Amyan is a music teacher who lives in Latakia, Syria. For many years, he earned his living teaching at a private institute where he was proud to shape young talents. He also used to be a landlord. “My nephew and I owned a plot of land,” he recounts. “We gave it to a contractor who built 24 apartments and two warehouses on it. We divided them and they became our livelihood and our home.”
But for over a year now, Amyan has been without stable work. Amyan’s family home was destroyed in the earthquake that shook Syria in 2023. Two years later, factions found and destroyed his violin and oud: the treasured instruments that he used for his career.
Amyan’s income now comes from a small number of students. Meeting his family’s basic needs, such as for food and medicine, is a challenge.
PWS&D’s work in Amyan’s community of Latakia, which wrapped up in early 2026, supported 1,044 vulnerable households (about 4,260 people). The project focused on helping earthquake-affected families, displaced people, female-headed households and those with little or no income by providing electronic food vouchers.
ADRA, who implemented the project, shares, “Speaking with members of our extended ADRA network team and family in Syria, it is clear that for many people in Latakia, the feeling that there is an ongoing emergency has lingered as a daily experience, even years after the quake. Families are still stuck navigating deeply disrupted livelihoods, high food prices, and limited access to money. The vouchers are a meaningful step against the volatility of the current economic state and a way to preserve the dignity and freedom of choice that families need in such hard times.”
Using the food vouchers, Amyan and his peers could purchase items according to their preferences and needs, from selected vendors in their own community.
The vouchers Amyan received through the project changed his life. “The voucher helped us tremendously,” Ayman explained with heartfelt appreciation. “It saved us a significant amount of money, allowing me to get the medication me and my sister need. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this project.”
*This project through Canadian Foodgrains Bank. PWS&D is a member of the Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end global hunger.
