Majd B., a young man in his twenties, lives with his family in a popular neighborhood of the city of Banias. Unemployed, he had no source of income either to support himself or help his father provide for the large family.
Majd’s parents would have never expected that their careless son would become a successful, reliable man, running responsibly a small business of his own.
Majd heard that the Syrian Society for Social Development held vocational training courses at the Beit al-Yasmin Community Center. Since mobiles were his favorite hobby and he had already a considerable basic knowhow in mobile maintenance, he soon registered in the mobile maintenance course and was quite willing to learn more.
After a 3 three-month training and follow-up, the young man gained the necessary experience that qualified him for his mobile maintenance own business.
Soon after the course was over, Majd bought a mobile maintenance toolkit and opened his own shop in one of the city’s neighborhoods.
Thanks to the help of SSSD who secured the training that qualified him to open his own shop, Majd is now running a successful, income-generating business that enables him to cover his own expenses and help his family.

Displaced from Raqqa, Salman’s family who currently live in a rustic rural room in the foothills of a mountain village of rural Banias, managed finally to secure fresh drinking water after receiving in-kind assistance from SSSD-Tartous, namely, a water tank with its necessary accessories.
Salman, who is the sole breadwinner of an eight-member family (including a war-disabled daughter who lost her foot due to the explosion of an AXO), asserts that the water storage tank secures his family safe, potable water for cooking and drinking, whereas they previously relied on a barrel which was only suitable for specific uses.
It is noteworthy that the SSSD team monitored the situation of the family, who suffer from severe shortage of living basic necessities, as they fled home in a panic and were therefore unable to bring along any supplies. Salman’s family wishes to be targeted with other in-kind assistance because of their dire need and extreme economic destitution.

Believing in the necessity to promote vulnerable groups in community and help them keep pace with others in securing livelihoods and decent living, SSSD, with support from UNHCR, provided a small cattle farming grant (a cow) to Ms. M.H., who lives in al-3leiqa village with her four children and old sick father-in-law in the same house. The woman is the family’s sole provider, with no husband or regular income to support them.
Her new small business turned her into an effective person, capable henceforth of securing her needs and those of her children in food, drink, school uniforms, etc., thus dispensing with people’s pity and charitable donations

Mohammad Salem ‘Aboud, ‘Ali al-Maz‘al and Shaden Hawash al-Maz‘al, children barely 10, were displaced from Deir az-Zaur, their place of origin. Leaving behind all their possessions, they had fled the war, only to settle in the coastal city of Banias, where their families rented houses that sheltered them under tough economic conditions. As a result of these tribulations, the children were not able to register at school and were, therefore, deprived of their right to education.
Luckily, they heard from their mothers—who attend the Hear-My-Heart Programme sessions at the Beit al-Yasmin Community Center—about SSSD and the educational activities held thereat. Those activities are conducted in the framework of the Informal Education (IFE) Programme, involving children who dropped out of school through educational sessions using simple, interesting recreational methods. Information is thus conveyed in an otherwise participatory and communicative way than the conventional, lecture-based learning method. Hence, the mothers promptly registered their children in the IFE, plainly satisfied with a programme that would teach and help their children.
For two months, the children became regular visitors of the Beit al-Yasmin CC and were very happy with the information they learned. There was however a disadvantage: the CC was too far away from home at the town centre. So, to spare them the mobility discomfort, they were moved to the Ward Jouri SSSD satellite center which was opened at downtown Banias, where they resumed attending the sessions. Three months had passed: two at Beit al-Yasmin and a third at Ward Jouri, but the outcome was truly rewarding: they had learned the basics of reading and writing and arithmetic and were thus ready to return to school.
Nevertheless, the SSSD team kept working with the children, helping their parents register them in the public school, and accompanied them to the Educational Complex in Banias. The gesture was greatly appreciated by the children’s parents who warmly thanked the SSSD team. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You gave us back joy and contributed to realizing our children’s dream and ours as well: you made them get back to school, just like their peers!” said one of the mothers.
On Day 1 of the new school year the children, before going to school, came to Ward Jouri so we could see them in their brand-new school uniform. They were so excited! Later on, one of the SSSD volunteers went to the school to check on them. When she saw her, Shaden rushed toward her saying, “I’m so happy that I got back to school. I’ve already three new comrades!”

Mrs. R S, an unemployed 37-year-old widow and mother of three (two daughters and one boy), lived with her family in Qatana, Damascus. The house she was living in wasn’t hers but rather rented as she couldn’t afford to own one.

