“There’s not a single family in Syria that hasn’t been affected by this crisis,” says Nour, a second-year college student who spends several hours a week working with displaced families as a UNHCR Outreach Volunteer.
Her mother, a lawyer, encouraged Nour to sign up after she lost her father and brother to the conflict. Nour’s mother wanted her to meet and help people who are less fortunate than her. “Meeting them and listening to their stories has helped me come to terms with my own problems, and made me grateful for everything that I have. My mother wanted me to get the experience and this has taught me that many people are in a worse situation than us.”
Nour 21, was unprepared for what she found on her first visit to the families in the basement shelters in Damascus. “I had heard about people living in a miserable situation, but I only fully comprehended it when I saw it with my own eyes,” she says. She and fellow volunteer Hiba, 20, organize vocational training sessions for displaced women in the shelters, where they learn literacy and practical skills such as tailoring, embroidery and hairdressing.
A big part of the job is building rapport with the residents, Nour explains, especially the men so that they feel comfortable with their wives and daughters attending classes. Nour and Hiba also organize visits to homes of elderly who have no one to take care of them.
Through her work, Nour has met people who have lost everything – their families, homes, jobs. But she has hope she is sharing humanity.
Share Nour’s story, #ShareHumanity
On 19 August, we mark World Humanitarian Day, which recognizes aid workers all over the world, and celebrates their spirit of humanitarianism.
On this day, we come together as members of one community, to demand greater global commitment and support for humanitarian action for Syria and to support those who are most vulnerable and in need of assistance.
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