Riad's story
Riad is building a house for him and his family after their own house was destroyed in the war. Support from Mission East helped the Syrian farmer and entrepreneur to re-cultivate his field, build a house for his family and get new ideas to expand his business.
Riad has returned to his ruined village to re-cultivate his field. With
support from Mission East in terms of seeds, he has plenty of work to do, and
he has even been able to afford building a small house for his family. The help
has now given him the courage to expand his business. A courage he was about to
lose in 2013, when the Syrian civil war reached the village of Charchouh. Riad
had to flee with his wife and five children when village became occupied by
militias. Like other inhabitants, Riad’s family persistently tried to protect
the house and property, but eventually had to flee to Firouziah, a village near
Homs. Here, Riad earned a subsistence income by transporting goods around with his
small car.
Everything destroyed
Four years later - in 2017 – Riad’s village was liberated and the family
could return home. But they found everything to be destroyed. It took Riad another
two years to make enough savings to reclaim parts of his old field. He and his
family worked hard to return to a normal everyday life, but much of the land
was still fallow, and the buildings were shattered.
Starting afresh
Then the Greek-Orthodox Church began social work in the village with the
support of Mission East's local partner organization Dorcas. The farmers could
sign up to receive support to restart their agriculture. Seed donations and
training would enable the farmers to feed their families by growing varied and
sustainably. Riad signed up, the consultants assessed the family's situation,
and soon the work started. Riad could now save up further, build a small house
with two rooms close to the field, keep an eye on his crops, and expand his
business.
Business ideas emerging
The help of Mission East through the social work of Dorca and the Greek-Orthodox
Church has given Riad courage and opened up new opportunities for the family.
Riad can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and new ideas are emerging.
He has lots of business ideas that he looks forward to realising for the
benefit of the whole village.
This article was prepared by Svend Løbner for Mission East. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not take responsibility for the content of the article.