Success Story

“To continue is a success, persistence itself is a great success.”

Sally Ghannoum, the Syrian woman who was chosen as one of the most influential people in the city of Antwerp. In an appreciation of her role, her portrait was placed in the Sint Anna Voetgangerstunnel alongside the portrait of the mayor of Antwerp and some successful and influential personalities.

 Who is Sally Ghannoum?

A Syrian artist, film director, humanitarian, and businesswoman in Antwerp, Belgium. I emigrated with my husband, the engineer and poet Issam Youssef, and my son Andy from Syria at the end of 2015.

How did you take your first steps?

In the summer of 2013, the trunk of the large Dilbi tree broke off in Mashta El Helou. My husband, our friend the lawyer Wael Sabbagh, and I turned to the international Syrian sculptor Alaa Muhammad. To make a sculpture inspired by the trunk of the Dilbi tree, and we called it the statue of birth. During the work on the sculpture, we would sing, play music around the tree of Dilbi, and invite all passers-by to join us. Since then, the Dilbi Cultural Forum was established in Mashta Al-Helou in Syria.

When I arrived in Belgium with my family in 2015, I decided to pursue my studies in film directing. I got a scholarship at an American Directing University in Antwerp and excelled with distinction. Then I directed the video clip of “Helwa Ya Baladi” and the short graduation film “Red Wine”.

 How did the idea of ​​establishing the Dilbi restaurant begin?

While directing the graduation film, my husband served Syrian food to the staff. They liked our Syrian food very much and suggested we open a Syrian restaurant as a joke. But this idea stuck in our minds and we decided to open an authentic Syrian restaurant, which we called The Dilbi Restaurant.

Through the restaurant, I had the opportunity to work with the largest theaters in Antwerp. My first job was at the Toneelhuis Theatre. I presented a joint work between Belgium, Austria, and Italy with Iraqi director Mokhallad Rasem in the play “Mother song”. After that, I presented several traditional Syrian musical evenings in important theaters such as the Arenbergschouwburg.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

After launching our first small restaurant “Dilbi Falafel”, we worked 14 hours a day. The work was very stressful and with poor income. We suffered from the financial climate and the high taxes due to the dishonesty and exploitation of our accountants. As a result of my husband’s illness, we had to close the restaurant after 1 year and 7 months.

later, one of our clients suggested that we contact Microstart, which provides loans to small businesses. And that’s what we did, and here our lives changed and we also had a volunteer consultant from Microstart.

We bought a place at a good location and success began, many important politicians, businessmen, businesswomen, and artists visited us. I became an influential businesswoman for Microstart and was invited to many conferences and workshops. And when the pathway and effects of the Coronavirus pandemic became somewhat clear, we established our second restaurant in Antwerp. 

How did music contribute to your success?

Despite the fatigue and hard work in the restaurant, I did not leave the music and used to perform many musical evenings. This prompted my husband and me to open the Dilbi Cultural Forum in Antwerp, funded by the two Dilbi restaurants, in 2020.

As an artist, I am a big believer in music. I teach traditional Syrian songs through the Whisper organization and also individually to foreigners in an Acapella style. And Arabic music finds a beautiful and influential acceptance by people, and most of the attendees at all my musical evenings are Belgians and foreigners. Music is truly the language and soul of the world.

What are your tips for anyone still searching for their way?

We can not be weak in the face of crises, we must unite and act with wisdom, rationality, and strength to survive. Me, through my meetings and some conferences and workshops for businesswomen, I encourage women to start their projects and look to the future differently. The world is constantly changing, and we, as human beings, do not say that we should deviate from the trend. But we have to act wisely and rationally to get through any adversity in life. There is no perfect life anywhere in the world but we are the ones who make a difference.

What is the difference between a successful and an ordinary person?

Success is not only in the beginning, but to continue is also a success, persistence itself is a great success. We must have a clear vision of what we want, and the goal must be clear and we strive to achieve it. There are no ideal conditions for success, crises will not end.

