The biggest loss isn’t death, but rather what dies within us while we are still alive… Those were Maghout’s words to express pain greater than death itself. Maybe Mr. A was one of the people who related to these words, as he said that the pain of losing his job and house was much greater than death. He said that in that time, many things died in him: his impulsiveness, constant optimism and smile. He was more saddened to lose his job than his house.

Mr. A fled with his family of five from his hometown, Karam al-Jabal neighborhood, along with his two brothers and their families. Unfortunately, his brothers didn’t make it out alive. He was left with nothing. According to him, he left his home with his family with only what they were wearing. Other than taking away his brothers, house and job, the crisis deprived him of his son and caused him a leg injury that left him crippled.

Mr. A had to endure living outside his neighborhood for five long years. Once he got back to his neighborhood, home and work, he found nothing… His home was without furniture, and his butcher shop was stripped away from all its equipment. Mr. A said:” Believe me, I couldn’t even find ONE knife!!! There was absolutely nothing left!”

But all the darkness came to an end, when Mr. A was nominated for a small grant and then got it after attending the training course. The small grant which was offered by the Syrian Society for Social Development at Shams Community Center was a way for him to pull himself back up and return to work, whereby Mr. A was provided with the necessary equipment to start all over again (meat refrigerator, grinder, electronic scale, and aluminum table).

Mr. A began working three days after receiving the equipment. During his visit, he expressed his deep satisfaction and optimism about everything. This was clearly reflected by him saying: "Before I opened the shop, I was sleep-deprived and always worried. You know, now I can actually sleep again!"

Full of life, he started working again from morning till evening. His wounds from all the crisis’ loss and pain started healing.

Before he went back to work, all he did was sit in his empty shop, drink tea, and wait, not knowing what he was waiting for… perhaps he was waiting for Godot…

“I was waiting for a radish”, expressed Mr. A.

His income increased to thirty thousand SYP in the first month of work. This helped him secure the needs for his and his brothers’ families. Thus, hope knocked on his doors again. He did not fear what the future hides anymore, and expected an even higher increase in income from his work that will improve their life even more.

Apart from improving his situation, he served his neighborhood as well.

The life Mr. A once knew and lost seven years ago came back to him. He is back to being a butcher, and feels good about himself since he went from being a burden to an active member.

And so, hope returned to Mr. A’s life.

Mr. A is a 30-year-old married man with three kids, an elderly ill mother and a crippled brother. He was displaced from his home in Tariq al-Bab and lost his furniture workshop, which was his and his family’s main resource.  

Nevertheless, Mr. A didn’t give up, and tried working in several jobs that weren’t related to his main specialty. He was paid poorly, and could barely provide for his family.

Where he lived, Mr. A had a small coffee machine that he worked on in the bitter streets of Sha’ar, under the pouring rain and severe cold. He would rouse at 5 a.m. and work till the evening in a job he didn’t even like, and could barely afford something to eat. “I used to work in the streets till the evening; the hardest thing is to work in the streets”, he said.

Mr. A was spotted by the outreach volunteers in Sha’ar, and was nominated by SSSD for a training course on project management and writing a simplified economic feasibility within the Small Business Grants Programme. Afterwards, Mr. A was able to obtain the grant, and was provided with the necessary equipment to re-launch his previous work in furniture drilling.

Thus, he started to regain his work gradually and increase his income, which helped him pay all his debts, care for his family and secure their needs. Also, his smile came back to him, and he started taking care of himself and his appearance. Mr. A’s benefit didn’t stop at the SBG programme, whereby he enrolled his children at Shams Community Center to benefit from the programme, and his three children were followed up in the Mentoring Programme.

Not only did Mr. A benefit on the personal level, but he also became an active community member, as he participated in restoring damaged houses from the crisis in Sha’ar neighborhood and its surroundings.

The real change starts with individuals, and extends to whole communities. Mr. A’s story is a tangible example of the latter. Since new opportunities came knocking at Mr A’s doors, his smile didn’t leave his face anymore. His psychological sate improved, and was finally able to take care of himself and his family.