Syrian women for the reconstruction of the country

With the Center for the Support and Empowerment of Women in Homs, Syria, Amu wants to support women who are challenging everything: their age, sometimes their family and above all a society that would discourage them from undertaking training courses or starting a job. Today many of them are left alone: fathers, husbands, brothers died in the war, or disappeared or became disabled or have disabilities and can no longer work. Women have become the only resource to support the family. “When I was little I had a dream, to become a hairdresser. I heard about the course, I signed up even though I thought it was only about aesthetics and makeup and instead it was a course for hairdressers. I imagined that my dream could come true. I had to face and overcome the distrust of my family who kept telling me that it wasn’t the right place for me, that I was too old to learn and that I should stay home alone to raise my children and be with my husband. Everyone tried to discourage me. At the center, however, I found a family that supported and encouraged me and today I am very happy”. At the center there is no distinction between operators and beneficiaries, in addition to training, daily life is shared. Everyone knows their problem and shares it with others: this perhaps makes it less burdensome and, at least for a while, less close. Thanks to the support at the women’s center in Homs, many girls and women are rediscovering themselves, are overcoming their limits and are building the foundations to become protagonists of their rebirth and that of their country.