Suad was happily living in her village in Homs, Syria with her husband and six children, working as a tailor. All that changed when the war happened and fighting started in her village. Suad and her family decided to leave all their belongings behind and flee; walking over 1,000km until they reached Idleb. They relied on aid provided by humanitarian organisations; this was barely enough to cover their family’s needs.
Suad’s husband suffers from arthritis, nonetheless he had to find a job to cover rent and other needs. As his health worsened, they moved to a camp in northern Idleb to save on rent. Suad decided to borrow money from her neighbours and buy an old, second-hand sewing machine to bring in a little income.
Learning about IOM’s Project from her husband, Suad applied and was soon accept- ed. “You can’t believe how happy I feel. I’ll be able to pay back the money I borrowed for the old sewing machine because it was quite a burden to us.” With the money she saved, she is able to support her family and buy medication for her sick husband. “I am getting closer to achieving my goal. I’ll work hard so I can take my kids from this tent to a decent apartment.
My husband is buying fabric from the market for me to sew so he doesn’t have to work jobs that do not suit his health condition. We’ll work together toward our new goals and for our children’s future.”
