Imagine your home getting bombed and destroyed twice. What would you do in order to protect your children?
Mohammed decided to flee the devastating conflict in Syria in search of a safer place for his family. They had been living in an unfurnished room in a building for four months when we first met them. But their life hadn’t always been like this.
Before fleeing, Mohammed had a beautiful house. He had farmland where he grew wheat and raised sheep.
The first time their house was bombed, Mohammed decided to stay and rebuild.
But the second time they saw the planes circling over their home, the family had no choice; they had to leave.
They fled quickly, leaving everything behind. Eventually they reached a displacement camp, where they found an empty room to stay in.
Mohammed told us how difficult living away from home is. They have no electricity, water is very scarce and there are open sewage channels.
What’s more, there are no schools for his four children to go to and no medical facilities. They stayed in the building for four months, until the owner of the building told them they couldn’t stay there anymore.
With five days to find a new home, Mohammed was worried for his children. He borrowed some money and materials and he built a tent to shelter his family. But they did not have enough blankets or clothing to withstand the harsh winter.
Help families like Mohammed’sNow we live in a tent and with the rain and cold the situation is worse. Winter is hard and cold, to keep the children warm we cover them with blankets.
We supported Mohammed’s family with the aid items his family needed. Mattresses to sleep comfortably, solar lights to help them move around in the dark, and warm clothes for the cold nights.
Mohammed thanked ShelterBox and our partner ReliefAid for providing his family with the essentials they needed to get through the ruthless Syrian winter.
When asked what his wishes and hopes were for the new year. Mohammed’s eldest son Majid replied:
I hope to return to my home and school, to play with my friends and the planes stop killing us.
