Salwa* (65), Mouna (60) and Samira (58) were three sisters living in a damaged house in a neighbourhood of Aleppo. Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls, a constant reminder of the war that ravaged their city.
To make ends meet, the sisters rely on humble incomes from simple tasks. Salwa and Mouna spend their days in the cramped kitchen, the air thick with the aroma of cumin and coriander as they prepare savoury pastries to sell to their neighbors. Samira, the youngest, cleans the stairs in nearby buildings, her worn hands scrubbing tirelessly. In the evenings, she soothes her two orphaned grandchildren with whispered lullabies, their tiny hands clinging to her worn dress. The weight of their loss hangs heavy in the air, a constant reminder of the war's cruel toll.
Yet, amidst the hardship, a quiet strength binds these sisters together.
February 2023 earthquakes
The February 2023 earthquakes badly damaged their already fragile home. There were big cracks in the walls, the windows broke, and a large hole opened in the kitchen ceiling. The sisters don't make enough money to buy what they need, like food for themselves and their grandchildren, so they tried to fix the holes in the roof, walls and windows with plastic sheets to protect themselves from the cold, rain and hot sun. ‘In winter, even when we cover the windows, rain still comes through the hole in the kitchen ceiling,’ says Salwa.
But Tearfund’s partner, Medair, has brought some hope to the sisters.
