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.

Mr. A A is a 28-year-old man from Alton al-Jared village. He got married at the age of 26, and decided to move with his wife to Damascus. He rented a house in an old neighborhood and started working in a private company two shifts a day. During the first year of his marriage, he welcomed home his newborn baby girl. One day, when Mr. A A was on his way to work, a mortar fell near him and caused his right arm’s amputation, as well as burns and splinters all over his body. This led to his health’s deterioration, which resulted in losing his job and having no other choice but to go back to his village and live with his parents and brothers in a small house.

Mr. A A heard of SSSD from one of his relatives who benefited from the SBG programme at SSSD. Consequently, he decided to visit the center and register for a small project. After a while, an interview was conducted with the vocational training staff, and once it was ascertained that he was in need of a small project, he was introduced to a course in Project Management so that he could manage his own project__ sheep raising.

Ahmed pointed out that he chose this project because his family also raises sheep, so he can consult them and turn to them whenever he needed help, especially after his injuries. When following up on his project for 6 months, the extra attention and care for his sheep until they reached their production stage was clearly observed, where they were being taken care of 6 hours a day. Once the sheep entered the production stage, Mr. A A would sell the products in his village. He said he felt relieved and stable after he improved his situation. He also said that he would seek to expand his project from the profits made from selling sheep products.

Ahmed is currently building a small two-room house near his family's home for him and his wife to settle in.

Ms. R N is a 39-year-old widow and mother of three. Her husband passed away four and a half years ago due to the unfortunate crisis that hit our beloved country. She currently lives in Isqableh village in Rural Banias, and is the sole breadwinner for her children.

After Mrs. R N heard of the services provided by SSSD through one of her friends who underwent a handwork course at Baath Center in Jleity village, she came to Banyas Center and expressed her desire to register for a small project. Consequently, she was offered a 1-week course in Project Management. During the course, she was introduced to the criteria for successful projects, and the steps required that would enable her to succeed in the project she wanted to implement__ a linen shop in the village she lives in.

Once her project was approved and handed over, Mrs. R N felt like a woman in charge for the first time in her life. She did not hide her fear and said:” I hold the trust of three children, and carry SSSD’s gift, which is represented by their trust in me to help me bear my children’s daily costs and life burdens.”

Day after day, Mrs. R N led her shop just like a captain of a ship, selling and buying from the profits of the project new goods and introducing new types and materials that did not exist before, as was observed during the project’s follow-up.

She managed to make her own way into society to occupy a suitable place, and change the stereotype of the widowed woman to a creative woman. She also managed to cover the expenses of her children and enroll her young son in a private kindergarten.

Mr. M N is a 42-year-old married man and father of three. He and his wife are currently unemployed, and he became unable to support his family after he fled and lost his former job.

Mr. M N was displaced from al-Bayda village in rural Banias. He is now living in a rent in Jleiti village with his elderly mother, which led to the family’s poverty and inability to provide the most basic needs.

Mr. M N tried more than once to improve his family’s life, but the exploitation and greed of his employers, and the expensive living costs stood in the way of his modest dreams.

During the ORV tours and monitoring in Jleiti village, Mr. M N was identified. After explaining his situation, he was told about the Small Business Grants Programme, which was offered to the most vulnerable groups in society.  He couldn’t conceal his immense joy and was eager to get the approval as soon as possible. Several days later, he came to the SSSD office and met with the specialized personnel. Once his needs were assessed, he was assigned a six-day course in project management so that he could manage his own project.

The Syrian Society for Social Development supported him both financially and morally, and funded his project __breeding birds__ based on his desire, as he had a long history and expertise in this subject.

The project changed greatly the life of the beneficiary and his family. Through the project’s income, they were able to secure their living needs and live a decent life without having to beg for money.

Mr. M N has also devoted all his time to take care of his project because he saw it as his salvation from poverty and need.

This was confirmed by one of the facilitators when he said that the project was a new beginning for a better life.

