Collateral Repair Project

Eid al-Adha marks the beginning of the new year and is the most important holiday in Islam. During the holiday, CRP will be closed. This gives our Muslim staff members time to observe the holiday, and everyone (regardless of religion) gets a much-needed rest!

A few months ago, CRP nominated two of CRP’s Syrian staff members, Aseel and Hesham, to attend a three-week leadership exchange program in the United States. Eventually they got the word that they’d both been accepted into the program!

“If it wasn’t for the food vouchers, I couldn’t manage in my day-to-day life,” says Fareed, whose family receives food vouchers from CRP. “The food voucher filled a large gap in our nutrition. We rely on it.”

CRP’s Education Specialist, Karam, developed the Teen Leadership Training Program last year. The course aims to promote teen leadership, provide spaces for teens to act as mentors to younger children, and take responsibility in their community.

“In Syria, I owned stores, I had six cars, I held millions with this hand," remembers Hashem. "Now it’s all gone. And we became refugees.”

Each year, we assist hundreds of families in sending their children back to school. Back-to-School vouchers provide children with necessary school supplies like backpacks, uniforms, and textbooks, all of which are often financially inaccessible to refugee families.

Aseel moved her fingers back and forth to mimic to the movement of scissors. “I like the hair cutting. When I started I was really not good but now I am very good,” she shared with a confident grin.

Last week, CRP was overwhelmed with bittersweet sentiments as staff members, beneficiaries, interns, and volunteers said their goodbyes to Zayneb Al Asaadi, CRP’s Deputy Director and Overseer of Emergency Assistance.

Hashemi Shamali, the neighborhood where CRP operates, is a diverse one. At CRP, Syrians, Iraqis, Jordanians, and others get the chance to meet, make friends, and build community.

Nada’s journey from Syria to CRP is harrowing, but not unordinary for someone displaced by the Syrian Civil War.