Erin Wilson 
Preemptive Love Coalition staff visit and listen to one of our empowerment grant recipients
Most Syrian refugees who are lucky enough to find a place in a camp receive more than one form of aid, from more than one source. But refugee families often tell us that aid programs sometimes make them feel like a number or a line on a spreadsheet, a tick in a checkbox marked “completed.”
Aid strives to be efficient. It needs to be.
But there is nothing efficient about rebuilding a shattered life.
“You guys are so different. You are the only organization that comes into my house and sits with me, and listens about my life.”
Abeer was so surprised when we asked to come into her house in the refugee camp for a visit.
We sat in her tiny, single-room home and drank cups of thick Arabic coffee brought on a tray from a neighbor’s house because Abeer doesn’t have a kitchen of her own.
We were able to listen to her life with our whole selves. Opening the door to her home opened the door to her life—her hopes and fears, her worries and dreams.
It is the same with each woman we visit, each woman we empower to provide for their family.
Empowering Syrian and Iraqi women displaced by war requires presence. It requires relationship, deep listening, tools to match the skills they already have, one-on-one coaching, and care. Lots of care.
When you empower refugee women in Syria and Iraq, they get to success faster—and stay there.
Thank you for recognizing that these women are their own best chance for success. Please continue to provide the resources they need to use their skills and expertise. Continue to make these success stories possible by investing in these strong, capable women.
Provide the tools these women need to make their own success.
