Syria - Moving Hopes - Damascus
Scene 11 of the TVP documentary
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⇒Episode 4 - MDG 4 Reduce child mortality
Moving Hopes
Project implemented by Armadilla
Hajar Al Aswad, near Damascus
November 2010
Co-financed by the European Commission
We meandered along the roads of Hajar al-Aswad, a poor southern suburb of Damascus, and home to many refugees, searching for a centre for physically challenged children established by an Italian non-government organisation called Armadilla.
Hajar al-Aswad is a poor neighbourhood that became home for Palestinian refugee families and then for Syrians from the Golan heights seeking refuge following the six-day war with Israel in 1967. The neighbourhood is also home to Syrian migrants from the rural areas as well as Kurdish people from the Northern villages of Syria, Turkmen communities and Iraqi refugees. Earnings from unskilled labour are the basis of family incomes.
We finally found the centre for children, established by Armadilla in cooperation with a Syrian woman’s organisation, called Zahret Al Mada’en where children suffering from neurological disorders are treated. The initial funds for building this centre were provided by an Italian Foundation specializing in child neuropathology,
Today, the centre provides diagnostic and physiotherapy services for more than 200 children of Hajar al-Aswad. Volunteers from Italian universities regularly come to this centre for treating the children and teaching new techniques to the Syrian physiotherapists. The organisations also organise meetings and events to raise awareness among the local people on the importance of diagnosing and treating neurological disorders early in children. The centre has now also become a space where women meet and discuss issues dear to their hearts, where they learn new skills and produce handicrafts, embroidered garments to earn some additional income for the families.
The success achieved by this small cooperation initiative among two development organisations in Hajar al-Aswad not only attracted the attention of international donor agencies but also the support of the Syrian Ministry for Health. A Syrian doctor from the state health care system regularly visits the centre, diagnoses and treats children and also trains the local physiotherapy assistants. And the European Commission has provided funds for establishing a sewing and embroidery unit that conducts skills training for women, helps them start micro businesses and links them to the markets and end users of the products they produce in this centre. Seeing the impact of this centre on the lives of families living in the neighbourhood, an Italian women’s organisation offered its support to establish a Women’s Resource Centre and provide technical support on designing and business linkages in Italy for marketing the products that women are producing.
In a conflict ravaged Syria with virtually inexistent tourism, the women of Hajar al-Aswad are struggling to market these traditional handicrafts. In this tough moment of Syrian history when international aid has been suspended and the economy is shattered, the Italian and the Syrian organisation continue to provide support to the women of Hajar al-Aswad, to assist their children and to sell their products in Armadilla’s fair trade shop in Rome.
Even if the impact of their work is limited in the midst of the political turmoil in Syria, it is the efforts of organisations such as these and their committed staff that keep alive the hopes of families in Hajar al-Aswad and show them that the world cares.
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Armadilla and the association Zahret Al Mada’en (hereinafter ZAM) have been
working together for more than five years for improving the conditions of
children with disabilities and the general socio-economic conditions of
families living in Hajar Al Aswad. Hajar Al-Aswad is a very poor area situated
in the South of Damascus that started being populated following the six-day
war with Israel in 1967, when, not only Syrians living in the Golan Heights
fled to Damascus, but also Palestinians who had previously found refuge there.
The area -hitherto cultivated fields- was firstly organised as a tent town.
When people started building houses, it attracted unskilled workers from other
villages of the country and this accounts for today’s large and very diverse
population. Alongside IDPs from the Golan Heights and Palestinian refugees,
live Syrian people from different villages, Kurdish people from the Northern
villages of Syria, Turkmen communities and Iraqi refugees who fled the Iraqi
war. Unskilled waged labour forms the core of the families’ incomes along with
formal employment, mainly in governmental/district offices. Although official
statistics are not available from the city council, poverty and the scarcity
of social services characterise the area. The new premises of ZAM (where the
first floor is dedicated to the CBR – Community Based Rehabilitation- program
targeting children with disabilities and the second one to the unit for women)
were completed in 2009 and the association moved in at the end of April 2009.
The capacity building addressed to the volunteers of the centre dealing with
children is offered by an Italian foundation specialized in child
neuropathology. While the establishment of the unit for women has been
possible through the project “Fostering social and economic empowerment among
women in Hajar Al Aswad to reduce poverty and prevent disability” funded by
the European Delegation in Damascus and with the partnership of Armadilla and
ZAM. A laboratory of sewing and embroidery has been equipped and women and
young ladies (between 15-45 y.o) underwent to training to improve their skills
in the sector. The action proposed is meant to expand the above mentioned
project to be structured in order to create job opportunities to trained women
on one hand, and to set up an operational and productive women unit within ZAM.
In this perspective, Armadilla has established a partnership with an Italian
women association in Puglia (Italy), Sud Est Donne hereinafter SED), an
Italian no-profit organisation managing a Women Resource Centre to strengthen
the women unit through Best practices exchanges and technical support.
