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.

Sabah, a 52-year-old woman from the village of Qattinah, faced numerous challenges. Married with two sons who are baccalaureate students, she lived with her in-laws. Before the war, she prepared and sold food preserves from home. However, a spinal disc issue forced her to stop working. Her husband, despite vision problems, repaired agricultural sprayers as the sole breadwinner, earning a modest income.

The war brought further hardship, they suffered theft and losses as the equipment her husband used for work stolen and money owed by clients never returned. Yet, Sabah's spirit remained unbroken. 

She had an empty shop and envisioned opening a housewares shop, a venture that would be manageable for her and her husband and could become a family project.

Hearing about the Micro Projects Program, which supports families in need, she applied and her application was approved. Today, the couple both work in the shop, and their lives have transformed. The family enjoys a steady income, and their living situation has significantly improved, launching a new chapter of hope and stability.

Lina and her husband Bassam live in their home village of Qattinah with their three children, all of whom are university students. Bassam's work in farming was their only source of income, but it was inadequate to meet the family's needs. Struggling to make ends meet, Lina knew she had to find a way to support their children’s education and well-being, despite having no work experience or resources to start a business.

Just when hope seemed lost, she learned about the Micro Projects Program. Determined to improve their situation, she reached out and the team helped her to study the feasibility of starting her own business. With their support and her skills in dairy preparation, Lina opened a dairy shop.

The new venture provided a stable income for the family, alleviating their financial struggles. Lina and Bassam now work tirelessly to maintain and grow their small business, ensuring a secure life for their children. 

Maysa, a resilient mother, became the sole provider for her twin sons, Iskandar and Aws (13 years old), after her husband's devastating death during the war. Her husband’s martyrdom left her shattered, and with her children very young at the time, she moved in with her parents for support. Despite the chaos, she remained determined to provide the best for her sons. 

When an opportunity for a better education arose in Homs, she relocated her family, settling in her in-laws' house. 

Originally from Al-Qusayer village, they had lost their home there, adding to the family's challenges. Maysa, a dedicated school teacher, became a trainee principal in 2019. However, despite her tireless efforts, her salary barely covered their daily expenses. 

As the economic situation worsened, she struggled to meet her children's needs. Recognizing her dire circumstances, a local priest encouraged her to apply for the Micro Projects Program. Seizing this lifeline, Maysa proposed a stationery store where she could also secure printing services. 

Today, Maysa’s project is a beacon of hope, ensuring her twins a better living, she has transformed their lives by securing stability and hope for beloved sons. 

Lamees, a resilient mother of four, found herself displaced with her family from Al-Qaryatayn to Fairouza village, leaving everything behind. Facing dire economic conditions, she decided to turn her passion for baking into a lifeline for her family. With her children's support, she established a small pastry shop in 2023 for making delightful pastries.

The family’s shop started modestly with just an oven, a dough mixer, and a borrowed freezer. Despite this humble beginning, the community’s love for Lamees' pastries fueled her determination. 

Lamees received crucial support in the form of an electric generator, a dough sheeter, gas cylinders for the oven, and a new freezer, among other essential tools. These additions transformed their simple setup into a well-equipped bakery, securing the family’s income and stability.

This pastry shop is more than a business; it’s a beacon of hope and resilience for Lamees and her family, showcasing the power of family unity in rebuilding their lives.

Thaer’s work life began in his village of Basir, where he worked the land and drove trucks for various employers, doing his best to provide for his family. This was not an easy task, as his life was marked by numerous challenges related to his children's health.  

His eldest son, Wajed, had to undergo surgery for varicose veins. The middle son, Zein, had a malignant tumor removed from his eye and requires annual check-ups. The youngest, Majed, has undergone multiple surgeries and needs ongoing special care.  

As a result, Thaer had to move with his family to Damascus to better address his children's health needs, especially Majed, whose condition required him to attend a special school.

Since moving to Damascus, Thaer has worked as a taxi driver, earning only a quarter of the daily profits while the rest went to the taxi owner. He also worked on a pick-up truck and took on electrical work, despite not being well-versed in the field, simply to make ends meet. His wife, Yara, also started working, and together they strive to provide for their children and cover the high medical expenses.

Thaer's financial and emotional burden was immense, and he often felt helpless. Determined to improve his situation, he applied for support from the Micro Projects Center, aiming to obtain his own taxi for a steady income and more stability.  

Fortunately, Thaer's request was approved, and he received support to purchase a taxi. This development has significantly improved his financial and mental state, giving him hope and a sense of relief. With this newfound stability, Thaer can now better support his family's needs and look forward to a more secure future.

Eleia Al-Khouri, 38, is married to Tareiz Zakhem, and they live with their newborn daughter, his mother, and sister in a small modest house in Jaramana. 

