Syria

Through the Conflict Response Fund, we invest in opportunities for Syrian women and girls to rebuild their lives. 

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Conflict Response Fund Syria

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6.6 million Syrians have been forced to flee their country since 2011

6.7 million people remain internally displaced

417 women enrolled in our programme with Women Now for Development

Supporting Syrian Women

We're working with a local partner to bring opportunities for Syrian women to learn new skills and generate their own income.

A peaceful uprising against the president of Syria, nearly ten years ago, turned into a full-scale civil war. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people, devastated cities and forced millions of Syrians to flee their homes. Women have suffered the most from the resurgence of violence in Syria, with women and girls becoming more vulnerable to brutality, sexual violence and extreme poverty.  

Since 2020, we have partnered with Women Now for Development, a local organisation that works to provide women with the opportunity to attain better livelihoods. The organisation trains, educates and supports Syrian women by providing courses at centres on the outskirts of Idlib and the countryside around Aleppo.   

Through our Conflict Response Fund, we have provided 417 women and girls to date with vocational skills training in sewing, computer maintenance, pastry- and soap-making and offered online classes in Arabic literacy, English language skills and maths. These courses focused on helping women and girls gain marketable skills, earn an income and support their families. After completing vocational training, women were also given small grants to start their own businesses.

Woman using a laptop
Photo credit: Women Now for Development

Women Now for Development Programme

When women are enrolled in the Women Now for Development programme, they take part in a vocational training course.

Here they are taught digital skills including Microsoft Office and Photoshop. These skills will help women earn an income and support their families.

Women like Amra

Like millions of others, Amra was forced to flee her home because of the conflict in Syria. She had always wanted to work with computers but, living in a camp for internally displaced persons and being responsible for supporting her family, Amra's options were limited.    

I’ve always had a passion for technology and dreams of working to provide for myself and my family.

As a 25-year-old Syrian woman far from home and living in a camp, it was difficult. So, when I found out about Women Now for Development, I enrolled in a computer maintenance training course,” says Amra.

After graduating from the programme, all the participants in the computer training course received a laptop and wireless mouse. A few months after classes ended, Women Now for Development caught up with Amra and discovered she had started her own computer programming and maintenance business in the Idlib camp. Amra shared how she goes from tent to tent helping other women fix their computers, install anti-virus software and make their own websites.

The training was great. My neighbour’s laptop broke down and I was able to download the drive and fix it. I started helping my friends create their own Facebook accounts and their own emails. I also used a proxy to work around bans on Google apps by using the tools I learned in the digital security course,” Amra told us. “After learning about computer software, I really want to learn more about hardware so I’d like to get some more training in that.”   

Amra is an inspirational example of the power of women to achieve their ambitions in the toughest circumstances.

Zeina Kanawati from Women Now for Development

Zeina shared, “Our partnership with Women for Women International has empowered women and girls affected by conflict in Syria, and the story of Amra’s success makes us more determined than ever to continue our work.

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Conflict Response Fund

subtitle: In 2018, we launched a new conflict response fund — a separate funding pool to more rapidly help women who are caught in the current horrors of our time. To reach women in their most critical moments, we work with partners who can respond to conflict and

In 2018, we launched a new conflict response fund — a separate funding pool to more rapidly help women who are caught in the current horrors of our time. To reach women in their most critical moments, we work with partners who can respond to conflict and make an immediate impact.


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