Mr. M M is a 50-year-old married man and father of thirteen__ ten daughters and three sons. One of his daughters had an eye injury, which led to the loss of her cornea and cost her dad a great deal to get the proper treatment. His wife has diabetes. As for his sons, his eldest is married with four kids, and can’t work because he’s wanted for military service, his second son is a soldier, and his youngest is still in school. 

Because of the crisis, he was displaced from Idlib to Hassakeh and was left unemployed.

Once he was spotted by one of SSSD’s ORV team, hope started creeping in all over again. And so, Mr. M M’s journey towards fulfilling his dream began. During his journey, SSSD supported him, and offered him a course in Project Management so as to be able to manage his own project__ a shoe store.

His life changed from a miserable one to a one filled with joy and hope.  He was finally able to sleep comfortably, reassured that he could finally support his family.

But Mr. M M’s life didn’t stop there, as he expanded his business, established contacts with the market and opened a new branch. All this was thanks to the efforts made by SSSD.

Mr. F S is a single man born in 1972. He lives with his ill brother and his wife, and is the sole breadwinner because of his brother’s illness. Like thousands of Syrian families, he headed for a future without any money or medicine for his brother, the thing that led to poverty, inability to provide the most basic needs and psychological stress. What made things worse was his brother’s health deterioration. Consequently, Mr. F S tried to improve their situation by finding a suitable job, but all his efforts went in vein due to his employers’ greed and exploitation. This left him exhausted and feeling hopeless.

Once he was spotted by one of SSSD’s ORV team, hope started creeping in all over again. Mr. F S’s life-changing moment was when his project was approved.

And so, Mr. F S’s journey towards fulfilling his dream began. During his journey, SSSD supported him morally and financially, and offered him a course in Project Management so as to be able to manage his own project__ a photography shop.

This project positively changed the lives of Mr. F S and his brother through the income it has brought them, which helped them secure their basic needs, get medicine for the ill brother, and have a sense of stability.  

The latter was confirmed by the beneficiary, as he said that this project helped him support his family independently.

“Don’t give me fish, teach me how to fish instead” is the principle adopted by Mr. F S and embodied by SSSD.

Mrs. R S is a 33-year-old married woman with no children and an unemployed husband due to his poor health condition. She and her husband were displaced from Deir Alzor and are living at a rented house along with her parents, brother and his family.

Like all people living in Deir Alzor, she fled to Hassakeh, leaving behind all her life savings and heading towards a mysterious future that lacks shelter and food. This has affected their lives badly and led to their disregard, subjection to psychological pressure, and deterioration of their living and health conditions. Attempting to improve their situation, R.S tried to seek help from several NGOs but all her efforts went in vein. Filled with despair, she went to try her luck at SSSD after being turned down from all the other NGOs. It was there that one of the outreach volunteers welcomed her with a heart-warming smile and brought back the hope she had lost. Once her project was approved, Mrs. R S’s life course shifted from pessimism to optimism and satisfaction.

After Mrs. R S took the project management course offered by SSSD, she began her project, a confectionery, with the moral and financial support of the SSSD and started rebuilding her life all over again.

"This project changed my life and brought back my optimistic view of life. I was able to support my family and unemployed husband and provide for their needs”, expressed Mrs. R S.

 Mr. A S is a 41-year-old married man who resided in Tel Baral city. He is a father of five, three of whom are with specific needs, and one of whom is a student. He currently lives with his family at a rent in Hassakeh after his house was completely destroyed during the crisis.

Like many Syrian families, Mr. A S fled with his family from Tel Barak and was subjected to severe psychological pressure because of the difficulties of displacement, securing the needs of his family and having to work at a minimum wage that wasn’t even enough to secure food and clothing.

After being spotted by one of SSSD’s outreach volunteers, he was hopeful to improve his and his family’s psychological and financial situation, and to secure work in the profession that he mastered.

