Syria is a war-torn world away for many who will read this. For more than 10 years, the conflict has inadvertently changed the role of women in the workforce. Our Conflict Response Fund rapidly provides education and vocational skills training to empower Syrian women to transform their world now.
Today, Syrian women are the chief income earners and decision-makers in 1 in 3 homes*. Starting in 2020, we have invested in opportunities for Syrian women and girls who have been displaced due to conflict to learn vocations, such as sewing, baking, soap making, and computer maintenance, and improve marketable skills in Arabic literacy, English, math, and IT through our local partner Women Now for Development.
Through the program, they learn skills that improve their ability to earn income or employment, receive small grants to start businesses, and by being among their peers, experience empowering connections.
Syrian women living as displaced persons in Idlib and Aleppo accessed these experiences through safe spaces that also provide rights awareness, psychosocial support, and trauma-informed care.
These survivors live in the toughest circumstances, and the stories of their ambitions inspire us. In 2022, we will continue to work with our partners and build capacity to serve the urgent needs of Syrian women and girls.
(Source: TIMEP)
353 Syrian women and girls participated in online classes in Arabic literacy, English, IT, and math
417 Syrian women and girls have accessed resources and created social networks through CRF-funded programs
64 Syrian women trained in sewing, computer maintenance, and pastry- and soap-making and are earning income, growing businesses, and supporting their families
64 Syrian women had financial literacy support and learned to save money as well as invest in their new businesses
-Displaced women improved their livelihoods through vocational training and small grants to earn income and start businesses.
-Displaced women and girls furthered their education online — despite the COVID-19 pandemic and societal norms.
Keep reading to learn what our response has meant to Syrian women and girls.
For the women survivors served by our Conflict Response Fund, there is hope in their vocational training experiences, then pride.
Many Syrian women seek to gain professional experience to improve their families' standards of living. By committing to and completing months-long training, despite political and other challenges, they learned marketable skills that can serve them for a lifetime.
In 2021, the 48 Syrian women who participated in soap- and pastry-making vocational training courses increased their trade proficiencies by 45-100%. At graduation, all participants received small grants consisting of professional equipment and materials that would otherwise be out of reach.
CRF-funded program participants experience the support and encouragement of their trainers and classmates, even beyond graduation. Through post-program evaluations and through their letters, women who graduated courses reported that their training and grants helped them enter the workforce and even pursue dreams.
These women survivors in Syria are making, marketing, and selling their products to friends, neighbors, larger circles, and stores. As a result, they are supporting their families and households, sending children to college, growing their businesses, and in some cases, saving money.
Sahar lives with her husband and stepchildren. She worked knitting wool earlier in her life and used to sell handicrafts made using her wool-knitting machine. But with her husband unemployed and their financial situation suffering, she was forced to sell her machine. That’s when she learned about the vocational training courses offered by Women Now for Development, our CRF partner. Sahar enrolled in the pastry-making program and was distinguished for her motivation to learn and gain experience quickly. She is now able to earn a sustainable income with her skill and grant.
"The center gave me the opportunity to learn and gain confidence in myself and my abilities, and a new experience in making pastries, sweets and pizza, which helped me in making products and selling them to my neighbors, friends, and relatives.”
-Sahar, a graduate of CRF-funded vocational training
Graduates of our CRF-funded education courses develop new confidence in themselves and may pursue higher education.
In the process of completing educational courses and improving their math and language proficiencies, IDP women and girls in Syria learned how they can use their power to overcome challenges in difficult circumstances.
About 90% of the 84 women and girls who participated in months-long online Arabic and math courses in 2021 — despite electronic access and social barriers — increased their academic proficiency and literacy skills by 40-100%.
Successfully completing basic skills training can propel Syrian women and girls forward for a lifetime. CRF-funded participants were inspired to thwart obstacles at home and in their communities, pursue further learning, and keep at their studies.
Ruqayyah lives with her husband and 4 children. When their village was bombed, she and her family were displaced for more than 3 years. When her family returned to their village, she learned about the education courses offered by Women Now for Development, our CRF partner. Ruqayyah had not been to school in 20 years, but she joined the Arabic literacy course along with her 9th-grade daughter. Despite damage to her home from additional bombings and health challenges related to injury and COVID-19, she enjoyed attending her online sessions and graduated from the course with a high degree. Ruqayyah soon passed her high school exams and enrolled in college.
“I believe that in order to achieve one's self in life, a person must strive to gain knowledge and learning, regardless of her age and circumstances, she should overcome and move forward.”
-Ruqayyah, a graduate of CRF-funded educational training
