It takes a lot of patience, endurance and skill to survive war

War has left my husband and I with no option but to support each other. When things got harder, I had no choice but to step up and use my skill as a beautician to earn the money we need to survive.

 It was natural to me- hair-dressing and applying makeup, since I was a child I have always been able to impress those around me, even when I grew up and before starting my own business, I never failed to get a job.

Eventually, I started my own business, receiving customers in my house, but I needed support in order to be able to continue, that’s when Oxfam started it’s project in our area, I registered and received the support I needed.

Oxfam provided me with training in micro business as well as with finances to grow my business and buy needed equipment to grow my customer base and improve the quality of work.

If I am to describe my family’s living conditions before and after Oxfam’s support, it’s much better now. I am now able to cover all my and my family needs, including my husband’s.

Yet, it is not perfect. War has inflicted many challenges, continuous power cuts, fluctuating exchange rates and higher prices of food and work supplies are all suffocating.

Also, due to the nature of my work, I am always suffering from a backache, I need a chair, a comfortable chair to sit when I have the time to, I also need a bigger air conditioner, the weather here is terribly hot, especially during the summer, but what I need the most is a generator to overcome the power cuts, I have lost a lot of customers because of it.

I hope that Oxfam provide me with the chair and an air-conditioner. I also aspire to rent a shop near to the main street and open my own beauty salon, my house is too far and no car can drive into it, customers walk on foot to reach me.

When I am able to grow my business, hopefully in the near future, I will hire more women where they can be independent like me.