Time and circumstances change and we have to be flexible in a way that we do not lose our identity but rather develop and refine ourselves.

What are your future goals?

My goal is to leave a mark in this world before I leave it, humanity is my goal. I hope to work until my last breath in this life, and grow and expand as the branches of the Dilbi tree all over the world. From this touching story, we learn not to give up, we learn to stand up after every failure, and we learn to find opportunities or create them if they do not exist. Do not hesitate or be afraid to pursue your goals, take the initiative and try even if you fail.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

“There are myriad dreams, and they will remain ever-present.” With these words, Nadra Rabie described her journey that, as she added later, has not and will never end in the path of success as long as she is still alive. Syria embraces many successful women who must be talked about because they are a source of inspiration, hope, and confidence, for every diligent has a share of success, and borders are merely ideas created in our minds.

Who is Nadra Rabie?

A Syrian woman from the city of Aleppo. She studied Sociology at the University of Aleppo (2006-2010) and in 2013 pursued a master’s degree. She worked as a social counselor in several schools affiliated with the Directorate of Education. She became a psychosocial support trainer within the local team of the Syrian Ministry of Education and a psychosocial counselor in several NGOs, including the Education Association and the Child Care Association between 2015-2017.

In 2017, she was a co-founder of the “Subul” team for development, with the participation of a group of active youth in Aleppo and with the aim of voluntary social responsibility. In 2018, she took over the supervision of the follow-up and evaluation of several projects in the field of community cohesion at the United Nations Development Office in Aleppo.

She is currently the director of the “Zakhraf” project which aims to empower women to work in the ‘Ajami (Damascus painting), and the general director of the “Methodologies” Initiative in Aleppo, which is concerned with empowering associations, individuals, and institutions to follow-up, evaluate, conduct community and quality research, and to know the real impact of projects.

Zakhraf Project

It is one of the “Subul” development projects, it began in 2018 by conducting research on the most important professions that are threatened with extinction. ‘Ajami profession was chosen and women in Aleppo Governorate were trained in this profession from scratch.

This project was implemented in several stages. The first was embodied in sessions conducted with women and their husbands that would raise awareness of the law and the importance of women’s work for them and their families, in addition to holding exhibitions and selling their products.

The second phase began with opening places to sell and workshops for women within a safe environment in the old city of Aleppo. The project faces many challenges, such as the weak purchasing power of these types of products and the change in the prices of raw materials.

The importance of the Zakhraf project lies in contributing to the revival of the endangered intangible heritage (‘Ajami) in this ancient city, in addition to empowering women with a profession that provides them with an economic return and helps them support their families.
The Zakhraf project was able to bring modernity and innovation to this profession by introducing wooden and decorative designs and colors that fit the spirit of the age.

What difficulties did Nadra encounter and how did she overcome them?

Every difficulty she went through constituted a crossing point for new development for Nadrah, when she graduated and got excited about starting and building herself, the war and its harsh and difficult conditions broke out in Aleppo. She was overwhelmed by intense anxiety and fear of stopping to achieve dreams, so she found work, continuous striving, always creating alternatives, and keenness to invest in all the opportunities around her as a way to survive.

In the experience of motherhood, and from scratch, she faced an environment that forced her to stop working and developing until her child reached a certain age. It was organizing the time and prioritizing, with indifference to the view of others and their denunciation for accompanying her daughter to work and attending courses or meetings.

Nadra says: “My experience is a message of support for the working and ambitious mother, and thank God for the golden period for the development of my work and my experiences is the period of motherhood.”

What is Nadra’s advice to everyone still looking for their way?

“Find and determine what is your passion in life, and if it is difficult to achieve it at the present time, make it always present in your thinking and work for it, and you will find yourself going towards achieving it somehow without realizing it.”

What is the difference between a successful person and an ordinary person?

