From strain to safety, the suffering ends today

“My hope is in my children, everything I do is for my family. 

I just want to keep them safe,

to put food on the table.”

Voices 41-year-old Ismail*, but these are not just his quotes, these are the thoughts and emotions running through the minds and hearts of each parent, yearning for nothing but a brighter future for their family.

Sadly, life often delivers a sobering dose of unfair reality. In Azraq camp, Jordan,

58% live below the poverty line, only 19% of adults are employed, and 51% suffer from illnesses.

Despite the unfortunate, Ismail, the father of five, plants hope like a lone flower blooming in the barren desert.

For Ismail, life has never been served on a silver platter; working every day with his bare hands as a farmer in Syria. But as war in Syria arose, life became unbearable; no food, no income and even transportation was not available. Everything went down hell and instead of his little children falling asleep to music tones and bedtime stories, all they could hear were bombardment and cries, that’s when Ismail knew it was time for the decision that changed it all, leaving. “I would’ve endured it all, but I had to leave to save my family”. 

“After leaving Syria and coming to Azraq camp in 2015 with my wife and children, I felt relieved and at home because all I felt was safety, I could finally sleep peacefully on my pillow”, recalls Ismail.

But it doesn’t mean it’s happily ever after for this family.

Ismail’s battle with Hypocalcemia- low level of calcium in the blood, the limited opportunities and aid, compounded by the responsibility of caring for his children, placed an immense financial and emotional burden on the family.

After hearing about the Austrian Development Cooperation funded Private latrine project and the volunteering opportunities, Ismail was thrilled and embraced the opportunity with open arms, quickly applying and getting accepted as a cleaner.

“I was so excited and thought about how transformational this project is for the community. What also made me love my role is the amazing World Vision staff that take care of all our needs and listen to our concerns”, shares Ismail.

Reflecting on how the project provided a lifeline and revitalised Ismail's financial situation, he expresses, "while many of our needs remain unmet, I can at least now afford treatment for my illness and ensure my family's basic needs are met, I think of this project as a gift from god”, expresses the father.

But our mission didn’t stop at loosening the shackles of financial strain; at World Vision Syria Response, we didn't only work on uplifting livelihood, we also provided families with private latrines, killing two birds with one stone. 

Ismail and his family are also among the people who received the private latrine leading them to experience the whole interconnected benefits of the project, “when I heard that World Vision is going to install a latrine in our caravan, I wasn’t only happy, I was exhilarated”, shares Ismail’s wife, Ameera*. You might wonder why, well, within the small neighborhoods and streets of Azraq camp, hide the uncertain nature of refugee camps and the fatigued parents calling for help; public latrines are overcrowded, often host unsanitary conditions, raise many health concerns and pause safety and privacy concerns, “I was once attacked by a stray dog at night, but I still accompany my children each time to the latrine for their safety, I tolerate it all for my children”, says Ameera. But having such a task all the time put even more load on the already busy mom, “I carried a heavy load, juggling childcare, household chores, and accompanying my children. I even cleaned the shared latrine constantly because I’m scared my family will contract diseases and unfortunately, they did multiple times, putting even more financial, mental and physical strain on us, we lived with a rollercoaster of emotions”.

 “But this project changed it all and when I heard that they will distribute cleaning kits to all the families in the camp soon, I felt relieved because I pay a hefty amount for detergents. They truly covered it all and thought about everything”, says a happy Ameera.

Now,

Ismail can wholeheartedly embrace his fatherly duty as a provider.

Ameera no longer lives in fear for the safety and health of her children.

And their children can experience a sense of independence, free from fear and the burden of relying on their parents.

 And this is just one story among the hundreds and thousands of others because we;

We have reached over 1,790 individuals in Azraq camp with private latrines.

Provided 131 volunteering opportunities.

And will supply cleaning kits to the whole camp soon. Stay Tuned.

Because we will continue.

*Names have been changed to protect identity