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Child Marriage

“Even though I am happy with my life and my husband provides me with everything I need. Due to the fact that my parents forced me into marriage at the age of 15, I find myself against the idea of child marriage,” according to a beneficiary from Aman Community Center, Zibdiyye, Aleppo. She added, “They told me my body developed to a woman’s body at a very young age and guys were after me on the streets; thus, I was forbidden from going to school.”
In cooperation with UNFPA, SSSD launched a campaign titled “Child Marriage” to raise awareness about the negative ramifications of early marriage and prevent the hazards. The campaign included several awareness activities, introductory activities to child marriage, and the distribution of gifts and print-outs illustrating the concepts of child marriage. During the campaign, the mobile team collected data about the opinions of Zibdiyye inhabitants on child marriage.
300 beneficiaries at different ages expressed their positive opinions of the campaign:
“I am against child marriage. When the girl is very young, she needs to be taught how to care for a baby or even hold a responsibility.”
“I oppose child marriage, even though people say that this generation has high levels of awareness. I still think it is not enough, awareness does not mean that the child is capable of holding up to a huge responsibility bigger than her physical and intellectual energies.”
“I am against this idea, it is unjust to the girl. Her choice might not be as proper as an adult.”

Train trip

Riding train for the first time, the participants of the trip were deeply moved. They felt relieved and energetic, breaking out from their daily routine and unwinding stress. Seeing joy on their children’s faces, the mothers were extremely happy as if they were reborn. “I feel like flying. It is the first time my kid smiles like that,” a mother of a special needs kid enrolled in the program “HBRP for Children with Disabilities” said.
To farther promote the ties of friendship between the parents of the special needs children and the community center staff, SSSD in cooperation with UNHCR organized a train trip from Aleppo to Jebrin, Hama.  Two hundred forty- five persons participated in the trip: special needs children, their parents and siblings, as well as SSSD facilitators. The kids enjoyed face painting. The mothers and their kids were both involved in enthusiastic singing and dancing.
The women collectively expressed that it was the first time their kids accompany them feeling happy and not shouting. Being in an unfamiliar, closed space, one mother was afraid that her kid might be nervous, shout and cry until she would take him back home. On the contrary he was smiling and fascinated by the landscapes out of the window, and was clapping enjoying the group songs.
One of the mothers expressed her gratitude, “It is the first time I go out with my six kids, my husband is always busy. Thank you very much for putting up with the burden of the children and I wish the trip was not over.” Another mother said, “My kid did not quit talking about the trip from the moment he stepped into home up to the moment he felt asleep. The very next day he told me that he dreamt of the train trip.”

Eid Sweets - CBI

“I forgot when was the last time I made sweets. Today while I was making sweets at the center, I asked the staff to bring in some flour and ghee, and I felt as if I was talking to my own kids, whom I have not seen for many years. This feeling of joy is priceless!”
The joy of Eid is only complete with the presence of sweets, which bear eid’s spirit and a special symbol among people. SSSD team at Arabesque Community Center coordinated efforts with people from the local community to make sweets for Eid Al-Adha. The community- based initiative was carried out in cooperation with UNHCR to bring joy and happiness to the hearts of the inhabitants of Bab Al-Hadid. One- hundred fifty women and adolescent girls worked for two days to make several types of Eid sweets that were distributed to the families in need, especially the most vulnerable. “Thank you very much for bringing in happiness to our hearts, to our area. Arabesque you are at the core of our hearts.”
Similar to the joy of the people receiving the sweets, the joy of the women and adolescent girls making the sweets was overwhelming: the spirit of cooperation, laughter, folklore songs, and cheers were remarkable.  “This initiative brings in good memories about the long-forgotten gold days.”

"Small Steps" Campaign and Events

With “small steps” and eyes gleaming with hope, the children filled the ceremonial halls in the governorates of Damascus, Sweida, Aleppo, Hama, Tartous, Homs and Hasakeh, where the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD) is carrying out its activities. And with joyful voices, they sang the slogan of the Rights of the Child Campaign, which was carried out throughout November:
My rights are many,
but with one small step
I own myself…
and them in the process!
The campaign included a variety of activities targeting children, adolescents and caregivers. It aimed at raising awareness about the rights of the child and the importance of all children’s access to them, and was concluded with a number of events to celebrate World Children’s Day.
During the events, the children presented artistic performances that emphasized the rights of the child, provided for in the 1989 UN Convention, and highlighted the causes of children’s exposure to risks, such as child labor, school dropout and even delinquency. These causes include not only depriving the child of care in general and family care in particular, but also neglecting and marginalizing children during childhood and other growth stages, which negatively affects them, and then the community as a whole.
The children’s interaction with the events’ activities and artistic performances was truly remarkable. Making use of their various talents, they were able to convey the message to their peers, as well as to their parents, teachers and other groups that attended. The Small Steps Campaign and Events constituted a strong step towards achieving a safe and healthy childhood and a new space for children—provided by SSSD in cooperation with the UNHCR.

 

A gallery for Women

In order to encourage women to work, develop their abilities and invest their skills, Maskaneh satellite center, in cooperation between the Syrian Society for Social Development and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees held a gallery, which included the supply and sale of women-made products such as (food provisions, handicrafts- women and children sewing cloths - Drawings on cartoon - Drawing on canvas - Spices & vegetable oils).
The gallery was attended by 68 of the beneficiaries of the hear my heart program and women from the community The joy was the dominant feeling among the ladies, who expressed their desire to have this gallery again because they were so happy to be productive women. these are some of their sayings:
"I sold all my products, I was feeling depressed before, but now I am happy because I am helping my husband moneywise, how good it is to work and see the productive of your job."
"I feel I'm in a museum of all kinds, and it's all beautiful "
"I did not have money for my home, I'm so happy because all the things I offered were sold"
"I did know that trading is this good . I am so happy I sold all the bread this morning"
"I did not imagined that people would like my tailor this much, sold a large number of them and I'm so happy !"

