Written by the Azione per un Mondo Unito (AMU) editorial team

The new war in the Middle East, mainly affecting the Gaza Strip, aggravates the tension also in the areas in its vicinity, where the war has caused suffering to the most innocent population, but where it is also possible to find opportunities of hope, made of fraternity, of hospitality, of many small strings woven by a community that does not surrender.

In Syria, for example, in the last day’s raid, at least 10 people died, all civilians; dozens have been injured; and serious material damage has been afflicted. In 2023, there were almost 800 attacks in the northern part of the country by the Turkish army. With these conditions, in Syria, almost no one is allowed access to cures, which are often crucial for their recovery. But if Tammam can program her future as a girl today, it is also thanks to the Seeds of Hope project’s support and the work of the AUW, expression of that community that does not give up.

Tammam is a young, 23-year-old girl who lives in Ali – Aliyat village, south-east of Homs. She comes from a poor family, her father works in the fields. Life has not been simple for her.

In 2018, she was diagnosed with chronic renal failure which forced her to undergo a long and exhausting treatment from a physical, but also psychological and financial point of view. The illness changed her life: she herself admits it. She was studying for the secondary school diploma, when her life met this sudden turn, and for a year she had to put everything on hold.

The dialysis forced her to go to Homs twice a week. A journey not at all easy in today’s Syria, which also meant a financial ‘burden’ that weighed heavily on her family’s meager income. Already years before, they had to face a similar situation when Tammam’s sister had suffered from the same renal failure. But she then underwent a kidney transplant, which allowed her to live a normal life.

Unfortunately, the conditions of the Syrian society are not the same as in the past, and it is at the expense of those who, like Tammam, should cure themselves but cannot: the price of the medicines is high, just as are the journeys from one city to another.

Tamman needed more help; for this, she turned to the Seeds of Hope center in Homs, where she found financial support to continue her cure but also a familiar environment that gave her security and confidence in the future. Till the big opportunity came for her as well: the kidney transplant operation that she faced with great courage.

After the surgery, Tammam knows that new doors of hope have opened in her life. She resumed her university studies, is now in her last year, and moves forward with the confidence to make her dreams come true: to teach and build a family. The operators of the Seed of Hope center say: “What touched us the first time Tammam came to meet us was her smile, despite the suffering and all the fatigue caused by her dialysis treatment.”

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