Her husband died in Damascus during the unfortunate crisis, leaving her behind a heavy burden to carry since she was the sole breadwinner for her three children.

R.S fled along with her children to Tartous and lived in an unfinished and poorly equipped house in Bluzah village, Banias, as did thousands of displaced families. Suffering from her economic situation, she decided to improve their situation by finding a suitable job, but all her efforts went in vein.

Filled with despair, she felt that all the doors of life were closing and that there was no escape from her deteriorating situation, until she heard of the Syrian Society foe Social Development from an acquaintance who was one of SSSD’s beneficiaries. Since then, hope started reigniting again as she went to SSSD and enrolled for a small project, which was sheep raising. She truly believed in her project, especially after living in the suburbs. Once R S’s project was approved, she was filled with an indescribable joy.

Later on, R S took a 6-day course in project management at SSSD, which helped her stand on her own feet and run her project. Since she loved and chose the project, she had the perfect start. This was clearly reflected in her psychological state as well as her children’s situation. Her economic situation also began to improve gradually through selling wool, milk and other products from her project.

This was how R S’s life has changed drastically, where she became able to provide her family’s basic needs thanks to SSSD, which never hesitates to help and assist all those in need and affected by the crisis that struck our beloved country.

Mr. M A is a 56-year-old husband with two boys and two girls. He and his family were settled in Raqqa and worked there. During the crisis, one of his sons was injured severely in a mine explosion and had one of his legs amputated. The situation deteriorated in Raqqa, which led to his displacement with his family to Ltoun Marqab village in Banias, leaving behind all his life savings.

Like all internally displaced families, Mr. M A settled in a rental property. As all his children are in University, he was the sole breadwinner, but was unable to do anything because of his son’s injury.

He was spotted by one of SSSD’s outreach volunteers (ORV) and was then introduced to its services, which made him interested in registering for a small project (raising sheep) in the village he was in. Later on, he was enrolled in a 1-week project management course, where he learned about project success criteria and steps to be followed for a successful project.

His project was approved, which made him thrilled as he had faith in this project and believed it would help him rebuild his life. During the 6-month follow-up period, Mr. M.A was showing remarkable progress in his life and said: “The Syrian Society for Social Development has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to build my life all over again, and I should seize this great opportunity to improve my life and the life of my children.”

Days have passed, and Mr. M became the manager of his project as if he had been working in this profession for many years- selling, buying and spending money on his children’s education. Thanks to the project, he went from an unemployed man with his hands tied to an active member in society once again.

Mrs. L S is a 39-year-old woman married to a 40-year-old unemployed man, Mr. A H. Her husband used to work in Aleppo until an explosion at his workplace in early 2017 left him incapacitated as a result of his left leg’s amputation and right leg’s bone fractures. Consequently, he returned to his former residence in al-Zallou village and settled there with the help of his wife, but was unfortunately unable to provide for his three children due to his condition. He was also going through physical therapy for his fractured leg to prevent its calcification.

After one of Mrs. L S’s neighbors told her about SSSD and the services it provides to the local community and expatriates, she went there without hesitation. Once there, she met with one of the specialized staff and explained her family’s situation. She expressed her interest the small business grants (SBG) programme that SSSD offers to the most vulnerable groups in society.

Hence, Mrs. L S registered for a small project__ a grocery store__ since they have a small room in front of their room located on the village’s main street, which is suitable for such a project. Although she is originally very skilled at sewing, but she gave that up and chose to open a grocery store instead for the sake of her husband, who was unable to provide for his family and feeling completely helpless.

The SSSD welcomed Mrs. L S’s idea and enrolled her for a 6-day Small Business Management Course. Later on, her project was supported and the room she wanted was fully equipped with grocery-specific equipment and materials to be sold.

Once Mrs. L S’s project was launched, people close to the shop were thrilled by the shop as everything they needed could be found there and it was located at a very strategic place. Also, customers started going there because of the excellent customer service and reasonable prices.

Since most customers come at night, Mrs. L S started purchasing all she needs in the morning from the market and let her husband take over instead.  And so, the shop became lucrative and changed their lives both financially and psychologically, as she was able to provide her children’s school supplies without the help of anyone. The project has also had a great impact on their social life, since both Mrs. L S and her husband worked together and supported each other as one in face of life’s tough demands.

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.