“A successful person does not differ from any ordinary person except that he possesses passion, determination, and honesty in work. As for the family aspect, it is the satisfaction of parents.”

Dreams and Upcoming Goals?

“There are myriad dreams, and they will remain ever-present, God willing. My dream is to be a positive element and to leave a constructive imprint wherever I am.”

From the Uplifting Syrian Women family, we wish Nadra never to stop dreaming and to turn all those dreams into reality, and we wish her more success.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

“A positive impact on the lives of others – even if it is only one person – is enough to know the path and persist it”.

The heroine of our story is a  Syrian young woman, who was affected by the situation of the Syrian community in Spain in general, and the lack of interest in this component of Spanish society, especially women. She noted the challenges faced by her compatriots and that their struggle for survival is still going on.

She noted the challenges faced by her compatriots and that their struggle for survival is still going on. This stirred the entrepreneurial spirit within her, translating this into practice by founding Kudwa organization to be an example for her generation in turning challenges into achievements.

Who is Razan?

Razan Ismail is a Syrian resident in Barcelona, Spain. Founder of Kudwa organization, a  Member of the Migration Expert Group at the European Commission, and director of the training Department at New Women Connectors Organisation.

How did you start your first step in kudwa organization?

I started the first step when I moved from England to Barcelona, where I felt a lack of support for the Syrian community / Arabic-speaking community in Spain, especially for women. In addition to the lack of decent work opportunities. Without mentioning the difficulties caused by this marginalization in achieving integration into the new society, and understanding the opportunities for progress when the main concern is survival. I created Kudwa organization to create a supportive community among the community members and to exchange experiences and information, and from there, Kudwa organization grew based on the needs of this community.

Kudwa was at first for Syrians in Spain and extended to include several Arabic-speaking nationalities. Because of the great similarity in situations and circumstances, the same challenges and the same goals too.

What difficulties did you face and how did you overcome them?

The difficulties were generally structural and foundational difficulties. The difficulties of registering an organization and obtaining financial support for carrying out meaningful activities. I started volunteering for a long time before getting enough funding to support the activities.

I overcame it with the support of the community we built, and to keep the needs of this community as a compass for making decisions and continuing to work

What are your tips for everyone who is still searching for the way?

My piece of advice is that they explore their personal values as a guide to the right path. Follow their intuition and persevere in their work. “A positive impact on the lives of others – even if it is only one person – is enough to know the path and persist it,” she said.

What is the difference between a successful and an ordinary person?

The difference between a successful and an ordinary person is the circumstances. I believe that anyone can be successful if they have the right conditions. It is possible that one of us will not be able to make a difference until having the right conditions. Or rather, until the foundations are available to create the right conditions.

What are your next dreams and goals?

My dreams are to be able to create a community capable of supporting its members, and for everyone in it to feel that they can pursue their dreams with the help of others. A society that grows with the growth of its members. From small projects to the change of policies and laws related to it.

My next goals are to work to increase the representation of our immigrant community at all stages of decision-making and policy-making at the national and European levels and to increase the awareness and involvement of society in Spanish and European political life.

From Uplifting Syrian Women Family, we wish all the success to Razan in her lofty endeavor, and we are sure that we will see Kudwa organization among the most successful organizations that seek to integrate Syrian immigrants into their new communities.

Also read: Baraa Altrn.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

Routine life can often be a graveyard for our dreams without being aware of that, the boredom and delay that many fall into can be one of the most serious problems that may not be seen or quickly realized.
The story of Baraa and her insistence on achieving her ambition can be an important experience for everyone who tries to achieve their dreams in the light of the difficulties we face in our simple daily lives.

“Inspiration is the luck of the skill, Should it strive” With this phrase, our heroine for this month summarized her success story, Baraa AL-Trn, a young Syrian woman. She entered the field of writing strongly, and proved herself with a beautiful promise that will be fulfilled by releasing her first book, titled “Fourteen sad faces” The book will be published soon by the “ALmutawassit House”.

