Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Damascus Countryside, SANA- Undaunted by their harsh circumstances, and pushed by their aspiration to improve their livelihood, especially after the martyrdom of their husbands in the terrorist war waged against Syria, Mayson Hamshou and Ikhlas Flaihan have worked on establishing their own projects through obtaining a loan from “My Project” Program that would help them develop and market their handmade products in Ashrafyat Sahnayia area, Damascus countryside.
Mayson, a wife of a martyr, has excelled in making handmade woolen products as she has turned her ideas into distinguished designs. Her talent and her passion for traditional handicrafts have been the basis for her success and for developing her work.
After the martyrdom of her husband, Mayson realized that her responsibilities have become much bigger as she has become the only breadwinner of her family and she has had to exert more efforts to prove to herself in the first place and to the whole society in the second place that the Syrian woman is able to success in any field regardless of all the difficult circumstances.
Although the loan which Mayson has obtained was very small, she has been able to market her products depending on her relatives and friends, and she has been able to expand her job after exerting relentless efforts to obtain the required outcome as she opened a commercial shop to market her products and other handmade products.
With the passage of time, Mayson has developed her ideas and products which are for the children and the adults, and she started to think of a project that would give her a bigger economic returns as she started to make preparations for the weddings.
“The progress in job entails exerting more efforts and overcoming all the obstacles. It needs a strong will and determination,” Mayson says.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Ikhlas has excelled in the handmade artworks which depend on recycling the environmental waste, in addition to the embroidery, and Knitting wool.
“I excelled in handicrafts because I love them although I haven’t followed any training course, as my talent was the basis of my innovation,” Ikhlas says, adding that she recycles the materials and transforms them into beautiful decorations.
Ikhlas’ love for her work made her aspire to expand it by getting a loan from the program of “My Project” which helped her bring the raw materials needed for her work.
Ikhlas added that she is having difficulty marketing her products even though she participated in many exhibitions, but it is still insufficient and she is currently marketing her products through her relatives as the financial return is too little, so she hopes to raise the value of the loan so that she can further develop her business.
Baghdana Zain, a member of My Project Committee in Ashrafyat Sahnayia, pointed out that the committee’s role is limited to searching for the needy women and getting acquainted with their abilities to work and produce and introducing them to the loans.
She added that the committee selects the neediest women to grant them microloans as a support for them to continue their work without the need for anyone.
Zain said that there are many women who have taken loans and started work and they succeeded, including those working in the “food provisions” and handicrafts and other work which have been the basis for their livelihood.
Ruaa al-Jazaeri