for them

Despite Samir’s hardships, he never lost sight of his goals. His determination paid off, and he is managing to make a better life for his family. Samir's story is a testament for the power of hard work and perseverance.

Maher Morany has always been trying to work hard and provide his family with a decent living but life was never easy for him and he went through many hard days that exhausted him and led to his deteriorating financial situation.

Maher is 43 years old, married to Mary Bahho and they have two kids, Rojeh and Ghazal.

After their son’s birth in 2007, Maher and his wife decided to start their own sewing workshop at their modest house in Kashkoul, where they could work and support each other to secure their obligations and expenses. They were able to manage their work and started to have many customers in the area but unfortunately, after the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011, Maher was called for reserve military service which affected their job greatly because his wife couldn’t handle all the house and work responsibilities alone.

During that period, his son Rojeh was diagnosed of having growth hormone deficiency due to hypothyroidism and needs needles and vitamins daily which overloaded Maher with extra expenditures and loans because he wasn’t able to secure the treatment for his son and he had to ask the church’s support.

However, in 2019, Maher was discharged from the military service and he wanted to get his work back but the sewing machines were broken in addition to the terrible electricity situation in the area. 

he needed a lot of funding to restore his job which he couldn't secure so he started working at a laundry shop in the morning and at the sewing workshop in the evening trying his best to afford the daily living demands.

Through the Micro project program, Maher was supported with new sewing machines, an electricity generator, and all the tools and equipment that will enable him to have the sewing workshop and with the help of his wife to have a sustainable source of income and improve their living conditions

Dany Qarrout, 34, graduated from the Electrical Engineering Institute in 2009 and started working in the field of camera installation and maintenance but unfortunately, he lost his job after the war outbreak because he was called for military service in 2012.

Dany spent 9 sever years at the service, during which he survived constant dangers, and ended with a serious injury in the back after an armed attack, he was discharged in 2021 to find himself starting from scratch and responsible for his old parents’ expenses at the village.

He started working as a maintenance engineer at a printing machines factory and after a short period, he was able to handle all the maintenance work for the factory and other factories. He realized that he could have his own industry line with the help of his employers because he was the only one in the area who had such an experience but this project needed a lot of money to be established and he wasn’t able to afford such amount especially since he got married a few months ago and became responsible for his family and his parents at the same time.

With the help of Hope center, Dany was able to start his own production line workshop and he chose to open his project in the industrial area of Erbeen to be close to the factories so he could have customers and improve his work in a short period.

Milad Dawood is a 36-year-old man, married to Laura Toma, and has a son named Eliea, born in 2011, the family lives in a small two-rooms flat in Kashkoul, Damascus countryside.

He was born into a modest family and since he became an adult he had to work and support his parents with the living expenses. The hardworking man was able to handle the house obligations and save some money to get married and start his own project in selling eggs in 2010.

However, a year after he was exposed to fraud by his worker who stole all the products from the shop which made Milad lose all that he worked for in the previous years. Yet, he didn't hesitate to overcome this incident and returned to work as a pickup driver, delivering products to the shops until the beginning of the war when he was called for military service in 2012.

his service was in the most dangerous places and soon after he was exposed to shooting; the bullet penetrated his body from his stomach to his back. his condition was critical and he had to go under treatment but he was kept in service until his discharge in 2022.

Milad returned to his family in a difficult psychological situation and started to do freelance jobs to secure the livelihood demands but his financial conditions were very bad which forced his wife to take their son and live with her parents until he could manage the living expenses again which was a devastating point in Milad's life because all he was dreaming about in his ten-year service was to go back to his family and make up for his absence years from his son's life.

Milad visited the micro-project office in Damascus and applied for the pickup car looking for any ray of hope to achieve his dream of having his life back.

Indeed, he deserved this chance because he was a self-made man seeking for a chance to work, restore his dignity, and reunite his family.

Anton tried to overcome all obstacles to provide his wife and kids with his care and love and worked hard to secure them a decent living. 

the 43-years-old man is married to Diana Shamoun and they have two kids Elias born in 2005, and Polin born in 2009, the family live in a rented small flat in Jaramana, Damascus suburbs, under very bad circumstances.

Many years ago, Anton started to work as a valet parking at a hotel until the start of the crisis as he had to move to a safer area but with a lower salary because of the security conditions.

In 2013, his wife Diana was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo surgery and long treatment sessions which affected their psychological and financial conditions especially since Anton had to work for more than twelve hours daily far from his house and family. However, Anton was still unable to match his income with the increasing costs of living so he decided to quit his job and with the money he saved, he started his own Mini-market in Jaramana trying his best to secure a better living for his family.

Anton's shop was poor in materials and equipment because he started it with a little amount of money which made its income lower than other shops.

Supporting Anton with the necessary equipment and proper amount of goods and products was a strong push for his project hoping to enable him of having a better and sustainable income to improve his living conditions.

George Shamma is 30 years old, living with his mother in a modest rented flat in Al-Dwalaa area but before the war, he used to live with his parents and seven siblings in Daria town in the countryside of Damascus in peace and security. 

When he was seventeen, he started working with his father at his carpentry workshop in order to support him and learn the profession. George was full of hope and energy, trying to establish a career for his future but unfortunately, with the war outbreak in 2011, he was called for military service, and for the next nine years he had to serve in the most intense conflict areas, Daraa and Alqaboun.

During that period, George has been through many difficult incidents that affected his life, but the most painful one was in 2012 when the family was gathering to celebrate his brother’s wedding in Daria, his father was exposed to sniping that led to his immediate death and the wedding turned into a Funeral.

This devastating incident affected the whole family especially since soon after, the armed groups entered the area forcing George and his family to be displaced from their house and they were informed later that their house and his father’s workshop were completely destroyed.

Those terrible losses led to spreading the family members on many parts of the country and George ended up alone with his old mother putting him under great responsibility since he became the breadwinner of the house.

However, after his discharge in 2019, George started to work as a taxi driver because he couldn’t learn any profession during the years of service but the taxi rent was very expensive and his income was barely matching the high costs of living.

With the help of Hope center, George was able to purchase his own taxi which will enable him to be independent and have a sustainable source of income to secure his future.

life is based on the fight for survival, especially in a country that witnessed ten years of a brutal war that drained every opportunity of decent living. Fadi Albadeen is one of those fighters who went through many hardships in his life and kept his strong faith.

He is 29 years old and lives with his parents and his brother’s family in Kashkoul area in Damascus.

In 2008, Fadi started working at a hairdressing salon at a very young age in order to support himself and help his parents with the living expenses as they were living in poor financial conditions. He learned about this career and became good at it and was dreaming to establish his own salon, but in 2013 after about two years of the war outbreak, he was called to serve in the military service which made him lose his job.

Fadi stayed in the service for nine years, during which his family went through many incidents as his father had a car accident that caused him three fractions and made him disabled from doing any job and his brother was shot in his hand which caused the amputation of his fingers, and Fadi himself was hurt greatly due to his severe service which made him undergo critical back surgery.

Fadi was discharged from military service in 2022 and he didn’t hesitate to start working at a hairdressing salon to handle the living expenses but the salary was very low and didn’t match the increasing costs of living especially since he was responsible for his family and his brother’s family because his brother is at the military service in Edleb city.

Fadi found his way to the micro-project office in Damascus where he applied for a hairdressing salon and was funded with all the equipment and tools needed to start his project hoping that he will be independent and have a proper income to secure a decent living for him and his family.