Program Updates

Ahmed*, 19, has spent much of his life carrying the heavy burden of growing up amidst conflict. He lives with his family in Al-Hasakah, where it has been difficult for them to meet their daily needs with the modest income of his father’s work – which was lost recently after his father suffered a heart attack and had to stop working.     

Rasha, 40, is a mother of six living with her children and husband in Al-Qamishli, northeast Syria.  The economic situation there has been difficult for many years due to the conflict, but recently became more challenging for Rasha and her family after her husband lost his teaching job.

In 2018, when violence forced Noura’s family to flee their home in the Syrian city of Afrin, they sought safety in the northeast region of the country. The family now lives outside of Hasakah City in a small, informal camp for displaced people. 

Ahmed Silwan* knows a lot about pomegranates. His home on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in Syria is surrounded by an orchard and his life and livelihood have long centered on the fruit. Ahmed can explain the intricacies of growing pomegranates, the best soil, the many ways it can be used, and the fruit’s impact on generations of families in the Deir-ez Zour region.

The Raqqa Al-Samra region in northeast Syria is well-known as an important agricultural area. With fertile soil and access to the Balikh and Euphrates rivers, generations of families farmed the land, feeding communities and driving local commerce.