Lama’s life was forever changed by the war; she was held captive for four harrowing months by the armed groups while trying to flee their home village Al- Qaryatayn, she and her family endured unimaginable suffering. 

When they finally escaped, they arrived in Homs city with nothing but their clothes. Determined to move on, they rented a house in Al-Arman neighborhood and started over from scratch. 

When Nizar’s income couldn’t meet their growing needs, the selfless mother, undeterred, turned to her culinary skills, making delicious homemade sweets and pastries back in 2018. 

But without proper equipment, her small business struggled, especially that the demand was increasing. Her resilience led her to the Micro Projects Program, where she received vital support. With newfound resources, she transformed her micro project into a lifeline for her family, proving that even amidst adversity, hope can flourish. 

As a devoted school teacher from Qattinah village, Wafaa has always believed in the power of education to transform lives. But beyond the classroom, she faced financial challenges; with limited resources and a retired husband, making ends meet was a constant struggle.

In 2013, Wafaa’s life took an unexpected turn. Her mother introduced her to the world of oyster mushroom cultivation. It was a small-scale project, but it thrived. Unfortunately, her mother’s health declined, and she had to step back from the venture. Wafaa saw an opportunity, a chance to create something special for her family.

She decided to start her own micro project, growing oyster mushrooms on her rooftop, she applied to the Micro Projects Program without hesitation. The program recognized the uniqueness of her endeavor, the way it will bring sustenance and stability to her household. With the support, her project blossomed into a main source of income.

The project became her passion, a way to supplement their income and her determination paid off. Her mushrooms flourished, filling their roof with earthy aromas and hope for better days to come.

Hala, married to Maher, a school principal in Homs, has always been determined to secure a stable future for their three children, especially Milad, who is blind and a student of English literature. Living in a rented house, Maher's modest salary is insufficient, particularly with John and Joelle in university. The family's main source of extra income, their apple land in Al-Marana village, was tragically destroyed by fire.

Hala knew they needed a reliable and sustainable solution to support the family and ensure Milad's future; she envisioned a project that met a constant demand, ice production. Recognizing the potential, she applied to the Micro Projects Program. With the support, she acquired an ice making machine, water filter, ice containers, an electric generator, and other essential tools.

Now, the family operates their ice-making business from home, leveraging their local connections. This project not only provides immediate financial relief but also promises long-term stability. It's a beacon of hope for Milad, guaranteeing him a secure living despite his special need. Hala's micro project has transformed their lives, proving that with determination and innovative thinking, they can overcome any obstacle. 

Firyal lives in Qattinah village with her husband Maher and their two sons, both university students. Before the war, their family owned a successful chicken farm, providing a stable income. However, in 2012, their farm was completely destroyed, leaving them with nothing.

In 2021, Firyal and Maher decided to find a new, sustainable source of income. They rented a small shop and purchased an ice-making machine hoping to enhance their livelihood. Despite their efforts, the machine's limited capabilities have hindered their production, especially with the high demand for ice in their village.

This small shop is their only source of income, crucial for supporting their sons' education and meeting daily needs. To improve their family's lifeline, Firyal applied to the Micro Projects Program for support to replace their old machine with a more efficient one. A new machine would enable them to increase production, meet demand, and secure a more stable income.

Her determination to provide for her family drives her every day. With the support from the Micro Projects Program, she hopes to turn their small shop into a thriving business, ensuring a stable living for her family. 

Once thriving in a small village, Lody's family faced adversity when their modest grocery shop became unsustainable due to rising prices and harsh living conditions. Forced to close their business, they relocated to her mother's house in Fairouza village, where they rented a small vegetable shop. But this venture alone couldn’t meet their needs.

Her husband, weakened after a kidney surgery, couldn’t work. Their son and daughter, both students, depended on their parents’ resilience. The shop was their lifeline, a beacon of hope. She dreamed of transforming it into a mini-market, a place where they could provide for their family and regain their dignity.

With faith, Lody and her family took the first step by opening the shop and sought support to turn their humble shop into a thriving mini-market. Currently, the shelves are filled with a variety of goods and food commodities. The shop has been upgraded with a refrigerator and battery, essential for storing dairy products. This mini-market provides the family now with a lifeline and a hopeful outlook for a brighter future.

Hanna Hallaq is an active and hardworking 28-year-old young man who used to live with his family in Yabroud town, Damascus countryside.

Hanna graduated from the Mechanics and Electricity Institute and began working directly in the field of maintenance. after a while, he was employed by a telecommunications company as a specialist in the maintenance of coverage towers, but the low salary prevented him from continuing because Hanna was responsible for the house expenses and for his parents and sisters, so he decided to move to Damascus and start working in several workshops trying as much as possible to secure a better income to meet his family’s needs and to save some money in order to start his own project and improve his condition.

Unfortunately, this wish was unattainable under the the difficult economic conditions that the country was going through, but Hanna did not let despair creep into his heart. When he learned about the Micro Project Center, he applied for support, full of faith, and hope.

indeed, his request was approved and he was supported to purchase the maintenance machines and tools so that he could start his own maintenance center for washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners, which will enable him to obtain a better income to improve his living conditions and secure a promising future for him and his family.

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.

Ranin is a 26-year-old woman, married to Murad Kasuha and they have wonderful kids Pamella and Faydh. Ranin and her family live in a modest small flat in Jaramana and her husband works in a nuts shop for most of the day trying his best to secure a decent living for his family which was quite difficult during the past years due to the economic deterioration and the increasing costs of living.

Out of her loyalty to her family, Ranin couldn’t just sit and watch her husband struggle to afford the daily food so she learned the profession of nail care and started to work at a beauty Salon for two years; it was difficult for her to leave her kids alone long hours a day for low salary so she quit and started to work from her house trying her best to help her husband though the current circumstances.

Ranin gained a lot of experience and she wanted to have her own salon in order to have more customers and improve her income so she applied at the Hope Center to achieve this endeavor.

Today, Ranin is so grateful that she was supported with the necessary materials and tools to have her own nail care salon which will enable this strong lady to stand by her husband in the face of all difficulties and work together for the sake of their kids.

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.