Alia (not her real name), 42, and her family had to walk for days when they fled their home in Syria. Multiple airstrikes made their hometown unsafe, so the family of nine took their animals and the few things they could carry, leaving everything else behind.
“We were leading a decent life, everything was going all right before the war, and we used to sell our crops to earn money. We used to plough our lands to get our food. When we were displaced, we left our land and seeds,” she said.
“We experienced difficult times. We lost everything. Our livestock pen, house and other assets. We lost many of our goats while traveling from one place to another. We could not afford to buy them food.”
The family eventually settled in a host community, setting up a makeshift shelter, and a pen for the animals. However, Alia struggled make ends meet, borrowing money for food and other essentials.
To provide some immediate support to displaced livestock herders, the Syria Resilience Consortium (SRC) provided Alia and others like her with cash so they can buy feed for their animals. They were also taught improved livestock rearing skills.
“We received 120,000 SYP (US$233). I used some to pay my debts and bought feed for the animals for 70,000 SYP (US$136),” she said. “My husband cannot work, so I raise the animals and sell their milk.”
“I still owe the baker money. I pay him from time to time. We depend on milk from the animals for our living. My daughter works for others to help us. Our life is very tough. My other children cannot work, they are very young.”
The SRC aims to provide Syrians like Alia with longer-term livelihood opportunities. For now, the cash will provide some temporary relief for the family so they can continue to raise their livestock.
“When we received the cash, I began selling some of the goats’ milk to buy fodder and bread for the animals. Thanks to God, the donation was enough and helped a lot.”
Photos: Dream Production/Syria Resilience Consortium
