Children are the nucleus of society, the seed that we must care for and nurture with attention and love so that it grows and gives the best fruit.

In view of the caregivers’ poor awareness of the dangers of neglect, the team of the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD), in cooperation with the UNHCR, carried out a campaign entitled La tehmelni, la tensani (“Don’t neglect me, don’t forget me…”).

The campaign aimed at raising the awareness of caregivers about the need to care for their children, the importance of this in building the child’s character, the negative effects of neglect on children, family and community, and, finally, the necessity to create opportunities and establish safe and free spaces for interactive, understanding communication between children and parents.

The campaign was carried out throughout December 2018 at the Farah Community Center in ‘Adra, Rural Damascus, and included several sessions for children, adolescents and caregivers.

The sessions tackled the problem of child neglect, its causes and consequences, and explored possible suitable solutions to mitigate it. Tools and activities varied in each session according to the age group and included: shadow theater, motor games, role playing, drama sketches and dialogue.

A special session was also held between adolescents and their parents to create an opportunity for both parties to share views, spend a fun and useful time, and consolidate a positive relationship.

After the huge efforts and the hard-working of the adolescents during the exams period, and the beginning of the holidays, SSSD team in cooperation with the UNHCR in the House of Family community center / Hama - Masyaf implemented a series of recreational activities within the Friend program in order to organize the children’s’ time and use the time they have to acquire new knowledge and establish friendly relations between the children from different villages and regions.
These activities include visits to the horse farm, getting to know the Arabian horse breeds, visit to the mechanical bakery in Masyaf area, identification of the mechanism and stages of making bread, in addition to a number of entertainment activities like competitions. We closed with the activity that included a number of young people from several villages in the charity hall in Al Bayda.