Who is Baraa?

A young Syrian woman, born in 1995, studied law at Damascus University. So, I am now a lawyer and writer.

How and when did you take the first steps in the world of writing?

I started writing in the fifth grade of primary school, with the great support of the Arabic teacher, who openly expressed her vision of an amazing ability I have in writing expression topics, and this statement and support may be from the teacher, and this was the first step in the world of writing.

The first real step was in 2019 within the “Innocence” page in the Syrian Al-Ayyam newspaper, which is an independent Syrian newspaper that was published on a weekly basis.

What difficulties did you face and how did you overcome them?

Baraa talks about the most prominent difficulties she faced during her journey to prove herself in the world of writing, and comes first, the challenges of daily life in Syria, from power outages, followed by turning off the “laptop” at critical moments, such as your need to finish a job you started or The moment of revelation or a moment of inclusion in the story must not be interrupted.

They are insurmountable difficulties, so the only solution is to accept them and adapt to them. Difficulties of another kind, manifested by anxiety and fear of failure, which are natural feelings that every person experiences, especially when he approaches the realization of his biggest dream, with moments of fatigue and anger directed at me, but the most difficult are the moments when a person feels that he wants to give up but to overcome them is a great victory.

What are your tips for everyone who is still looking for the way?

I don’t have a ready-made book of advice that I can give to others who would like to go through the same experience. Everyone has their own story, their own unique experience, and a journey with its hardships and accomplishments, but the important thing is not to give up.

What is the difference between a successful and an ordinary person from the point of view of your experience?

In fact, I see that the successful person is the one who decides to give more time and make more effort to achieve his dream. Here, I would like to mention a sentence by the poet Mahmoud Darwish:  “Inspiration is the luck of the skill, Should it strive”

The measure of success for me is always related to skill and effort. As for her goals, Baraa said: “I have a permanent goal to say that we, as Syrians, still exist, and our dreams are still big, and we will find the ways that will lead us to it in the end.”

From the Uplifting Syrian Women family, we wish Baraa every success in her life, and in all her steps, and we are happy and proud to shed light on her inspiring success story.

‏♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

Also read: Leen Waddah Sa’eb.

Who is Leen? Leen Waddah Sa’eb

How did you start?

I studied Civil Engineering at Damascus University, Irrigation, and Drainage Department, and I graduated in 2011. Then I continued my master’s studies at Damascus University in Information Technology in 2012. After that, I received a scholarship from Reda Saeed Foundation to study for a master’s degree in Britain, where I attended the University of Exeter in 2015 to study Water Resources Management specialization.

What difficulties did you face? and how did you overcome them? 

I had difficulties when I was in Damascus and when I arrived in Britain. The first difficulty which affected me the most was the war. Initially, I worked with the Public Corporation for Transport and Communications at Al-Duweir headquarters; we used to go to work during the shelling, and the other option was to stop working and stay at home for fear of shelling. But like all Syrians, we have learned to resist fear, wake up in the morning, live our lives, and go to our work as if nothing had happened. This war taught me that if I could make my way through it, I would surely be able to overcome any fears. During that time, I was studying for a master’s degree and attending courses to learn AutoCAD. Preoccupation with these courses and studies distracted me from the pain of war and prompted me to continue. Then I worked as an engineering team leader at Oxfam, where we traveled to dangerous areas to deliver water.

The second difficulty: managing a team of engineers older than me, all men, was not an easy task. I had to work even harder to prove myself and convince everyone to deal with the issue of a woman being a manager, which exists in our society.
Then there was the difficulty in applying for scholarships and access to funding; I had applied to many universities until I got university admission. In addition to studying English in order to take the IELTS exam, which is required for the scholarship. I would also advise all those trying to get a scholarship, to not despair of the first refusal and keep trying.

