After three years as refugees in Lebanon, Umm Youssef and her family have finally been granted asylum in Canada.
“I am happy that I have served the people of my country,” she says tearfully about her time with the NRC. She still manages a smile.
Umm Youssef is a female representative in NRC Lebanon’s Community Capacity Building committee in the informal tented settlement, where she lives. The 37-year-old is amongst the best female representatives of the committee.
“Thank you for the opportunity, I have felt valuable and effective,” she says.
In 2013, Umm Youssef, her husband, their nine children and her parents-in-law fled from the war-torn Homs in Syria to Arsal, a Lebanese town close to the Syrian border. Shortly after, following clashes between armed groups in Arsal, the family felt so insecure that they chose to flee again. This time, to the north of Lebanon.
Went through depression
These two distressing experiences of fleeing made Umm Youssef deeply worried about the future of her family. She became severely depressed.
However, she worked her way through the hardship and one day she decided to stop being afraid. Instead, she decided to turn her thoughts into action and actively volunteer to become a representative in the community capacity building committee, run by the NRC in the informal tented settlement, where she and her family lived.
Today, Umm Youssef is amongst the most acknowledged female representatives of the volunteers in her settlement.
Helping vulnerable refugees
Umm Youssef forms part of NRC’s refugee representation structures, where volunteers are involved in identifying and addressing the needs of different groups. They keep a particular focus on vulnerable groups and persons with specific needs. Umm Youssef refers all the vulnerable cases in need of assistance to the relevant organisations.
Her work capacity is remarkable. She already takes care of her elderly in-laws and follows up on her mother-in-law’s medication for debilitating paralysis. She cooks for her family and raises her nine children – not to mention cleaning and doing the laundry. Nevertheless, she still manages to find the time to attend all NRC trainings and to work as a volunteer, to benefit other Syrian refugees.
Ensured rebuilding of camp after fire
Umm Yousef has, in many ways, proved how she is able to face and overcome big crises and challenges, both in her personal life and as a responsible citizen in her local community in Lebanon. Last summer, a disastrous fire engulfed the entire settlement, leaving more than 27 households homeless and without shelter. Unable to accept the status quo, Umm Youssef called every relevant organisation and attended every coordination meeting, regardless of the distance. She vehemently advocated for the settlement’s residents to refugee agencies and ministries, as well as to local organisations. This prompted a quick assistance to her and her countrymen.
Thanks to Umm Youssef, the camp was quickly rebuilt.
Time to leave
Umm Youssef and her family are getting ready to pack their belongings to go on another life-changing journey. Soon, they are travelling to Canada, which will be their third country of residence in three years.
Umm Youssef met with the Canadian Ambassador two weeks ago. She went through medical tests and was lucky to succeed in proceeding with a resettlement process with her family.
“We are waiting for a call to pack and go,” she explains. “But I will not leave without training someone who will be better than me. I will not leave the residents of the camp alone, don’t worry, my substitute will be better than me, I promise, ” she says.
While she still hopes to go back to Syria, Umm Youssef aims to build a more promising future for her nine children in Canada.
“It will be okay, don’t worry”.