A number of awareness sessions and recreational activities were held at the Nabd Community Centre, as well as in the Salkhad area and surrounding villages to raise awareness about gender-based violence and other related issue. The occasion was seized to introduce the 16-day campaign against GBV, why the campaign was launched and for what purposes.
A session for women and girls: The women and girls were given a warm welcome, followed by an icebreaker activity. The session was about various methods to increase trust between mothers and daughters. Several activities were implemented on relationship building. Then the girls were edified about using social media to raise awareness about harassment, the steps that should be taken to reduce this phenomenon in our society and appropriate solutions in case such problems actually occurred.
“When I had this problem,” said one of the girls, “I told a close friend about it. How could I imagine she was going to tell every soul about it! This certainly aggravated the problem and I was being pointed at. But when I told mom about it, what a relief! It was as if the problem had dissolved already! I immediately felt stronger with mom on my side.”
The women thanked us for the session on this particularly sensitive topic. It was necessary, they pointed out, to educate adolescent boys and girls about the importance of informing the parents of all the problems they face because the latter are more truly concerned about their children than anybody else.
At the end of the session, presents and sweets were offered to the beneficiaries.
A women’s session: An awareness and medical support session was held in coordination with the Centre for Rural Development in the presence of the doctor. The women were welcomed and acquainted with each other. Then we told the women about the 16-day anti-GBV campaign and the reason why it was launched, telling them the story of the three girls who were victims of violence. Then the topic of the session proper—early marriage—was tackled. We distributed a questionnaire to the women with several questions related to the topic, such as: What is the appropriate age for marriage for both girls and boys? What is meant by “early marriage”? What are the negative physical and psychological effects on girls who marry under 18? Etc. Then the doctor elaborated, first on the physical consequences of early marriage in terms of health, then on its psychological consequences. Causes and factors that increase early marriage in our communities were discussed at length, as well as the appropriate solutions, using the problem/solution analysis tree.
A woman shared a personal experience: “We were in Lebanon at the time of the war. My parents worried that I could be raped because cases of rape increased tremendously at the time, so they married me off at 12. Then we returned to Syria. At 18 I had already 3 children, not knowing how to deal with them, because all my thinking was about playing and going back to school. Today I feel extremely tired, physically and psychologically. I would never let my daughter marry before she achieves all her dreams and completes her education.”
At the end of the session we thanked the women for their participation and distributed leaflets related to the subject.
A session for adolescent boys and girls: An awareness session was held on gender discrimination at school. During implementation of activities on the topic, male adolescents were favoured and encouraged to succeed, while girls were completely neglected. When asked about how they felt during the activity, the girls said they felt irritated. So, we explained the concept of gender discrimination. At that point, they opened up and told us that discrimination between males and females is deeply rooted in our communities, that society favours males because of the old customs and traditions that promote gender discrimination. To this we answered that males and females are complementary, that they play integrated roles in all spheres of life, that women are capable of success even in domains that have been socially restricted to men, that a woman is fully capable of work to secure a decent living for her children and family.
At the end of the session, we asked each of the participants to sum up the conclusions in a few words, which they did, and presents were offered to the girls!
A women’s session: The awareness session for women started with an icebreaker. Some of the participants were senior women who were willingly following literacy courses. They believed in their right to education, of which they had been deprived when still young because of the ignorance and unwillingness of their parents who would not let them complete their education simply because they were females. Then we emphasized the importance of education for girls and women’s ability to realize their ambitions, even in old age. Education was crucially important for women, not only for their personal flowering, but because it contributes to building an educated generation. Finally, we thanked the women for their perseverance and said that we were very proud of their capacities.
“I felt really ashamed when my grandson asked me to teach him and I couldn’t read the word,” said one of the senior women. “So, I inquired about literacy courses, enrolled and learned to read and write.”
The women also told us about another woman, now in her fifties, who, when she was young, was forced to quit school at grade 9 and marry. Today she married all of her children after insisting that they should all get a decent education. She, however, kept her dream alive, fully determined to realize it. So, she took the secondary school certificate exams, passed with an honorable score and went to college. Her self-confidence increased after her continuous success in realizing her ambition.
At the end of the session we thanked the women and offered them some presents.
An event at the Cultural Center: An event was carried out in Salkhad, which included a motor activity not only for the children of the CP group, but also children from the schools and kindergartens of the area. The activity consisted in rhythmic dancing to the tunes of songs about women’s rights. The event started by welcoming the participants and introducing SSSD, the Community Centre and the services offered thereat. Then the children performed a series of motor activities and a drama sketch about the rights of women, particularly women’s right to work, in front of an enthusiastic audience consisting mainly of the parents of the participating children, the local community, IDPs and school teachers. The audience’s reaction was positive after defining women’s rights through these activities.
At the conclusion of the event we thanked the audience and participants and explained the purposes for the campaign.
NB: Some activities were cancelled due to bad weather conditions, such as the football match, the afforestation activity, the sitting in silence and the candlelit march.

With a view to raising awareness about GBV-related issues, emphasizing the rejection of thisand all forms of violence, introducing the concept and types of GBV, discussing its causes and consequences, proposing solutions to reduce it, and stressing the importance of reporting in case of exposure, the Syrian Society for Social Development organized an event on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence under the slogan Safety and Equality atHome, at Work and Everywhere at the SSSD community centres in Rural Damascus (Jaramana, al-Hameh, ‘Adra Industrial Zone) and in the ‘Adra Workers’ Housing neighbourhood.

The event included activities and awareness sessions carried out within the community centres. The aim of the event was to recapitulate and highlight the awareness campaigns carried out throughout 2018 on all GBV-related topics that targeted all age groups. Several outdoor activities were also carried out, including candlelit marches in both Jaramana and al-Hameh and the distribution of leaflets on GBV-related issues.

 

1 - Jaramana

During the 16-day campaign against GBV, the SSSD team targeted women throughawareness-raising sessionson sexual harassment and abuse, early marriage and intimate partner violence,the importance of education for girls andwomen’s right to work, with a view to women’s empowermentin various aspects of life.

