"Because of the fear and the anxiety, a skin disease began to cover my body"

Rehem, 21 years young mother, lives in an IDP camp in Northern Syria. Rehem is originally from Hama city, but she and her family were forced to flee from their beloved home after many air raids were launched on the city. Her house was destroyed and suddenly the family lost all her belongings. They could save what they found underneath the ruins of their house and the clothes they were wearing.  She, her husband and their two children were displaced several times before they found refuge and settled down in an IDP camp in A'zaz.

Because of the fear of the constant air raids, the several forced displacements and the traumatic experiences in Homs and other Syrian cities, Rehem developed a skin disease (Psoriasis) and her psychological stress became physical.

"Because of the fear, the anxiety and the constant bombing, a skin disease began to cover my body (psoriasis)."

Ever since, Rehem and her husband have been struggling to find work and earn a stable income. Rehem rarely finds a job, if only as a daily worker. The little money she earns is not enough to treat her skin and satisfy the needs of her family. The spread of diseases in the camp, such as lice and scabies, and the contaminated water makes her life even more difficult and deteriorates her health condition even further. "My illness and my inability to buy medication to treat it due to our poverty is a great burden to me. This in turn has a negative effect on my ability to meet the basic needs of my children and prevents me from finding a job".

With the funding by the THF 1,216 families in an IDP camp in A'zaz were supported through food and hygiene vouchers in order to provide financial assistance to people like Rehem and her husband who are struggling to afford food and essential hygiene items for their families. Additionally, to the vouchers distributed by OCHA implementing partner Welthungerhilfe, ten women in the camp received a hygiene promotion training on good hygiene practices organized by Welthungerhilfe.

Rehem was one of ten women who received a hygiene promotion training where she learned about food preservation and water treatment methods but also how to prevent disease and taking care of personal hygiene.

"My psychological condition has improved a lot".

This training had a positive effect on Rehem's and her family's life. "I was lucky being selected to receive a hygiene training. There I not only learned about good hygiene practices, but also how to share my knowledge, train other women and manage hygiene sessions. I also received 200$ compensation for the training sessions I attended plus food and hygiene vouchers for three months. My psychological condition has improved a lot. I could afford the medicine to treat my skin and provide my family with food and hygiene item through the vouchers".

Rehem's traumatic experience will not disappear overnight, she still fears further displacement, poverty and a further spread of psoriasis on her body. But she also has hope for the future: "I will recover from my illness and I am confident that I will be able to find a good job because of the useful skills I have learned and the experiences I have had during the hygiene training courses. But the biggest wish remains that one day my family and I can return to our beloved home that we so desperately miss."