Zumorroda Center for Women Empowerment is considered an educational, technical, cultural, and economic institute for women in town of Salqin in Idlib countryside. The center includes about 30 women, most of them are wives of martyrs, detainees, and widows who were displaced from their villages and towns when they fled to escape death from Russia and Assad’s criminality.
The geographical location of the center makes it accessible for women from the surrounding region and from northwest Syria in general.
There are training courses held by the center such as nursing, handicrafts, literacy, and child care. In addition, the center offers classes in sewing, hair styling, straw making, and weaving, as well as psychological support for the women who come there.
The center aims to spread awareness through educational seminars for women in the area in order to empower them.
On the level of production, the center has produced many clothes and handicrafts, the most important of which are reed weaving, sewing, and knitting.
About 10 simple exhibitions have been held to showcase the women’s works done at the center, including painting on glass and expressive paintings.
All of the women working in this center shoulder responsibilities for their families and their children. Most of them do not have any other means of support and this center is the only place for them to receive a small income that helps them survive.
Um Ali is a displaced widow who lives near the Zumorroda Center. She has four children. When she arrived at the center a few months ago she requested to join a training session in knitting. She began working in the center with a monthly income after she acquired some moderate experience. After proving how productive she could be, Um Ali was offered a sewing machine and her income increased.
Um Ali’s work is not easy. Except for her one day off, she comes to the center every day, leaving her children at home until her work is finished.
“This place has become a social, cultural, and source of income center for all of us,” Um Ali said.
Credit for all photos goes to Fared Al Mahloul.
