Losing parts…..Gaining parts…

The war on Syria had devastating results on almost every aspect of Syrian’s lives.Parts of Syria were destroyed ,artifacts were looted ,the infrastructure in some areas completely destroyed- but most importantly lives were lost – and those who were lucky not to die were not lucky enough not to lose a part.Losing a vital part of your body is almost as terrible as dying .To many of those who have suffered from this experience when asked (initially) say it would have been better to have died .However life can and is made more bearable through NGO’s that work tirelessly to try and compensate the victims of this terrible war that has been waged on Syria.

Khotwa which translates into ‘step’ is a licensed NGO (a voluntary group of young people) that works to provide prosthetics to those in need..

Syriatimes was able to interview Dr .Rafif Al Sayed ,who as the wife of Syria’s ambassador to China and the Honorary President of the Charity Coordination Committee for Syria seized the opportunity of being in China to work for the good of her country, to benefit those who had lost so much.

These are her words:

”  It is certainly heartbreaking and extremely devastating to see an innocent child in the dawn of his life losing a part of his body in war times. I still remember that day when I met a little child of 6 years old who lost his two arms as a consequence of a terrorist attack. His eyes were full of indignation and rage alternating with frustration and despair. He was wondering why he was in such a situation while other children could play, draw and smile….?

His agony was a strong motivation for me to work tirelessly in order to help any child who was a victim of this heinous war on our country. I started my fundraising in China to help Khotwa, the charitable organization that undertook the role of helping children and other victims of this war.  Very soon, I realized that among the main obstacles facing me and my team was the lack of benefactors and donors- both internal (domestic) and external (international) because of the illegitimate and inhumane sanctions imposed on Syria by the Western powers. This resulted in tremendous difficulties and challenges trying to find donors that will help in establishing the center for producing and manufacturing prosthetics: the limbs for anyone who’s in a dire need to restart his life again.

Another challenge we had was the problem of continuous training of the organization’s physicians and physiotherapists.

Eventually, we managed to raise awareness, and establish many fundraising events and build a partnership with many international NGOs one of the most important ones being the Red Cross, LoveZone (Chinese civil societies) and the Belt and Road in China.

All the combined efforts culminated in providing the center with the necessary equipment for the production of prosthetics and the much-needed training for technicians, physiotherapists and psychologists. This center has become a major focal point for rehabilitating damaged souls and broken hopes. Most importantly it contributed towards redrawing smiles on the faces of children and regaining their childhood and lives. Indeed, we have a strong commitment to continue the work with all partners and donors to improve the lives of other unprivileged children in Syria.

In the end, I would like through Syria Times to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the success of this project, particularly  Khotwa in Syria and  all our supporters in China.”

Reem Haddad

editor-in-chief