Mia and Ramia are two sisters from Homs-Al-Hamidiya, Syria. Both are married and both live with their respective families. Both take care of their mother who has been ill with cancer, and has these two girls as her only support.
Before the spread of Covid in 2020, Ramia had worked for two years on a project that involved the processing of chocolate products and the creation of confectionery decorations for parties. All with the help of her sister. But the difficult living conditions in Syria and the arrival of the pandemic forced Ramia to close her shop, into which she had poured expertise, passion and imagination. No one was placing orders anymore. The electricity often suffered long interruptions putting the products at risk: you cannot preserve chocolate if the refrigerator is not working. When the RestarT team took an interest in Ramia’s business, the girl regained hope that she could get her business back on its feet.
What is RestarT
RestarT – Ripartire per Restare is an AMU project that aims to create and support job opportunities that have the possibility of developing in the Syrian market and to guarantee an income to the people involved, so that they are not forced to leave Syria, but remain in the country taking part in the post-war reconstruction. Ramia and her chocolate deserve this support ; RestarT has provided the two Syrian sisters with a new refrigerator, an electric generator and chocolate molds: all basic tools to get production back on track.
Ramia’s Happiness
Ramia has started working from home again , and Mia helps her out from time to time.
The woman is happy for this unexpected opportunity, especially since orders have also returned in abundance. It is a business idea that works and that promises well, and in fact Ramia has to start redesigning the future : she wants to expand the business, she wants to reopen her old shop, she also wants to make the chocolate molds herself, experimenting with new shapes and new cocoa blends.
Reciprocity
The RestarT team is very satisfied with how things are going: Ramia has remained in Syria and earns enough to support her family and take care of her mother. And then there is the other aspect, the fundamental one of reciprocity : a way to “enrich” the community in which the beneficiaries live, not an economic advantage, but a contribution of goods and services. Ramia has made a commitment: to make free decorations and chocolate sweets for orphanages and nursing homes in Homs-Al-Hamidiya.