Fatima, a 42-year-old resident of the Sett Zeinab district, was displaced with her family, who are currently settled in Rural Damascus, Jaramana. She has six children and her husband has been suffering over the past five years from repeated brain strokes. This forced her to work twice as much as her husband could not work to earn a living. She was concerned that her children get a decent education and tried her best to secure their basic needs “in an average material situation,” in her own words.
Fatima was introduced to the Butterfly Effect Community Center, Jaramana, through other fellow beneficiaries. There she learned about vocational training in sewing, so she quickly joined in and learned to improve her conditions, both personally and materially.
Both the trainer and Fatima explained that she knew almost nothing about sewing and had found it very difficult at first in terms of learning and application. The trainer, however, began to explain things to her in detail, helping her apply ideas to the cloth in design, cutting and stitching.
Fatima committed to training hours and collaborated diligently with her female colleagues and fellow beneficiaries.
After two months of training, Fatima was able to master design, cutting and stitching and to overcome the difficulties she had faced.
At the end of the course, Fatima expressed her great delight as she was now able to continue working in sewing, thus contributing to her home’s income and helping out her sick husband with the costs of his treatment. She said she would encourage all her friends who suffer from similar living conditions to follow SSSD vocational training courses.