In the last couple of years I have been visiting my country of birth Syria several times a year and the growing and massive poverty that I have met, especially in my native town Qamishli, has shocked me. In my childhood, the area around Qamishli, located in the north east corner of the country, was fertile with rolling grain fields and orchards as far as the eye reached. But among other things, several years of drought and water shortage has increased the pressure on the poor in the area. 

It is especially hard to witness the children’s situation. Many are not in school, even though there is free education and schooling, but turn to begging or the few lucky ones get a job polishing shoes. Everywhere you see more or less dirty children in ragged clothes, either trying to sell a product or begging. Children who ought to be in school. Poverty forces many families to move from the countryside to large cities such as Aleppo and Damascus, but life is rarely better here. A study dealing with street children, published by www.arabya.net indicates that 20% of street children in the capital Damascus come from Qamishli and surrounding towns /villages.

 I myself grew up in poverty and know how it feels when one can’t afford to eat one’s fill, not being able to afford school books and uniforms or just a couple of proper shoes in the winter. I do not wish for any child that he or she should experience my childhood, and after having observed the increasing poverty, I had to do something.

 First, I investigated the possibility of entering into cooperation with a major international children’s organization, but unfortunately they had already committed themselves to a new project in Homs in Syria and they had not the financial or personnel resources to another project before about 4-5 years and I can not wait that long

 Fundraising
I have received permission from the police here in Denmark to collect funds which will go to poor children in the Qamishli area. We have formed a committee in Denmark, which consists of three persons, including a chartered accountant. 
We’re trying to figure out how all the collected funds can go entirely to the children, so that no administrative costs are deducted. All who work for and in the project are volunteers.

The Mayor of Qamishli has shown great interest in the project and has promised to make an office available to us. He has also promised to help with a fundraising among the wealthy in the city.
In Qamishly we’ll set up a committee, which will select, probably on the basis of recommendations submitted by the school system, the children who need help. The Committee will reflect the area’s ethnic and religious groupings, and will be composed of Arabs, Kurds, Christians and Muslims.

How much money a month does a child need?
Based on research in Syria, we believe that a sum of 42 euro per month is enough for a child can be helped with the following:
- Costs associated with schooling, ie. school uniforms, books, pencils and the like
- Healthy food
- Shoes and warm clothes in winter
- Perhaps medication

 When a child is supported it benefits the whole family, who therefore has a greater chance to remain in the local area and maintain its network. Poverty is often the cause of crime, radicalism, prostitution etc. Your contribution may help to combat these consequences of poverty and give a child an opportunity for a better future.

 When will the money be distributed?
Once we have gathered enough for to support 25 children for a year, we will put the project in place. It is our intention that over time we’ll increase the number of children. But it requires that contributors will continue to donate funds. We hope therefore that many will not be satisfied with a one-time donation, although there is also a need for this, but will pay a fixed amount, small or large, every month. Whatever you can afford, it will mean a difference to a child!

 If you have any questions, you’re very welcome to contact me at info@fahmy.dk

 How can you as a contributor keep up with the state of fundraising/project?
We will regularly post news on this site about how much we collect. And when the project is put in place we will also post stories and pictures from Syria.

 If you want to donate
You can transfer money from your bank to this bank account in Denmark:

The bank: Nordea
Reg.no.: 2132
Account-no.: 4380-815-686
BIC/Swift-no.: NDEADKKK
Iban-no.: DK4720004380815686

 If you don’t know how to do it yourself, please ask your bank.

Or you could use PayPal:

 If you want to help, please fill out the form beneath with your name, contact information and how much money you want to give each month, so we have an idea of how much money we can count on, and thus how many we can help. Thank you!