Batoul is a mother of five children, one of whom, Ahmed, has a critical heart condition, In 2012 she was forced to flee Aleppo with her whole family for Egypt.
In Egypt, her husband Mahmoud couldn’t make ends meet and being unable to support his family, left by sea. He eventually ended up in Sweden.
Alone, in debt and having to take every decision on her own, Batoul had to face her new life, wishing her husband was here to help her with some of the important decisions she has to make on her own.
To help her generate a small income to support herself and her family, Batoul joined the cooking program at Souryat Women’s Centre.
“When I worked at the association many people liked the food my colleagues and I cooked. They liked it so much and people who visited the centre started to place orders,” explains Batoul in the video above.
Souryat Association is a Syrian community centre working under the umbrella of Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) – one of UNHCR’s partners. Souryat Association provides support to Syrian women and children through different recreational activities and awareness sessions, and has made an important difference in the day to day life of hundreds of women and children refugees.
Batoul is slowly finding her way as a refugee single mother in a strange country, But some things even the most determined cannot change. In Egypt Batoul searched for the very best treatment for Ahmed’s heart; eventually managing to have him seen by one of the country’s very best heart surgeons – Magdi Yacoub in Aswan. It was the best chance she could give him.
“He will have the surgery and I pray that it succeeds and he sees his father again.”
Watch the story of Batoul above and learn more about UNHCR Egypt’s work by clicking here.
This content is by UNHCR Egypt and edited by Egyptian Streets
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