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Displaced in Northwest Syria: Amon's Story
“The cash-for-food assistance came at a critical time, as I had severe financial problems,” says Amon.
Amon, a 45 year-old mother of five daughters, is from one of the small villages in southwest Idlib, Syria. Amon had a simple life there, living in a three-room house with her husband and their daughters, her mother-in-law, and her husband’s sisters and nephew.
Ahmed, Amon’s husband, used to work in one of the village’s schools. However, things became difficult after the outbreak of the conflict as schools were closed, and he was left without a job. Ahmed and Amon then began to sell vegetables to support the family.
However, after the escalation, the family was forced to leave their village. They fled to the northern part of Idlib, where they settled in one of the IOM-supported camps for internally displaced people.
“I have five young daughters who are dependent on me, and my husband can’t work due to his severe illness as he has a disability and suffers from kidney calcification. His two sisters suffer from mental illnesses. I am the only one capable of supporting our family. We don’t have enough financial resources or income to secure medication for them or get food and clothes for my daughters,” explains Amon.
Amon is one of many people in northwest Syria who received cash-for-food assistance under a project implemented by IOM Turkey and its partners in northwest Syria with the support of the Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF).
“Now I have bread on our table every day. I can buy more bulgur, rice and sugar, and today, after receiving the money, I bought eggs for the first time in a month, and I was also able to buy chicken for the first time in over five months,” says Amon.
“Now that I have enough food in my house, I can buy medications and some heating materials to use during this harsh winter,” she adds.
Within the current project implemented by IOM Turkey with the support of its partners, including SCHF, IOM will further ensure and improve access to food for more than 4,000 internally displaced families in northwest Syria.