Only the fear of the bombs left, says Zahra from Aleppo. People in Need helps every month 120,000 people in Syria

Syrian team of People in Need (PIN) with the support of EU, Czech, British, Swiss and German governments, German organization Welthungerhilfe, our partner of Alliance2015 platform, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and hundreds of donors, which has been contributed through “SOS Syria” fundraising and e-Shop “Real Gift”, provides each month direct assistance to 120,000 people in Syria. "People receive mainly food parcels, bread or food vouchers. But we also help every month to 8800 children to attend primary school, "explains program coordinator PIN in Syria Jitka Škovránková. "We provide access to drinking water for more than 300,000 people every month, and we also provide waste collection for 370 000 people," she adds.

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One of our beneficiaries is 60 years-old Zahra from city of Aleppo. She works ten hours per day in a plastics-making factory, where she earns 70 USD per month. The house where Zahra lived was hit by a barrel bomb a few months ago. "My father was wounded by the explosion, and since then he is in the infirm. The rest of the family miraculously escaped without injury," says Zahra.

After this dangerous experience Zahra moved with her four daughters and the rest of the family closer to areas held by government troops. The front of battle is near, and the district is one of the most dangerous in the city. "Everyone knows that these areas are not bombed by the government, because its troops are just 200 meters away," explains Zahra. These are the rules of war in Aleppo, former economic capital of Syria, from where thousands of people have fled to the countryside or to Turkey."

"A few months ago Aleppo was a busy city where everything was available. Now it's a ghost town where food prices rose rapidly and most people cannot afford it. We lost everything except the fear of bombs, radicals and government troops," says Zahra. Her flat is missing furniture, refrigerator; electricity have not been working for four months, and there is no water, so it must be transported with barrels from the street. Zahra and her family, as many of their neighbors, often lack food and money, for which they could buy it; they also suffer from big shortage of medication.

Syrian team of People in Need provides Zahra and her family with daily bread and also donates a package containing food for a month. Zahra is not the only one suffering from water shortages. According to the UN, 2.5 million people in Aleppo has only a limited supply of drinking water and tens of thousands of people have to drink water from unprotected sources. People in Need is therefore trying to repair water pipes and pumps damaged by years of fighting.

With vouchers people can buy what they need

However, PIN also helps people who have fled to villages in Idlib province. In recent months, PIN hasc provides local vulnerable refugees with food vouchers. Each of selected most vulnerable refugees receives monthly pad with 25 vouchers, each worth 500 Syrian pounds, which is about 3 USD. Overall, the bills equal 78 USD for the purchase of basic food.

"Unlike food packages, people can choose themselves what to buy and enrich their diet with meat, vegetables and other products," says Head of PIN Mission in Syria Tomas Kocian. "This type of assistance also supports the local economy, as traders have more turnovers," he adds.

The system is also relished by Mohammmad Alsaied Yousef, who with his wife and three children fled from Aleppo to Idlib province. "Our family is small and we need mostly baby food or diapers and we need only two kilograms of rice for a week. What would I do with fifteen kilograms?" he says.

Also Khaled Alhamade, who lost his job due to the conflict and has to fled home with his wife and seven children, is satisfied with the choice. "We spend the most on rice, oil, sugar, tea and vegetables, and canned goods. It's great that I can choose and buy for example baby food and bread," he says. People in Need helps in this way each month 2,100 families from eight villages.

Help is needed in Syria, as well as in neighboring countries

PIN has worked in Syria since the autumn of 2012 and based on the two-years of experience in the field we know that help is needed not only in Syria but also in neighboring countries. Many Syrians does not want to leave the country for economic, family, cultural and personal reasons. "Hundreds of thousands of people dwell in safer border areas and hope to return home to the rest of the families and to their old jobs after the fighting ends," tells the story of Syrian refugees Jitka Škovránková. "Helping people within the country prevents further outflow of refugees to neighboring countries," says Jitka Škovránková. She pointed out, that helping internal refugees is less expensive then to support them abroad.

But the conflict has already forced millions of people into neighboring countries, for which the refugee wave is a huge burden primarily on social, medical and educational systems. It is estimated that there are four million Syrian refugees in Turkey and that every fourth inhabitant in Lebanon is Syrian. Even in these countries, help is needed.

People in Need in Syria

In assisting victims of the Syrian conflict, People in Need focuses primarily on immediate food and material assistance. But we also help with the repairing of damaged schools, water distribution and with waste collection. With permanent offices and teams in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, PIN is important donor, working within the country. Over the last two years PIN has helped nearly 1.3 million people in Syria.

Between 2012 and 2013 People In Need provided assistance to Syrians for more than 70 million. In 2014 the volume of aid has increased sharply, and the total annual budget exceeds 300 million. To help Syria contributed Czech public more than 9.7 million through the SOS Syria and another 5 million humanitarian fund released the Club of Friends of People in Need. Help is also possible thanks to the support of the Czech Government, the British Government (DFID), the Swiss Government (SDC), European Union (ECHO and ENPI), the German Government (BMZ and AA), the German NGO Welthungerhilfe partner of Alliance2015 platform, the World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and hundreds of donors to SOS Syria and e-shop real gift.