In addition, external activities were carried out that aimed at raising awareness among adolescent boys and girls about the concept of gender discrimination and the importance of gender equality. Such activities included a mixed-gender football match held at the Jaramana Municipal Stadium between the CC adolescentsand a similar mixed-gender basketball game played at the Jaramana Basketball Court. The two games were punctuated by several recreational activities and dances performed by the CC adolescents, awareness activities about women’s rights,with emphasis on women’s right to work and the importance of gender equality in terms of opportunities, services and available/provided resources.

With the participation of the Women’s Committees, children of the Child Protection Club and some school girls, wall paintings were executedon the wall of the Haitham Abdu-s-Salam School, expressing the rights of the child and the right of the girl to education. The first mural featured raised hands representing fundamental rights, each handrepresenting one of these rights (the rights to equality, to education, to health care, to opinion, to play, etc.). The second mural, entitled Teach them…, reflected the importance of education for children regardless of gender. The third muralfeatured the campaign’s mottoSafety and Equality at Home, at Work and Everywhere. The fourth muralrepresenteda group of children carrying their notebooks.The fifth mural was a graffiti with the slogan Education IS Safety.At the end of the activity the children distributed GBV leaflets to passers-by and all participants were thanked for their assistance.

In order to emphasize the importance of reporting GBV in case of exposure, a candlelit vigil was carried out in the vicinity of the Swords Square, Jaramana, with members of the Women’s Committees and children of the CP Club holding placards about gender equality, women’s rights, No to Violence signs and the importance of GBV reporting.

After that, the march began around the Swords Square, led by the Damascus Scouts Band, with the participation of SSSD volunteers and the CP Club, carrying placards with GBV-related slogans.At the end of the march, the Scouts performed their music in the courtyard and Women’s Committee members and female passers-by raised placardsagainst gender discrimination. Anti-GBV leaflets were distributed and a panto sketch featured a battered woman who resorted tolaw to solve her problem. “Violence against women is inadmissible,” said a man from the audience.“With determination and perseverance women can overcome violence against them,” said a woman.

After that, a drama sketch about early marriage was presented, highlighting the problems facing girls married off at an early age. The performance was an occasion to discuss the causes and consequences of GBV. “This marriage is unlawful and must be invalidated,” commented a man.

Weconcluded the activity with a final march around the Squarewith the participation of the Scouts, the CP Club and Women’s Committee members.

In order to emphasize the complementary roles of men and women, the right of women to choose the work they want and their ability to exercise all professions, one of the streets of the Karm Smadi neighbourhood was specially prepared and the CC female volunteers dressed in the outfit of occupationsusually reserved for men (wall painter,gas seller,mechanic,blacksmith, etc.). Every volunteer carried a slogan (“I can,”“We’re equal, aren’t we?”“What prevents?”) in order to emphasize gender equality. One of the women said, “There’s nothing shameful in work. It’s one of women’s rights. What you’re doing is really wonderful!” Another woman shared a personal experience. “I was truly thrilled by what I saw because I had experienced a phase in my life when I had to connect a gas cylinder, repair faucets, etc., all by myself,” she said. One woman enquired about the reason why women were dressed like that, while other womenwere surprisedthat women could exercisesuch professions. So, it was explained to them that the aim was to express the importance of women’s role in community and their ability to play it effectively.

With the participation of members of the Women’s Committee, we also heldplacards highlighting the obstacles facing women and preventing them from assuming their role in community. “Deprivation of resources and opportunities harms women and,consequently,causes social disintegration.It also leads to total marginalization of women,” said one woman.

In the meantime, one of the SSSD volunteers,dressed infolk clothes,poured Arabic coffee for passers-by. Leaflets were also distributed. At the end of the activity, CP Clubmembers presented a dabké dance.

Finally, we asked for some supportive messages, such as: “Say what’s on your mind,” “Don’t let the 16-Day event pass like that,” “Be strong,” etc.).

