In rural Afrin, where the impacts of conflict intersect with daily hardships, many widowed women face extremely challenging living conditions, bearing full responsibility for supporting their families without a stable source of income. In response to this reality, SYCAC Organization designed a development intervention grounded in sustainable economic empowerment built on a deep understanding of needs rather than the provision of short-term assistance.
SYCAC’s field team worked in close coordination with local stakeholders, conducting visits to some of the most vulnerable villages, including Tal Ghazi, Al-Kabira, Bozki, Titbah, and Ma’arata, with the aim of reaching the most vulnerable women. This phase included transparent orientation sessions that allowed interested applicants to apply, followed by a structured selection process based on clear criteria to ensure fairness and prioritize widows with the highest level of need, including internally displaced women and women with disabilities.
Through this process, selected beneficiaries received an integrated livelihood package based on poultry farming. Each beneficiary was provided with a flock of laying hens and roosters. This model is designed for sustainability, as the inclusion of roosters enables a self-replenishing production cycle, enhancing the long-term viability and independence of the project.
SYCAC’s support extended beyond distribution, ensuring a comprehensive system to sustain and scale the women’s businesses. This included specialized veterinary supervision with regular follow-up visits, vaccinations, and essential healthcare services. In addition, beneficiaries received practical training on proper poultry management, disease prevention, production management, and marketing. Support also covered the provision of feed in two phases and protective inputs, including the construction of safe shelters for beneficiaries lacking adequate infrastructure.
Today, beneficiaries have been able to establish and manage their own income-generating activities, positively impacting their households’ livelihoods. SYCAC Organization firmly believes that true empowerment is not achieved through short-term aid, but through creating sustainable economic opportunities that enable women to become self-reliant and build more stable futures.
This project is funded by BMZ and implemented in partnership with Welthungerhilfe (WHH).
