Rima, a woman from northern rural Aleppo, was forced to flee her hometown because of the poor security conditions. She and her family of 7 children—the eldest of whom is 12 and the youngest 4 months old—currently live in an unfinished house at Daff al-Sakhr, Jaramana district, Rural Damascus.
From the Child Protection case manager who follows up on the family’s file we learned that four-month-old ‘Abd was suffering from a severe allergy resulting from his sleeping on the floor in a cold house full of dust. His mother had to take him repeatedly to the doctor to ease bouts of coughing and wheezing. Not to mention the risk of being bitten by rodents that swarm in unfinished buildings.
Then it occurred to us to tell the beneficiaries in the carpentry course (Vocational Training Program) about the family’s predicament and see whether they could be of help. Soon enough, a small, simple, lovely bed was specially made for ‘Abd!
When we went to Rima’s house to check on the family and deliver the bed, she warmly greeted us and was sincerely thankful. Then, without a second thought, she made the bed and put the baby in it.
‘Abd’s siblings rejoiced, though with a sigh. “Sister, you remind us of the bed we used to have back home,” said one of the baby’s brothers. “Just for ‘Abd?” asked his sister. “But we’re still sleeping on the floor, all the rest of us!”
I explained to them that the bed was now necessary to heal their little brother’s discomfort, that many many families had lost their homes and all their furniture as well.
Indeed, in the current circumstances of the war, where so many families have lost their homes and furniture, vocational training is proving useful in the sense that it can help a large number of internally displaced families meet some of their urgent needs for relative comfort and safety.

Anas, 17, was born in rural Aleppo. He grew up there, living with his parents and brother. His father used to work in agriculture, but as the crisis intensified in 2011, Anas was forced to leave with his mother and brother to Deir al-Zaur. His father did not wish to leave so he remained in his hometown.
Thus, Anas became the family’s sole breadwinner. The young man, who was a hard-working student, had to leave school because of the poor economic situation, so that his brother might continue his education.
Three years after they were first displaced to Deir al-Zaur, the family had to move again to rural Damascus and settled in the city of Jaramana. Here Anas managed to land a job at a plastic factory, with long working hours. He was determined, however, to pursue his education and not to let those random conditions get the best of him.
At this point, Anas heard about our community center in Jaramana through one of our ORVs. He came to the CC and began to attend day educational classes for basic certificate students while still working at night.
During the classes we found that Anas had some problems with his younger brother. So, both brothers were integrated into two separate groups of the Mentoring Program, thereby introduced to collaborative communication and peer relation. Their relationship gradually began to improve. Their mother was then invited to attend women’ sessions and was followed up by the CP case manager.
At the end of the school year, Anas took the final exams for the basic education certificate, but success was not his ally in the first time. So, he decided to intensify his efforts next time and with the beginning of the schoolyear enrolled again in the educational sessions held at the CC. This year came with promising results for both Anas and his brother… Thus, Anas had realized his first dream. Though he still has to pass the high school certificate exams with a good score before trying to realize his greatest dream: entering the Faculty of Economics.
After Anas’ success in the exam, he heard about the carpentry course (Vocational Training Program) and wanted to learn this trade to avoid being exploited as he was at the plastic factory. As he is considered his family’s sole breadwinner, he was accepted in the course and proved an exemplary trainee, fully committed to learning.
At the end of the course, his request form was presented to the Livelihood Toolkits Program competent committee in order to obtain a carpentry toolkit according to the established standards. In parallel, he was linked to a carpentry workshop where he was paid enough to meet his needs and the needs of his family.
During a follow-up visit to his place of work, the master carpenter expressed his satisfaction with Anas’ quality of work and commitment. As for Anas himself, he expressed his happiness in these terms:
“I’m very happy and feel relieved. The situation at home with Mother and my brother has significantly improved,” he said. “I enjoy my job a lot. Master likes me and lets me go to the activities at the center. I even enrolled in an accounting course so I may develop myself in this domain.”
“A man is one who, using his will, decides himself his future,” he added.

Souad is 60. She fled Aleppo to Rural Damascus, Jaramana, with eight married children. Displacement forced them to live and their families together with their mother in the same house. With the deteriorating living conditions, the family faced material hardships and financial pressures and, soon enough, problems caused by cramming so many people in a small space surfaced and made things even worse.
Having been monitored by ORVs, Souad came to know about the services offered by the SSSD Community Center in Jaramana and expressed her wish to enroll in vocational training and learn a trade in order to secure an extra income and support her large family.
In the sewing workshop she showed exemplary commitment and enthusiasm for learning.
Yet, Souad suffered from a sight problem in her eye, which made it difficult for her “to chain-stitch,” to use her technical wording. But she insisted on learning, asking the trainer for help. The latter did not hesitate to explain at length things pertaining to design and cutting methods. Her fellow beneficiaries were also too willing to help.
Souad responded to the sincere help. Things became easier over time and the problem of her eye became less oppressive as she grew accustomed to sewing techniques.
The trainer and her fellow beneficiaries noted Souad’s spectacular progress, which prompted them to encourage her more by asking her to help with the clothing design.
By now Souad could hardly wait for course hours to come, learning how to accept everyone’s attentions with gratitude. She became more sociable and friendly. Soon this good influence spread to her family as well.
At the end of the workshop, Souad informed us of her wish to open a small private business in clothing design and sewing along with other fellow beneficiaries. She expressed her heartfelt thanks to the Community Center and to all those who helped her benefit from the service, both professionally and humanely.

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.