The event was closed at the Waqf Hall, Jaramana, with the CC children and teens performing a group dance and thanking the beneficiaries for their attendance and participation.

 

2 - Al-Hameh

During the 16-day campaign against GBV, the SSSD team targeted women throughawareness-raising sessionson sexual harassment and abuse, early marriage and intimate partner violence,the importance of education for girls andwomen’s right to work, with a view to women’s empowermentin various aspects of life.

In addition, external activities were carried out that aimed at raising awareness among adolescent boys and girls about the concept of gender discrimination and the importance of gender equality. Such activities included a mixed-gender football match held at the Jaramana Municipal Stadium between the CC adolescentsand a similar mixed-gender basketball game played at the Jaramana Basketball Court. The two games were punctuated by several recreational activities and dances performed by the CC adolescents, awareness activities about women’s rights,with emphasis on women’s right to work and the importance of gender equality in terms of opportunities, services and available/provided resources.

With the participation of the Women’s Committees, children of the Child Protection Club and some school girls, wall paintings were executedon the wall of the Haitham Abdu-s-Salam School, expressing the rights of the child and the right of the girl to education. The first mural featured raised hands representing fundamental rights, each handrepresenting one of these rights (the rights to equality, to education, to health care, to opinion, to play, etc.). The second mural, entitled Teach them…, reflected the importance of education for children regardless of gender. The third muralfeatured the campaign’s mottoSafety and Equality at Home, at Work and Everywhere. The fourth muralrepresenteda group of children carrying their notebooks.The fifth mural was a graffiti with the slogan Education IS Safety.At the end of the activity the children distributed GBV leaflets to passers-by and all participants were thanked for their assistance.

In order to emphasize the importance of reporting GBV in case of exposure, a candlelit vigil was carried out in the vicinity of the Swords Square, Jaramana, with members of the Women’s Committees and children of the CP Club holding placards about gender equality, women’s rights, No to Violence signs and the importance of GBV reporting.

After that, the march began around the Swords Square, led by the Damascus Scouts Band, with the participation of SSSD volunteers and the CP Club, carrying placards with GBV-related slogans.At the end of the march, the Scouts performed their music in the courtyard and Women’s Committee members and female passers-by raised placardsagainst gender discrimination. Anti-GBV leaflets were distributed and a panto sketch featured a battered woman who resorted tolaw to solve her problem. “Violence against women is inadmissible,” said a man from the audience.“With determination and perseverance women can overcome violence against them,” said a woman.

After that, a drama sketch about early marriage was presented, highlighting the problems facing girls married off at an early age. The performance was an occasion to discuss the causes and consequences of GBV. “This marriage is unlawful and must be invalidated,” commented a man.

Weconcluded the activity with a final march around the Squarewith the participation of the Scouts, the CP Club and Women’s Committee members.

In order to emphasize the complementary roles of men and women, the right of women to choose the work they want and their ability to exercise all professions, one of the streets of the Karm Smadi neighbourhood was specially prepared and the CC female volunteers dressed in the outfit of occupationsusually reserved for men (wall painter,gas seller,mechanic,blacksmith, etc.). Every volunteer carried a slogan (“I can,”“We’re equal, aren’t we?”“What prevents?”) in order to emphasize gender equality. One of the women said, “There’s nothing shameful in work. It’s one of women’s rights. What you’re doing is really wonderful!” Another woman shared a personal experience. “I was truly thrilled by what I saw because I had experienced a phase in my life when I had to connect a gas cylinder, repair faucets, etc., all by myself,” she said. One woman enquired about the reason why women were dressed like that, while other womenwere surprisedthat women could exercisesuch professions. So, it was explained to them that the aim was to express the importance of women’s role in community and their ability to play it effectively.

With the participation of members of the Women’s Committee, we also heldplacards highlighting the obstacles facing women and preventing them from assuming their role in community. “Deprivation of resources and opportunities harms women and,consequently,causes social disintegration.It also leads to total marginalization of women,” said one woman.

