Finding hope in the harshest of winters

Nearly eight years ago, Noura and her family had no choice but to leave everything behind in Homs, Syria. Today, she lives with her husband Hussein and their four children – Alaa, Walaa, Esraa and Mohammed – in Bekaa, Lebanon. 

“The journey from Syria to here was very difficult. When we look behind us, we had to walk forward, I felt this is it. And it was really the end. We never came back again. The journey was very hard and long,” Noura recalls. 

Like so many displaced families in the Middle East, last winter was especially hard for Noura’s family; there was flooding and, to make matters worse, both Noura and Hussein suffer from health problems. Thankfully, the food support and winter assistance she received from UNHCR meant that Noura was able to keep her children warm during Lebanon’s freezing winter nights.  

Noura and her family were forced to flee their home in Homs, Syria, nearly eight years ago. Photo: © UNHCR / Amine Abou Ghanem

Nours lives with her husband Hussein and their four children - Alaa, Walaa, Esraa and Mohammed - in Bekaa, Lebanon. Photo: © UNHCR / Amine Abou Ghanem

“At the time, I didn’t have a heater until I received aid and installed the heater and bought fuel… They say that the most important thing in winter is warmth. Indeed, I made my children warm.“

Noura also says cooking things like lentil soup also really helps warm up her children when temperatures dip below freezing.  

When it comes to her children, Noura’s hopes are the same ones that every mother has, “I hope that they’ll always stay happy. I wish that it’s always safe here. Because the most important thing here is safety.” 

For more information on how you can help mothers like Noura, visit our Syria page.