A certificate distribution ceremony for beneficiaries of vocational training courses

As part of the conclusion of the series of vocational training courses at Shams and Mosaic community centers, the Syrian Society for Social Development, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), held a certificate distribution ceremony for graduates of these courses, they were 45 men and 30 women from the neediest groups of people.
The graduates attended courses in maintenance of mobile phones, maintenance of sewing machines and hair styling for women. The ceremony included a joint lunch followed by the distribution of certificates and talking with the beneficiaries about the ways of living that are opened to them after the training. Everyone then celebrated by cutting the cake that carried the logo of each training. The trainees expressed their happiness with such a gesture from the association when some of them said:
"this is the first certificate for me in my life, I feel that I truly graduated and I have accomplished a great deal"
"The training gave me a profession that I can live on"
"I do not have to wait for some on to fix my machine , I can do it myself now."

Al Salam group trip to the playing park

Because it's not a summer vacation without the joy and trips, one of the friendship groups for PWD at the Syrian Society for Social Development (Al Salam Group) took a trip to the playing park on 28 July. The trip was attended by 70 people among the beneficiaries, volunteers, families and friends. Everyone participated in the games and expressed their great happiness in this activities. One of the mothers said: "I feel that I'm living my childhood again with my family when participated in the games." another mother said : "I can leave on every thing, but I can not give up Al Salam group because they are my second family and friends."
And one of the volunteers said " the playing park is good, but it gets better with Al Salam group "

I'm special

Every human being has an individual talent that distinguishes him from the rest of the people, through which he can build and strengthen his self-confidence, it raise his human dignity and his ethics. All we have to do is to discover, develop and support these talents. Therefore, the Syrian society or Social Development in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had "I am special" event in the city of Aleppo on 27 and 28 of July 2018 on the occasion of the International Day of Youth Skills, the event provided artistic, musical and singing talents and collected all the beneficiaries of the Syrian Society for Social Development.
The training of the beneficiaries began on sing, dancing, casting, presenting and playing together on various musical instruments.
After two months of training, a number of really good talents were selected, ranging in age from 6 to 18 years old.
The event included 250 presenter, 600 people from the children's parents and 30 varied performances. Children with disabilities participated in the performances, where they performed a number of dance and musical pieces.
The effect was positive on the children, where many of them said:
"this is my first time on a theater in front of people, and I am so very happy"
"I first discovered my talent with you, and then I worked to develop it"
"this is the first experience to me on the stage in front of my family, and I will continue to work on my talent"
"I thank SSSD team who helped us to discover our talents and develop our them"
"I now have confidence in myself, so that I stop in front of people face what I fear, and broke the barrier of shyness"
Many parents expressed their joy with their children and their talents, and that they will help their children develop and nurture their talents. The association will continue training for all children so that all children discover their talents , and then we will help them to strengthen an develop them.

A success ninth-grade-students party

Because the success is the ultimate result of working hard,The Syrian Society for Social Development in Aleppo, in cooperation with the UNHCR office, held a celebration for the successful students who passed in the ninth grade exams, the party included paragraphs of art provided by children, followed by a range of entertainment games. The party ended with a paragraph of honoring the outstanding students and provide gifts for all the successful ones.
the students were happy enough due to the success, so they did not expect anyone to celebrated them, one of the children gave us flowers and said : " you deserve all the flowers in the world after what you did to us. I can't believe that after all of that, you also are celebrating us."
One of the girls asked the volunteers for a picture with them saying: (it is the first time someone throw me a part, and it happened to be with the teacher I love, I want a pic with you so I don't ever forget this day).
One of the children who had the informal exam said: (I am so excited to have the high school exam to see what you're going to do after this party).
On the day after the party, a mother came with some sweets to thank the volunteers for everything they gave to the children, especially as she refused for her daughter to attend the party, but after the volunteers insisted and promised to take her back, she agreed.

The girl thanked the volunteers as she left the party saying, "Thank you very much for the this special day. I felt special for the very first time"
The children expressed their happiness when they saw their pictures in the sessions ( oh , we can remember every picture, I feel this is my house that I find myself in).

Overcoming the obstacle

Mr. E is a 28 years old man who has a physical need, and live with his mother, sister, wife and three children in Al Ashrafieh area.
To be responsible for supporting his mother, sister, wife and three children, tailoring was the best profession for him. His hand was disabled and he did not need to use both hands together. That did not last long anyways because the war hit everyone. He lost his job and his brother, who was always a support for him, and now he is responsible for his brother’s family too.
He was forced to work hard works that were not suitable with his handicapped hand, in order to provide his big family's live. During the preliminary evaluation visits of the volunteers of the Syrian society for Social Development in Al Ashrafieh area, the young man was identified and nominated for a small grant.
He applied for the project management course, and he was successful in terms of commitment, mental presence and the outputs that he reached at the end of the training. After the final interview, he was chosen to receive a small grant. He chose his old profession, tailoring, which the war had taken it away from him before.
The young man came back to establish his dream, when he bought the materials he asked for like sewing machines. He is now more able to cope with his difficulties and challenges after he rented a house that he made it a workshop to work in. Believing that tomorrow is better after he has a material resource, he does not have to move between different jobs and now is able to secure the needs of his young children and his family, which has better clothing and food for its members now.
The grant did not stop with Abdullah, he was able to provide jobs for his relatives by involving them in the sewing work on the machines to expand the circle of beneficiaries of the grant, now it includes a larger number and also contributed to meet the needs of the area of sewing.
"My disability was not a hurdle on my way, I overcame myself every time I tired," he said.

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