Powering Hope

The Hussein* family lost their farm nearly eight years ago as they fled their home city of Aleppo, the war taking the final bit of the livelihoods they’d tried to hold onto as conflict took hold of Syria. For generations, they and many of their neighbors had been farmers, harvesting crops and raising animals both they and their community members depended upon. But indiscriminate bombings and deliberate government attacks took all of that from them, leaving them without homes, lands and their way of life. 

Since then, Syrian refugees have fallen into a food shortage as the war’s raged, leaving families across the Middle East region without access to the most basic food items once so commonplace. Eggs, milk and produce are now beyond what most families can afford as inflation’s taken hold. The Hussein* family, far from their original land and living as refugees in a town several hours away from their former home, were struggling to make sure their kids were fed. So they tried to return to what they knew best: farming. They didn’t have their original equipment, plot of land, or money for seeds. But they had their skills and dreams. 

They got to work, saving what they could and spending all day preparing the small bit of ground where they live. They came to us with a request for a generator, to help them get power and water to start farming again. Our One Always Matters community came together to complete this request, which we thought would maybe help them feed their family for the next season. We assumed at best it would give them the most simple basics to keep them healthy over the coming months. 

But what happens when community gathers, time and time again? It doesn’t just power hope for one. It powers it for us all. We got a call, just a few weeks after funding the generator. It didn’t just produce a harvest to feed one family. It produced overflow, allowing them to harvest enough fresh food to feed nearly their whole village. It will keep going, too. In an area of scarcity, you helped power abundance. The generator powered so much more than just some electricity. It powered a movement and a moment of hope, from New York to Syrian refugee camps. 

*Name changed to protect family

Cayce