And so, Mr. A S’s dream came true when SSSD supported him and provided him with a tire repair kit. This project was life-changing, as the project’s income enabled him to support his family and improved their psychological state. Also, Mr. A S was able to provide help to his children with specific needs, get his daughter back to school, secure food and clothing for the whole family, and consider renting a more suitable house.

With Mr. A S’s will to support his family, and with SSSD’s genuine will to help and develop the society, the desired goal was achieved with this family.

Mr. M.B  , 35 years old, is married and the sole supporter of his family consisting of his wife, three children, as well as his brother's widowed wife and two nephews. He has been displaced and lives now at al-Zahera in a rented house.

M.B  not only lost his home, but also his self-confidence, autonomy and sense of security with regard to the future. He used to own a large workshop for shoe mold manufacture, before the prevailing conditions made him lose it and all that he possessed after the family was displaced. After being self-employed, master of his own destiny and a supporter of the local markets with his quality products, he was now forced to get a job in a small workshop.

At that critical juncture, M.B  was monitored at al-​​Zahera. We met a man torn between illness, hopelessness and a faint glimmer of hope. M.B  was suffering from a brain degenerative disease that gradually erodes brain cells, in conjunction with years of hardship that flattened his hopes too.

After being selected as a Microenterprise Entrepreneur Program beneficiary, M.B  was assigned to a small-business management and entrepreneurship course. He was obviously very interested and demonstrated a great deal of excellence during the training, which made him duly qualified to run a project. Thus, his small project was eventually approved, which restored his hope for autonomy in this life, already made difficult for him in most respects.

In order to start, he was fully supplied with the project's hardware, machinery and tools, so that M.B  was able, within two weeks only, to render quality products and supply the local market. Very soon after, he expanded the area of ​​his work and began to export his quality shoe molds to other provinces.

The dramatic improvement, however, was not only economic. His health condition improved too, as he was now able to commit to medication doses, which stabilized disease progression.

Thus, hope and taste for life were restored to M.B , who said proudly: "I am now able to take responsibility for my children. I will never fear again as long as goodness exists on earth!"

L.B, 45, is divorced and the mother of two children. Her ex evaded responsibility, forcing her to become the household sole breadwinner. She is a displaced woman living in a rented house. Ms. L.B  was patient and struggled despite her difficult circumstances. She is now a living example that when good management is coupled with hope there will be nothing impossible.

L.B  was identified at al-Zahira district by ORVs who introduced her to the possibilities SSSD provides. She decided, according to her desire and experience, to work in a small "nouveautés" shop at the Ruknel-Din district.

Thus she underwent the community support project management course and was presented to a specialized committee in the presence of a UNHCR representative. She succeeded and her project was retained: a shop for the sale of women's underwear and accessories. The project took effect immediately: a shop was rented and the merchandise purchased, so that she was ready to effectively begin with Eid al-Fitr (22/06/2017).

Lena proved to be a very active woman, enthusiastic and optimistic, firmly believing in a better future. She began to work in her small shop relentlessly, increasing her working hours till late at night.

She was followed up in the shop at regular intervals. What the observers took note of were her diligence, the speed of her coping with the situation and the way she received and dealt with new customers. But this was not all. Working in her project impacted on her life personally, both economically and socially, and even on her outer appearance, particularly in a lovely smile that never leaves her face. This is how she expressed the dramatic change in her life:

"Work helped me to get to know people from various walks of life, to engage in society, to take responsibility, to feel self-sufficient, able to meet the basic needs of my home, to help my children in their homework and, most importantly, to pay off my debts, which had become a real burden. Dealing with ladies is a beautiful thing. I even changed my look, the type of clothes I used to wear. Work put me in a new milieu that requires me to always look decently elegant. All this made me a person happy with her life, someone more able to cope with life's difficulties."

This small project served as a gate of hope, a bridge through which Ms. L.B  gained a significant measure of autonomy, sought a means to earn a decent living and reintegrate into society.

This is how life is in times of hardship: from the heart of difficulties one can create hope!