RYSE helps vulnerable households with holistic approach—The story of Hanan

Hanan is an Irbid, Fu’ara -based Syrian housewife. She is married with seven children, and her husband is unable to work due to injuries sustained during his former job, which resulted in chest fractures and nerve damage to one of his feet. Hanan is the family's main breadwinner.

Since April 2021, Hanan and her 22-year-old daughter Reem have been RYSE participants. Under the household business grant of the graduation approach, Hanan chose the sewing project because she is passionate about it and has long-standing experience. She has immediately started working on developing her sewing abilities with the support of her closest friend, who is a professional sewer. Under the RYSE project, Hanan received a new sewing machine to be able to provide tailoring services.

 In addition to the grant support, Mercy Corps through the RYSE project utilizes a holistic approach in providing training and coaching to different family members in many crucial areas including goal setting, stress management, self-awareness and self-esteem, gender, social protection, microbusiness, saving groups and financial literacy to name some. Training and mentorship in these areas play a pivotal role in equipping all family members to face the tough social and economical environment they live in. In this regard, Hanan mentions: “from the training received by Mercy Corps team, I learned new saving techniques, such as I don’t have to buy non-food items that are not necessary just because they happen to be on sale.” She also says: “I search for new ways to buy cheap useful raw materials for my sewing project which helps in lowering the business costs.”

In Jordan, unemployment among young Syrians is as high as 84%, and only 7% of Syrian women participate in the Jordanian labor market. Syrian women face specific constraints, exacerbated by a lack of safe transportation to the workplace, disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work, and a perceived lack of culturally appropriate employment opportunities.

As the main breadwinner of the family, Hanan mentions to Mercy Corps “I’m overwhelmed with joy to have started this new sewing project; I’m now excited to reach out to more customers from the neighboring community to increase the number of sewing orders. I not only sew clothing for all family members, but I recently started to sew bed sheets, pillowcases, and curtains for Syrian households in Irbid.”

Reem, Hanan’s young daughter and who has also been part of RYSE, was in a tough psychological state owing to the effects of war and asylum, as well as the conflict with her ex-husband over living expenses. Reem was unaware of many of her rights and was much assisted by the Group's training sessions and home visits in building her self-confidence and encouraging her to be more assertive in protecting her rights.

Reem mentions “before enrolling in the youth training, I used to spend all my time alone at home, I was intimidated to face the world outside. Thanks to my mother who insisted on my participation in the program and with the support from the RYSE mentors I was able to face my fears, I’ve met new people and made new friends in the training. Each time, I feel I can’t wait to be in the training again to learn new skills and knowledge.”

Hanan – Reem’s mother wants to save more money to purchase a more specialized sewing machine that will help her improve the quality of her sewing products. This will support her increase her efficiency in providing for more orders as well as securing more raw material in the near future.

 The RYSE (Resilient Youth, Socially & Economically) project is a flagship multi-stakeholder partnership counting Jordan River Foundation, Generations for Peace, Mercy Corps, INJAZ, and DRC (Danish Refugee Council) as the lead agency. The Novo Nordisk Foundation is the grant holder. RYSE focuses on empowering 25,000 Syrian refugees and vulnerable young Jordanians affected by the Syrian crisis to become the much-needed positive change agents in a region marred by war and political instability. From 2020 through 2022 RYSE aims to build resilient futures.