During wartime, Elias volunteered at the Social Defense from 2011 to 2016 in order to protect his neighborhood and worked as a driver for several employers in addition to working as a taxi driver from 2018 to 2021.

However, in 2012, his brother was serving military service in Homs when he was injured badly and suffered from paralysis in his leg as a result, making him unable to do any physical effort including work, due to this incident and after the decease of his father, Eleia became the primary provider for his mother, sister, and his family so he was doing his best to make ends meet. 

In 2021, he was employed at a detergent company as a driver alongside his war-injured brother, and both worked together in distributing products to markets but the meager salary they were taking affected their financial conditions so he started taking additional work, such as moving furniture, to provide for his family but the burden of debt and the reliance on assistance from relatives weigh heavily on him, making it difficult to secure even the basic necessities for his family. 

Despite the hardships, Eleia’s prayers were answered when the Hope Center provided him with the support needed to purchase a vehicle for distributing goods. This assistance marked a turning point in his life. For the first time, Eleia felt a sense of ownership and dignity. With renewed enthusiasm and commitment, he embarked on this new chapter, determined to improve his conditions and secure a better living for his family.

Raghad Makhoul's life had been a series of challenges, his father's absence loomed large over their modest household, while Raghad's mother, burdened by ailments, lived in the village and relied on medications to ease her pains.

Raghad has also gotten his share of war as during his military service that started in 2011, he found himself serving in the heart of chaos as Aleppo became under siege for many months. 

However, despite he survived that adversity, a fateful injury in 2014 caused his cornea irreparable damage and surgeons worked tirelessly to graft a new cornea onto his eye. It was a long and painful road to recovery, one that stretched until 2016, leaving Raghad physically and emotionally drained.

After his discharge, Raghad returned to Tartous and worked with his father in seaside restaurants but fate shocked him with another loss when his father succumbed to illness in 2022. With responsibilities weighing heavy on his shoulders, Raghad returned to Damascus, taking up any job available and trying his best to make ends meet.

Raghad found himself behind the wheel of a taxi, touring streets day and night to provide for himself and send whatever little he could spare to his mother and brother in the village, but he ended up working just to cover the high rent cost of the taxi.

With the help of Micro Project program, Raghad was supported to purchase a taxi and have stability in his income with all hope that this project will secure a decent living for himself and his family.

Amer's life took unexpected turns as he grew older and struggled to make ends meet for a family of nine; with seven children ranging from the oldest born in 2012 to the youngest born in 2021, the household expenses were solely dependent on Amer's income.

Before the war, Amer worked as a driver at a local factory, but as the conflict escalated and job opportunities dwindled, he was forced to explore alternative means of earning a livelihood. In 2012, he opened a grocery shop which became his source of income until 2021 when he was compelled to shut it down due to soaring rent prices, plunging the family into further financial distress.

Amer's wife, Georget, used to work as a cleaner at a Monastery but had to leave the job because of the responsibilities of caring for their growing family. 

Unfortunately, their situation became dire, with the family barely managing to afford one meal a day, supplemented by food donations from the local church three times a week.

Feeling the weight of his responsibilities as a husband and father, Amer sought a solution to lift his family out of poverty so he applied for the pick-up project at the Micro project center with the idea of transporting groceries and goods in addition to fulfilling delivery orders which was his only hope to provide a stable income for his family.

The approval of his project marked a turning point in Amer's life. For the first time, he felt a sense of independence and empowerment, knowing that he could now work to secure the needs of his family and was determined to improve his family's living conditions.

Rezq Allah Al-Hareth is part of a close-knit family, living in an old, modest house in Al-Dwalaa neighborhood. His family consists of his elderly mother and his sisters, Georgette and Maha. He also has a brother residing in their village and another working in Lebanon, while his father is deceased.

In 2009, Rezq Allah traveled to Lebanon to work in furniture making, splitting his time between Syria and Lebanon until 2011 when the economic situation in Lebanon forced him to return to Syria. Upon his return, the Syrian crisis began, and Rezq Allah's family suffered significant losses, including their house in the village, which was destroyed during the war forcing them all to relocate to Damascus.

In 2013, Rezq Allah began working at a second-hand furniture store, a job he held until 2016 when he was called to serve in the military. After his discharge in 2023, he had to start over from scratch, freelancing and taking any available job to support his family. The combined income of Rezq Allah and his siblings barely covered their daily expenses, making it difficult for him to achieve his dream of starting his own family.

Determined to secure a better future, Rezq Allah applied for support from the Micro Projects Center, hoping to get assistance for a taxi project. The support he received from the Hope Center provided him with the opportunity to purchase a taxi, promising a steadier and more substantial income. This new project has given Rezq Allah great hope for a stable future, allowing him to better provide for his family.