Bushra's story

35-year-old Bushra is a widow that experienced many problems from a young age, because of the war. According to herself, the adversity has made her a strong and resilient woman. She took the opportunities that emerged and began to believe in herself after having participated in an ADRA project. 

In the programme, ADRA teaches young men and women how to start small enterprises. If their business plan turns out to be good, they receive a small start capital. Some make handmade clothes for women and others repair cell phones. Bushra found her confidence by using her previous experience as a hairdresser. The business start-up support from ADRA changed her life.

“Before I became a part of the project, my kids and I had no money and felt helpless. Through help from ADRA I found a stable source of income. Other people do not view me and my situation with pity and I have rediscovered my voice and my lost strength”, explains Bushra to a Syrian ADRA worker. Here she tells her story:

Ashamed to be a burden to her brother

“My husband died and left me with two small children, a girl aged one and a boy aged four. I had to leave our house and move in with my brother who lives in a village in the Homs province.

I had no job and became dependent on my brother who had to provide for three families. His own wife and children, our mother and sister and now mine. I was ashamed to become a burden to him and I prayed that something would happen that could give me hope.

One day, I heard about ADRA’s support programme for small companies. I lit up, but was still worried that I would not be accepted as a beneficiary. I also doubted whether I was even capable of maintaining such a job. Luckily, I decided to give it a try, because I had everything to win. I had tried my luck with the hairdresser profession before, so I chose hairdressing as the type of business I believed I could build.

The income is secure

The ADRA course made me very excited. The education expanded my horizon and prepared me to open my own hair salon. Full of confidence I wrote my business plan, which was accepted. I furnished a room in my brother’s house where I could service customers. Then I bought the hairstyle products I needed and opened up for business.

My salon became a success. I have created a business that provides me with a decent income and now I can buy food for my children that ensures their needs, and I can even help my brother by contributing to the expenses of the household”, Bushra finishes.

The ADRA-project is financed through DANIDA.

This article was written by ADRA. The Foreign Ministry of Denmark is not responsible for the contents of the article.