My name is Safa Al Masri, I have one son and three daughters. I came to Turkey in December of 2015. Because of the Syrian conflict, and due to the dangerous living situation, we had to leave Damascus. We were scared for our children’s lives. So, my husband and I decided to leave. In the beginning, I worked as a tailor then at a kindergarten, and my husband was a bus driver, but one year later, he was let go. We did not know what to do, so he decided that the best thing we can do is to go back to Syria. I did not agree with him because the situation wasn’t safe for our children. In the end, he did what he believed was best for our family. Although we hear from him occasionally, we haven’t seen him for two years.
When my husband left and we lost our jobs, I started working as a babysitter for one of my daughter’s teachers, but the money was not enough. Later that year, my oldest son Nasser introduced me to Karam House and the Family program. Joining Karam changed all of our lives. The girls joined the Innovative Education program, and I was able to provide everything they needed. I always tell my children that education is the most important thing in life, that is why I am very grateful for Karam.
I have four children. My oldest, Nasser, is in college studying Nursing. The first time Nasser applied to the Karam Scholars Program, he was rejected. The second time he applied, he was accepted and was able to go to Karabuk University, where he now lives with some of his college friends.
My second oldest is Aya.She’s 18 years old and also in university. When she first joined Karam House, she was very shy and nervous, but after a few studios with Karam, she became much more talkative and outgoing. She wants to study law to become a women’s rights activist. There are a lot of women who are being stripped of their rights. For example, our neighbors are marrying off their 14-year-old daughter, and she doesn’t want to get married. She is too young. And there are a lot of other stories that I read about women’s rights online. It’s important to have more advocates spreading awareness on the issues happening.
Hala is 13 years old. She is very shy, very good at school, and she loves doing her own activities at home. If it’s up to her, she would continue online schooling because she doesn’t want to go back to school in person. In the future, she would like to be either a teacher “because they educate the future generation” as she said, or a doctor “because they heal and help people.”
My youngest daughter is Hiba. Hiba is 12 years old and she is the opposite of Hala; very talkative and outgoing. For her birthday last year, she wanted a cat but I got her a rabbit instead. It was a mistake. The rabbit gave birth and we went from one rabbit to 20 of them! She loved each of them and even gave them names!
My life has changed a lot since I left Syria. Even though I lost so much, I think it changed me for the better. I love spending quality time with the girls, and admire their dedication to learning and bettering themselves.