Mrs. F A is a 37-year-old mother of three (two boys and a girl), and married to a missing husband because of the crisis, Mr. M F. she currently resides in al-Zallou village with no one to support her, and decided to search for a job or someone to help her after she lost her husband.

When she heard of the Syrian Society for Social Development in Banias from one of SSSD’s outreach volunteers, Mrs. F A decided to register for a small business grant to support and improve her living conditions. After SSSD studies her situation, she was accepted and enrolled for a 6-day course in Small Business Management that would help her decide the most suitable project and manage it. She was thrilled to take the course, as this was the first course she has ever taken and learned so much from despite the short period.

After she was done with the course, she chose to open a shoe store as her project, where she prepared a room at her house. Her project was supported by SSSD in terms of providing her with materials (shelves, desks, chairs…) and a variety of shoes in various shapes and sizes as a starting point.

Opening a shoe store was a perfect idea as it was the only store in the village. Both the prices and turnout were acceptable, and villagers came from the first week to buy from her. In her third week, Mrs. F A quickly ran out of shoes and headed to Messiaf to buy new ones from the project’s income. When in Messiaf, she met a merchant through one of her acquaintances who helped her greatly.

And so, Mrs. F A set off her career. She explained joyfully how SSSD opened up new horizons for her that allowed her to become a distinguished woman in the village with a job to support her children.