When I arrived in Britain, the difficulty of expatriation and adaptation was my first obstacle, and the difficulty of being away from family and friends, which is difficult to overcome even if you surround yourself with new friends. And then the difficulty of self-proof as a Syrian who works in a language that is not her mother tongue and in a developed country where there is no room for error.

What advice would you give to all those still seeking their path?

My advice to them is not to be satisfied with what they learned at university, but rather to take advantage of the Internet that is now available, which contains all the means that help a person to reach the goal. Take advantage of this progress and openness to the world and this abundance of information to progress in the field they love.  Especially the age of youth, it is the most suitable age for working hard and striving, use your time to develop yourself. This is the most important advice.

The second piece of advice: Do not stop, I believe that every diligent person has a share;  no one puts an effort somewhere and goes to waste. Energy never perishes in the universe. One scientific fact and its practical application in our lives are that every effort placed in one place will inevitably produce an outcome someday. It may take a while for this result to show up, but it will show up.

The third piece of advice: Set your target and do not work at random. When you set a goal, create a plan to reach that goal and define that plan, and then start implementing it in a realistic way that fits your lifestyle. Believe that you may fail at first, but you must continue. Believe as well that success is a cumulative process and will not happen overnight.

What is the difference between a successful and an ordinary person from the point of view of your experience? 

Continuity; a successful person goes after the target patiently, while a normal person gets bored and loses hope in the first challenge. The difference is definitely not in the person’s intelligence or mind. The difference lies in one’s belief in himself and his abilities. The difference is that the successful person determines what he wants, and works to reach what he wants, while the normal person loses interest in what he wants and gets distracted easily.
Success occurs at the moment when fatigue is increasing. Do not despair, only at this moment lies success; in the extra effort.

What are your dreams and upcoming goals?

I want to succeed in my current job as Senior Project Manager for Water Line Extension Projects in Britain at Arcadis. In addition, one of the plans I am currently thinking of is a social media project to spread knowledge among young people to discuss the problems of our Syrian society and seek to develop it.

Share with us a quote or a sentence that you think summarises your career? 

Perseverance is the key to success, with perseverance you can overcome everything, even the absurd.

Also read: Success Story: Rouaa Hamze.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

“From Pain comes Hope” With this line Rouaa Hamze, our Syrian hero of this day, summarized her success story and said, “In order to leave a mark in this life; we must be driven by passion and in our hands is the message that we aim to deliver in our own unique way.”

Rouaa is the life-loving and optimistic better tomorrow girl, as every girl is sometimes owned by the rush and irritability, but before long she comes back to take off with persistence, confidence, and steady steps on her path to climb the ladder of success.

Rouaa chose to leave her mark in the field of media presentation with all she has of sensations and feelings to share them with people, and to leave a positive mark in the hearts of every person in need of a hope boost, and encourage them to move forward in their own path.

Her passion for the media has accompanied her since childhood, but unfortunately, she couldn’t enter this field academically because of a medical error that she endured in 2010, and this mistake has ensured to make her feel desperate and at distance from her dreams and life wishes; but with her family’s support and with the will and belief inside our hero; she decided to start over.

At the beginning of the year 2011, she decided to study business administration because it fits her health condition, and the site of the university was close to her home region. Since Syria has overgone a war and Rouaa’s house was far away from the city center and since business administration wasn’t her desire or ambition؛ she studied for one year in the field business administration and quit at the beginning of the year 2012.

But that didn’t stop her from moving towards her dream no matter how far away it was; so in the year 2013 she was one of the founders of a project designed for people of determination in (Sahnaya) region, the project was under the name (It’s their right for us to stand beside them) and it was called (The Saturday of Hope): an educational entertaining project, it provides entertainment services and physical therapy. She continued in this project for an interval of 7 years; during this period, she contributed to the training on how to deal with people with determination in the center (Whisper for the childhood), to get later experience certificates from the center (Whisper for the childhood) and the initiative (The Saturday of Hope).

