While monitoring the local community at al-Zahira district, we met Mrs. Samar al-Sayeq, 53, displaced from the Yarmouk Refugee Camp. Samar’s family consists of a husband who is ill (lumbar disc herniation) and unable to work, a sick son and his wife, and a repudiated daughter. All of them live together and have no source of income but selling bread in the street.
Samar used to sew, but having lost her sewing machine due to her displacement she became out of work. By following her up through several visits and building a solid relationship with her, it turned out that she needed a full sewing kit in order to get back to her work, which had been a precious source of livelihood for her and her family.
We told Samar that she could get the sewing kitbag after passing successfully an interview and test. Samar felt that this was a dream, not reality. After conducting the interview and the test, she was offered a professional kitbag, which included a sewing machine and all the accessory tools.
At first, Samer could not believe that the kitbag was really hers! Then, gradually, she realized, to quote her, that “dreams sometimes come true.” There she was, with a dream come true!
Samar thanked SSSD and the team, and prayed for everyone’s success. Her life will get a restart. She will contact her former customers to take up practicing her profession again and save her family from want and need.

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!

Ms. Al al-Kh, aged 27, is married and the mother of two children, one of whom has speech disorders and learning difficulties. Her husband, the children's father, cannot work because he is listed as a conscript reservist. The family was displaced from East Ghouta and lives in a rented house with Al.KH's parents. Unfortunately for her, she is her family's sole breadwinner, as her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and her brother is still at school age.

Like innumerable Syrian families, Al.KH's fled to an unknown future in which they lacked shelter and everything. This led to poverty and the inability to provide for most basic needs, not to mention the psychological pressures associated with that. What made things worse for Al.KH was the deteriorating health of both her daughter and father. She tried more than once to improve her family's living conditions, but greed and exploitation of employers were unbearable for her, which strained her determination and failed her modest dreams.

When she was monitored by a SSSD ORV, a first spark of hope was ignited. The turning point in her life and the life of her family was when the project she had long dreamed of was approved!

Thus Al.KH's journey in realizing her dream began. During her journey, SSSD supported her both financially and morally. To begin with, she was offered a course in Small-Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Soon after, her project, a women's accessories and handbags shop, was launched.

The project has changed the course of life of Al.KH and her family. Thanks to a fairly handsome steady income, they are now able to provide for living needs and afford medical treatment for the family's patients. This has given them a sense of stability, which certainly changed their lives for the better. In Al.KH's own words, "This project is a new beginning for me. From now on, I can support my family and live independently."

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. How truly this proverb applies to Ms. Al.KH's case, reflecting on the ground thanks to the efforts of the Syrian Society for Social Development.

Mr. Z.S is 35 and married. He is the sole breadwinner for a family consisting of his wife, two children and his parents. The family has been displaced and lives now at al-Zahera district in a rented house. On top of that, he suffers from Bell's palsy (facial nerve paralysis).

He was monitored at al-Zahera and offered to go to SSSD to see what help he could be provided with.

Having extensive experience in the business, Mr. Zaher's burning wish was to restore his and his family's work in sheep breeding. He was first assigned to a small-business management and entrepreneurship course, before appearing before a special committee in the presence of a representative of the UNHCR. He then obtained approval for his project: selling sheep and dairy sheep products, to be implemented in conjunction with the holy month of Ramadan.

Mr. Zaher proved a very active, unperturbed person, very enthusiastic and persistent in making his project a success. His first step was to transfer his residence to al-'Adawi area, where there are orchards and land suitable for raising the sheep that SSSD offered him. During the follow-up of Zaher at his home, his diligence and keen interest in the sheep's health and wellbeing were evident. He secured a suitable shed for the animals, brought them the veterinarian on a regular basis and benefited from his father's knowledgeable advice in sheep raising.

The visible impact of his work on the project's turn has been observed at all levels of his life: economic, social and domestic. He has become financially independent and able to meet his family's needs, and is growing more optimistic about life, hoping that the future would be a tiny bit more beautiful.

Today, thanks to Mr. Zaher's experience and diligence, he managed to secure a way for himself and his family towards dignified living after much suffering and patience in the face of poor conditions and hardships. Their story is for sure an example to follow ...