In the meantime, one of the SSSD volunteers,dressed infolk clothes,poured Arabic coffee for passers-by. Leaflets were also distributed. At the end of the activity, CP Clubmembers presented a dabké dance.

Finally, we asked for some supportive messages, such as: “Say what’s on your mind,” “Don’t let the 16-Day event pass like that,” “Be strong,” etc.).

The event was closed at the Waqf Hall, Jaramana, with the CC children and teens performing a group dance and thanking the beneficiaries for their attendance and participation.

3 - Sett Zeinab

The 16-day event to combat violence against women coincided with the opening of the Sett Zeinab Community Centre, which was an occasion to introduce the community to GBV-related topics and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

The Centrewas prepared to receive various age and community groups. The event lasted from December 1 to December 10 and included awareness sessions on various GBV-related topics, targeting various groups, as well as recreational activities and singing in whichall the CC’s children and adolescents, boys and girls alike, participated.

4 - ‘Adra

During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the SSSD team operating at the‘Adra Industrial Zone and ‘Adra Workers’Housing carried out several awareness and recreational activities.

Based on the fact that women are halfthe society and raise the other half, and sinceknowledge is our safe-conduct to the future and education is indispensable for girls, a library was designed in the form of a girl’s head and assembled at the Farah Community Centre, ‘Adra Industrial Zone. This event was part of the 16-Daysof Activism Against Gender-based Violence, in recognition of women’s right to complete their education and raise awareness against depriving the girls of their lawful right to get educated.The CC’s women arranged the books on the bookshelves and set up a mechanism to borrow books. One of them said, “You truly made my day! Even though I am old, I really want to borrow books, readand broaden my culture!”

At the end of the activity, two video clips were presented, one discussing the importance of education for girls and the other explaining the obstacles to girls’ education. Products of women who followed the vocational training courses at the CC were also exhibited.

Regarding external campaigns, several awareness sessions were held at the ‘Adra el-Balad School on GBV-related topics, in addition to recreational activities targeting children and adolescent boys and girls.

At the AbuRashed Hall, ‘Adra Workers’ Housing, various awareness-raising activities on GBV-related topics were conducted, such asan awareness presentation on reproductive health issues, in view of the absence of a nearby medical point that women can visit. Breast cancer was also focused on, with methods of self-examination presented, as well as and the importance of periodic checking at the doctor’s. Drama sketches, songs and recreational activities were also presented.

Other activities were held at al-Laith Hall, ‘Adra Industrial Zone, with awareness and recreational activities.

One of the girls: “Thanks to the Farah Centre, thanks to their support and encouragement, I returned to my school.To all who participated in such a wonderful humanitarian work I say: THANK YOU!”

The event was concluded with a promo presentation of all campaigns carried out from the beginning of the year. Thus, the women could recapitulateall the major topics discussed with them during the year, most notably the early marriage campaign, the girl’s right to education campaign and the importance of reporting GBV and intimate partner violence. The womenrecalled many of the details discussed during those campaigns and the information they hadlearned.

 

Because they are the most marginalized groups in the society and because they are in need of support and highlight their rights and in order to integrate them with their peers and try to change some misconceptions and create a generation that advocates for the rights of people with special needs, on the occasion of World Day for People with Special Needs, the (UNHCR) in the governorate of Hama with the participation of associations and bodies working in the field of care for people with special needs, A month-long campaign was held to the people with special needs and their mothers.
The aim of the awareness sessions was to raise the level of awareness of the beneficiaries on the concept of disability, the rights of the disabled people, how to deal with them, develop their talents and abilities to become effective people within the community, and to organizing and implementing the events
The campaign concluded a number of activities that included various sections: a varied theater, choral, dances, legal presentations explaining the rights of people with special needs in Syrian law, and many paragraphs that included a large number of people with special needs, and the teenagers of the child club who had many sessions on accepting the other.