In this work, it’s easy to measure what can be counted — meals served, supplies distributed, classrooms filled. What can’t be measured is the quiet transformation of families who, year after year, journey from survival to renewal.
An Immeasurable Story
Mustafa and Doaa fled their home in Afrin, a city near the Syrian-Turkish border, when the war began. We first met them in 2016, sitting on the doorstep of a tent, sharing a handful of lentils from one plate. They lived with hunger and an uncertain future. The label refugee now accompanied their names, a label they never expected nor asked for. They fled thinking it would be a short escape from danger. Instead, it
became ten years of life inside a tent, living in extreme poverty.
Their mother agreed to enroll both children in our education program; an act of trust that changed the course of their lives. Soon after, she joined our literacy and sewing classes. Their mother fought to give her children a future.
Camps shifted. Agencies left. Headlines moved on. But our programs and your partnership stayed. What began as a handful of lentils became a way forward. As the war dragged on, months blurred into years. Mustafa mastered carpentry. Doaa and her mother finished their education and graduated from our sewing school. Each day, they persevered to rebuild their family.
Full Circle
All refugees long for home. Home isn’t the same after years of displacement, but neither are they. Regardless, home is still the hope.
Not long ago, Mustafa and Doaa’s family made the choice to return to their hometown. It wasn’t safe, but it was safer than before. They went back to Afrin to reclaim what the war had taken and start again.
Today, Doaa and her mother run a small sewing institute like the one we trained them in, teaching other women how to earn a living. Mustafa works in a wood factory, using the trade he learned at our center. They’re not waiting for aid anymore. They are building a new life, a new future.
Legacy and Lentils
This is what true impact looks like. It’s a family who goes from sharing one plate of lentils to running a small family business. It’s many years of uncountable steps. That kind of change doesn’t happen overnight; it happens because you continue giving and walking with us. You are part of this family’s legacy, a legacy of hope and restoration.
As we close this year, I want to say thank you. Your giving doesn’t just fund programs; it rebuild lives. It turns tents into classrooms, training into opportunity, and hope into something people can hold onto.
As you consider your year-end giving, I invite you to keep investing in what makes a lasting impact.
