Looking to the future


Odai was just six months old when an airstrike hit the home where he lived with his parents in Syria. After his father died and his mother was no longer able to look after him, his grandfather, Abdul Hameed, asked Odai’s great- uncle to bring him across the border to live with him in Jordan.


“I want to be a pilot so I can fly back to Syria and see Homs from the sky.”


Now aged 10, Odai has spent his whole life in Jordan and refers to his grandfather — otherwise known as Abu Alaa — as his dad. Abu Alaa was a taxi driver back in Homs, but in Jordan, he collects leftover bread to sell to pay the rent and began receiving UNHCR cash assistance to help support his family.


As Odai plays outside his home in Amman, he has dreams for a future where he can truly soar.


Rania, a 30-year-old refugee from Aleppo, was forced to flee the war in Syria, arriving in Turkey six years ago.


“I want to continue in my craft as I do love it.”


As a child, she learned from her mother how to make dresses for her toys. She has expanded her creative skill set by learning to crochet. She works with an Istanbul-based start-up — supported by a UNHCR-backed initiative — to help refugees earn money and introduce refugee artisans to global markets. “My goal for the future is to learn further and more professional ways to craft toys and to be able to craft any crochet [item] I see. I want to continue in my craft as I do love it.”


Zakariya is a 32-year-old refugee who, for the last eight years, has called Zaatari Camp in Jordan home. He currently works in a mobile phone repair shop, and his one-room caravan has been his safe refuge far from the fighting that forced him to leave his homeland.


“Psychology can help you understand why you feel a certain way.”


Soon, Zakariya will be travelling more than 12,000 kilometres to Mexico City for the next step in his journey. He was selected for the Habesha scholarship supported by UNHCR to study a BA in psychology. “The circumstances that people from my country have lived through are very harsh. It has impacted a whole generation. But understanding psychology can help you understand why you feel a certain way. It can help you get through the trauma.”


By the Numbers:


• 6.6 million refugees have fled Syria since 2011


• Over 6 million internally displaced persons in Syria


• 5 million people have limited access to basic goods and services


• 1.1 million people in hard-to-reach locations need assistance


What UNHCR is doing thanks to your support:


Insulating, weatherproofing, and repairing shelters to help support Syrian refugee families during the winter and harsh weather conditions.


Providing cash assistance to vulnerable families to meet their additional needs in dignity.


Providing social and recreational activities to children in community centres, child-friendly spaces, schools, and other outreach activities.


5


© UNHCR/Lilly Carlisle


© UNHCR/Shawkat Alharfosh


© UNHCR/Emrah Gurel


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8