A few months ago, in November 2021, Hayat ‘s husband died of stomach cancer, after undergoing surgery and a series of treatments. She has also been fighting breast cancer since 2018, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, but has not always had the opportunity to access treatment: the family’s economic situation, over the years, has not allowed her to regularly purchase the necessary medicines.
In fact, Hayat and her husband worked as government employees, but since the war broke out in Syria, their salary has suffered a drastic reduction in purchasing power, and the situation worsened when her husband also fell ill. Hayat learned about the AMU project “Seeds of Hope” , which provides primary care in Syria, including medical care. Sick, retired, unable to find a new job, and alone (their daughter is married), they certainly needed support, so the woman and her husband began to benefit from the care provided by “Seeds of Hope” . With the regular arrival of medicines, the couple’s sense of loneliness was also alleviated: “We felt reassured, we were no longer worried about the lack of medicines, we were no longer afraid, and this contributed to improving our psychological state” . Then, however, Hayat’s life changed again. Her husband’s death forced Hayat to deal with the same sense of loneliness that oppressed her before, and the pain returned : “I feel like my life no longer has any meaning.” But the operators of the “Seeds of Hope” project in Syria have not abandoned her, in fact they have intensified their visits, they have tried to be even closer to her, they often invite her to the office for a coffee and a chat, they make her feel important, and so little by little the woman is getting over the loss of her husband:
“When I first came to this office I thought I would just take my medicine, but what I got was so much more: they supported me in every way, I drew strength from them, they became my refuge whenever I felt worried or depressed. They are always beside me, like a family, which I really need, because I am alone”. Hayat’s words are a heart-stopping moment: “Their being by my side means so much to me, I like going to their office, it’s a way to be in company, I feel comfortable there, they are my friends”.
Hayat sa quanto tutto ciò sia importante per chiunque viva una situazione di vulnerabilità, per questo conta di poter ricambiare l’amore ricevuto: “Spero che la mia salute migliori in modo da poter aiutare chi ha bisogno di me”.