'I came here for my children'

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My name is Amira and I am a survivor

"I came here for my children, I want them to be safe and I stay positive for them. I do not talk about ISIS (or that I miss Syria). Nassim wants to be a teacher and Israa hopes to be a doctor. Hearing them say that makes everything worth it, doesn’t it?"

We travelled 250 miles...

Amira has been in Lebanon since the 15th March, 2017. The memory of that day is crystal clear in her mind. She had spent two weeks making her way from the rural area of Aleppo to the Lebanese border; a 250 mile journey.

Aleppo is the second biggest city in Syria. But during the war, it was completely destroyed and ISIS did the worst things to families like Amira’s. When Amira escaped Syria with her children, she was hoping to find her husband along the way. But she’s still looking for him.

The family had no choice. They had to flee.

Amira now lives in small house in the Palestinian refugee camp in Bourj Al Barajneh.

Habitat installed a water tank for her, her toilet has been improved and she now has a sink and a toilet seat in the bathroom. Her kitchen has been fitted with a sink and plastic piping instead of old metal piping that was corroding and rusting quickly from the salt in the water supply.

An improved home and life

Four of Amira’s children are enrolled in school in Lebanon and have learnt to read and write. Her eldest daughter, Inas, stays at home to take care of her three small siblings; Zein, Iman and Lara.

Amira misses what Aleppo used to be. She used to milk her goat every morning to feed her children and her children would play outside. Her voice is low when she speaks of Syria. “But life is better now thanks to Habitat for Humanity.”

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This content was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Habitat for Humanity GB and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.