In 2016; an initiative called (Peace Lens) provided chances to train in the field of journalism, media, creating movies, and photography, Rouaa was one of the first in the journalism and media field, and that’s where her dream started to come true, when she was granted a chance of a broadcast training in the broadcast (Sham FM) she learned the principles of editing and received a certificate of experience for one month and a half, she then worked in electronic websites. In the year 2019; she moved to work in a visual program that was the first of its kind with the teacher (Maher Chabana), the program (Keys for ambitions) on the social media platforms shines a light on the creativity of people of determination, their success, the obstacles they went through and the solutions; the program spread locally, for Arabs and internationally.

She continued until 2020 when the real opportunity came to officially join the media field on Radio (Farah FM) with her colleague (Elyssar Ahmed) in the first program to implement the concept of integration in the field of Syrian media for two seasons in a row in the program ( Maybe Something will Change). And recently, in 2021, she started her own program (Taa Marbouta), a feminist social program on (Farah FM) radio; It is a program that talks about empowering Syrian women and shines a light on their concerns and their problems.

Rouaa went through many obstacles that determined people go through, beginning with the unserved infrastructure, not having electric elevators or “ramps” to facilitate her work, and the social culture of lack of acceptance and unfair prejudgement of determined people؛ all of this was standing between their participating in activities; in addition to the imbalance of professional and educational opportunities, and many other problems and obstacles.

Rouaa has faced many difficulties when she was exposed to a medical error in addition to her adapting to a wheelchair, but she insisted to continue to move forward with determination and belief in herself and her ability, develop her personality, impose her presence and opinions, and that no obstacle would stand in her way, as she said: “It is very difficult to accept that you are in full health, and suddenly you see yourself as a burden on others, but with thanks to Allah in the first place, my family and my close friends, I am now able to overcome all circumstances.”

Rouaa had a fundamental supporter, her family; she was able to do many things, and she did not give up, Instead, she insisted and moved on her way; but every person needs support, especially young men and women with determination to be able to create success; and happiness, optimism and hope start from within the person himself, this is how Rouaa believes, and this is what she would like to share with simple words to spread her experience, perhaps give hope and be a support for someone. In Rouaa’s opinion: “A successful person is not satisfied with thinking of solutions and overcoming obstacles, but rather tries to learn from the lessons and experiences they went through to create achievements, and become a source of inspiration, motivation, and strength for others. They are never satisfied, and continue with their generosity, passion, and ambition.”

Rouaa continues to set goals on her path and continue to progress towards them, by developing herself and her capabilities, to engaging in more new and distinctive experiences; her dreams know no limits, and her biggest and most important dream is healing.

Rouaa promised us and everyone who loves her of beautiful upcoming work that she will work on soon. In the end, Rouaa thanked the initiative for her interview, and for choosing her to be one of the success stories, so that she could share her experience to spread hope and love. She wished success and brilliance for the initiative because of its role in advancing women and enhancing their position and role in society.

Also read: Woman of History- Thuraya Al-Hafez.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

Today, we will tell you about a Syrian heroine whose story began in Lattakia and spread to the world. We will start with one of her dearest sentences to our hearts as a simple introduction of her: “Dream big, even if your beginning is small, to begin is what matters, just begin.” It’s Laila Deeb.

Introduction to Laila Deeb

Leila is the Director of the Software Engineering Department at (ESKO) in Belgium. She works in the field of innovative technical solutions and is the founder of (Syrian Women in Tech); a project that aims to search for female Syrian computer programmers and engineers, with the intention of training them and connecting them to the Belgian and European labor market.

Her story began at a young age with the discovery of her passion for technology in general and programming in particular. She remembers watching a movie starring (Angelina Jolie) playing the role of a programmer, and out of her love for the idea, she began to research more on this matter, and that continued until the end of high school.

