Growing Resilience through Opportunities and Well-Being (GROW)

finished

Almost 14 years of conflict in Syria have left Syrians facing one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Economic conditions remain a challenge for vulnerable communities and households in accessing safe and equitable services. As a crisis in a crisis, an earthquake unlike any seen in the region for decades struck southern regions of Türkiye and Syria on February 6th, 2023. The impact of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake and the over 2’000 aftershocks caused that the already high needs sharply increased as it was estimated that 8.8 million people in Syria were directly affected by the earthquake. But the situation in Syria has not stopped to deteriorate since the earthquake.

The economic blockage caused by the regulations of the regime and the sanctions imposed on the country contributed significantly to increased poverty levels. In 2024 also the war in the South of Lebanon and on Gaza drastically changed the focus of the international community away from Syria, assistance for Syria reduced.

Managing the daily life in Syria has become more challenging for many Syrians in the last few months, mainly because economic recovery measures are not introduced, the new government is still learning how governing of a pluralistic country works and is not yet able to ensure safety for the average citizen, as several armed factions continue to pursue their own strategies.

The goal of Caritas Switzerland is to reduce the immediate as well as long-term impact of the earthquake on the affected populations in Syria through a holistic approach empowering individuals and communities. After a one-year emergency response intervention through the project CARES (p230034) and the change to a more mid- to longer-term oriented focus in the project START (p240003), this project GROW continues to increase the self-resilience and well-being of the most vulnerable and reducing dependencies on humanitarian aid.

To create income generating opportunities for affected households in Aleppo, the project GROW applies a holistic approach combining a variety of activities. First, multi-purpose cash assistance along with capacity building trainings aim to stabilize households’ income, then business grants for livelihood restoration and coaching is planned to contribute toward an improvement of households’ income. In total, 230 households will benefit from cash assistance and capacity building trainings of which 70 households will receive business grants. This results in total 1’150 individuals being supported to stabilize or improve their economic situation.

But the project also contributes to meeting the vast mental health needs following the multiple crisis. The psychological support, awareness sessions, and social initiatives will contribute to the psychological wellbeing of total 525 beneficiaries through group and / or individual psychosocial interventions.

For the project GROW, a total of 1’445 people are estimated to have an improved economic and psychological living situation and through this also an improved perspective for their family’s future.