Zaid's story
The war in Syria has had enormous consequences for many children and young people. This also applies to 17-year-old Zaid, who was sole provider for his family, and was physically and mentally exhausted until he received help.
Zaid is one of the boys in Syria who grew up far too early and had to
take responsibility for his mother and four siblings after his father died in
the war. The family lived in the Jabal Badro area of eastern Aleppo. When the father died, the rest of the
family had to flee to a safer area. When his hometown became safe to return to,
Zaid, his mother and siblings returned home only to discover that their house
had been damaged and everything in it destroyed. The family moved in with some
relatives. But since Zaid was the eldest and the mother had to look after the
smaller siblings, he dropped out of school. He got a job as a construction
worker, where he hauled stones and heavy building materials. The hard physical
work affected him both physically and mentally. He developed severe back pain
at an early age and his mental state was unstable.
Help from the Community Center
Since the family had no food, Zaid was referred to a community center
where he could pick up an emergency package of food for his family. While he was
being registered, staff at the center noticed that his condition was alarmingly
poor. He was tired and had severe back pain. Since he stood as the breadwinner of
his family, he was afraid of not being able to work and earn enough money. At
the community center, Zaid was referred to the vocational training project,
where he could both be educated and make money at the same time. Zaid chose to
educate himself in the field of fabric printing - which does not require long
training or wear and tear on his already worn-out physique and health.
Education and jobs in one
The team at the community center contacted Zaid and informed him that a
three-month food voucher was offered to the family during the training. It made
Zaid incredibly relieved and he came back so he could begin his education.
When the team from the vocational training project visited Zaid at the
fabric printing workshop, he was clearly improving. He was calm, smiled and
told that his back pain had diminished. At the same time as working in the
workshop, he studies at a community center nearby his home, where he prepares
for his upcoming exam.
"A burden is taken from my shoulders"
Zaid is relieved after the very hard years the 17-year-old boy has lived
through as a sole breadwinner for his family: "I have had a really heavy
burden lying on my shoulders. An education I would like to follow and the
responsibility for my family. Thank you, because you have helped me shape my
future. I feel a heavy burden has been lifted from my shoulders."
Zaid's employer is also happy to have Zaid on board: "Zaid is
skilled, serious and quick to learn. He has started making friends because he
is a friendly and calm employee. I would really like to offer Zaid a permanent
job at the workshop whenever possible so that he and his family can have a
sufficient income to live in dignity. "
This article was written by Karen Bendix for Mission East. The Foreign
Ministry of Denmark is not responsible for the contents of the article.