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Web site and
contacts: www.armadilla.coop/
1. What is (was)
the purpose of this project (program/action)?
The Syrian Government has set national strategic plans to improve women status, promoting their participation in governmental and judicial institutions, labour force and decision making. National strategies aim at increasing political participation of women; eliminating violence and discrimination against them; alleviating poverty and eliminating all forms of illiteracy; increasing the number of non-governmental, civil, and volunteer institutions in the light of executing and promoting the Beijing declaration. Although a favourable climate for actions towards women's improved role and debate around women's rights and empowerment, both the Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) 2005 and 2009 report persisting factors that prevent women's participation in social and economic development. Patriarchal patterns of kinship, the low income and low social status of the population in Hajar Al Aswad make the area very conservative, especially for issues related to women and their role both in the family and in the public life, thus hindering their potential contribution to local development.
The overall objective
of the action is to increase income generating opportunities and to improve
literacy of vulnerable categories of women in one of the needy suburbs of
Damascus
1-To establish a medium-long term partnership between ZAM and SED
2- To empower economically and culturally vulnerable women for social
integration
3- To raise awareness on women's rights, gender roles and gender equity
The target group of the proposed project is the organisation Zahret Al Mada’en (hereinafter ZAM), which is a well established Syrian Non Governmental Organisation and women between 17 and 50 years old from the population of Hajar Al Aswad. The general profile of the target group is women who regularly come to the ZAM centre and women who wish to attend literacy and production courses. Being from the population of Hajar Al Aswad, the medium socio-economic status of the target group is low and generally the targeted women do not participate in the economic development of their communities, except for some who join the informal market.
In particular, the target group will be made up of 120 persons (men and women) sensitised on gender equity and women rights; 60 women who will be trained on the production chain; 10 volunteers of the ZAM association involved in the programme.
Final beneficiaries of the action will be the population in Hajar Al Aswad as a whole, the population in Damascus and in Syria at large will be reached through the awareness and visibility activities.
2. What
did (or will) the Action achieve?
The new premises of ZAM (where the first floor is dedicated to the CBR – Community Based Rehabilitation- programme targeting children with disabilities and the second floor to the unit for women) were completed in 2009 and the association moved in at the end of April 2009. The capacity building programme addressing the volunteers of the centre who work with children with disabilities is supported by an Italian foundation specialized in child neuropathology. The establishment of the unit for women has been possible through the project “Fostering social and economic empowerment among women in Hajar Al Aswad to reduce poverty and prevent disability” funded by the European Delegation in Damascus and with the partnership of Armadilla and ZAM. A laboratory of sewing and embroidery has been equipped and women and young ladies (between 15-45 years) underwent the training to improve their skills in the sector.
The action proposed is meant to expand the above mentioned project to be structured in order to create job opportunities for trained women on the one hand, and to set up an operational and productive women unit within ZAM. Within this perspective, Armadilla established a partnership with an Italian women’s association in Puglia (Italy), Sud Est Donne (hereinafter SED), an non-profit organisation managing a Women’s Resource Centre to strengthen the women unit through Best practice exchanges and technical support.
The relevance of this
project to country and target group needs lies primarily in the following
points:
1. The action addresses the relatively limited role of NSAs in the creation of
job opportunities for women;
2. It tackles the issue of scarce opportunities for women to fulfil or upgrade
their education. Many of the women who currently come to the ZAM association
did not find regular education inclusive enough to continue their education.
The literacy courses that ZAM will provide through new and innovative teaching
methods will become a second chance for those women who missed their
education. In addition, the productive unit will be a space for linking ZAM
with the market and therefore creating job opportunities for those women who
completed the courses;
3. The action is relevant to the national targets in that it offers a
life-long learning opportunity to the community of Hajar Al Aswad. It will
closely link theory and practice so as to be more adequate to adult learning
as well.
4. The action is also relevant to the national objectives of increased role of
women in the economic and social development of the country.
3. What
was the methodology used for implementing this project(Program/action)?
The partnership has a general framework aiming to improve socio- economic conditions of the Hajar Al Aswad community. At the beginning of the project, the detailed project document will be sent to the Ministry as per Syrian procedures.
The Ministry of
Culture – Department of adult education and cultural development will be
informed about the project activities regarding non formal education in order
to involve them in the implementation phase. The Ministry of Health, direct
partner of Armadilla in the on going project on the rehabilitation of children
with neurological disabilities.
The project is
designed within a framework inspired by:
a- an holistic approach to social services offered to the community targeting
vulnerable categories in particular, women and children, wherein women are
empowered socially and economically;
b- Community oriented approach, where prevention is raised through information
and awareness building and skills development
c- Introduction of specialised skills, knowledge and tools for the management
of income generating activities taking into consideration the Syrian context,
in terms of laws for associations pertaining to productive activities