Her hard work was capped with enrolling in the Faculty of Informatics Engineering in Syria, but the real challenge for Laila was after graduation; it is the labor market, was confusing for her, as she didn’t know what to do and where to begin. 
Laila has a passion for teaching and delivering the information in the best way possible, that is why she chose this field, and began working at the Faculty of Informatics Engineering at Tishreen University, and continued in this field for several years.

Laila Deeb’s professional life

For the sake of change; Laila began working and honing her skills in another field, so she worked for a software company in Syria, and she emphasized the importance of this opportunity for her and her career.
Laila’s passion for continuing development and working for larger companies and greater projects led her to the decision to travel and start her career abroad.

Laila says: (Anyone who sets a goal for themselves and determines their path will face many difficulties, and the difficulties that I faced are still engraved in my memory to this moment.)
At first, and despite her many attempts, she was faced with rejection; which caused her some frustration, but her determination was stronger than rejection, so she continued to apply for job opportunities in several companies for a year and a half until she was able to get a job.

Laila shared her experience by saying: (I started preparing my resume to look for job opportunities that fit my skills, and tried a lot with multiple companies, until I succeeded in getting a job interview, and started working with the company remotely until I got the visa and traveled to Belgium).
Despite getting the job, Laila kept on improving herself and learning new skills to be able to work with large companies.

When she arrived in Belgium; she started thinking about her college friends and the students she had taught, and she was looking into how to secure similar job opportunities for all the struggling Syrian women in Syria who have a desire to develop; aiming to change the lives of Syrian girls by providing them with job opportunities that suit their ambitions.

Establishing (SWIT)

From here, the idea of ​​the (Syrian Women in Tech) project began to take shape and evolve in Laila’s mind until the dream became a reality!
The founding of the (SWIT) project was one of the biggest challenges that Laila faced, as such a project requires a lot of effort and exhaustion, in addition to being exposed to a bunch of difficulties.

Among these difficulties were finding financial support for the project and setting up an integrated team capable of performing many tasks, including planning, implementation, and evaluation, and of course, all of this became easier when she was able to better organize her time.
Laila gave us a number of tips to benefit from her rich experience, and in turn encourage us to achieve our goals; among these tips:

1- Continuity: All roads are full of difficulties, but the most important thing is to start and continue, even if progress is slow, what matters is working towards your goal.
2- Acquaintances: It is always necessary to seek help from people who are more experienced, people we know, friends, or teachers, and this is what Laila learned from the difficulties she went through.
3- Surrounding ourselves with encouraging and supportive people: We must always surround ourselves with people we share the passion and exchange positive energy, as we may often feel defeated and tired, and have doubts about our goals, so we choose a different path, but being with people who are encouraging and supportive gives us impulse and motivation to keep going; be they a professor, friend or social media content creator.
4- Helping others: We must help others; in doing so, we give back to the people who helped us.

Also read: Woman from history- Rana Kabbani

The meaning of success for Laila

Success has many meanings, and everyone sees success from a different point of view, but there are several factors common to all successful people; which are:

• Time management.
• Setting a clear goal.
• Avoiding slackness and delay.

This is the magical recipe to achieve success at any level, and Laila added, “Whenever a dream is achieved, a new dream is born, and whenever we reach a goal, we shift our focus to the next goal. At the moment, I am working on developing my skills in the professional field, while focusing on the (SWIT) project, and collaborating with the team to achieve my first chance of success.”
In conclusion, Laila thanked our initiative (Uplifting Syrian Women) for our interest in sharing her story, as well as thanking each one of us for everything we are doing; since the Syrian society is in dire need of such initiatives that support and help people, especially women, to meet their goals.

She focused on the importance of striving to develop these initiatives with the aim of facilitating access to information and its sources, she also thanked us for all the workshops that we are holding through the initiative, whether they are in the field of programming, English language, or in other fields, as she was certain that these workshops are not only a source of knowledge; but a great source of support and motivation for all beneficiaries.
She ended by saying: (I wish you all the best in your journey to make a positive change, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of this initiative).

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.