A Glimpse into Baytna’s Daily Activities in Northwestern Syria

Our University Project - Volunteer work to decorate the city walls

November 25, 2021 - As difficult as the situation is for millions of Syrians in northwestern Syria, many of them continue to believe in the necessity of keeping civil society alive, and actively seeking a better future. Through Baytna’s Inline program, which conducts projects inside Syria, numerous activities and trainings are being held on a continuous basis. Baytna also devotes itself to building and strengthening the relationship between different civil society organizations, empowering the individuals and groups in the communities in which they operate.

Baytna has helped many organizations and associations grow, through projects and grants to fund small projects for various organizations (such as the Women Peacemakers and Midad, a humanitarian organization). We have also provided a variety of practical activities to raise the capacities of partner organizations. In the last two years, for instance, Baytna has offered organizational development training to civil society groups, through which they learned to better build and manage their teams, and to form sustainable groups that work well together. One resulting initiative, for example, involved the distribution of health awareness leaflets, assisted in reconstruction projects, and helped local councils with their own smaller projects.

“This training was an important turning point in our understanding of our role in society. We need continuous informed awareness of our existing resources, to know how to use them creatively in the different projects, as the environment changes around us,“ told us Abd Al-Salam Al-Hijazi, Director of Midad.

Baytna’s work in northwestern Syria relies heavily on the professionalism and expertise of its local project managers and implementers, whose names we have changed to protect their identity and ensure that they are able to continue working safely and efficiently. One of our field coordinators in Idlib and its countryside, Nour, regularly visits Baytna’s partners in current projects; she monitors the process, ensures the attendance of beneficiaries to various activities such as trainings and workshops, supervises the logistics while keeping track of the relevant budgets, and provides detailed reports on the implementation of the given project. She is a dedicated troubleshooter.

Peacemakers team in one of its workshops in Idlib

In addition to the challenges of working in Idlib under current circumstances, Nour and her colleagues are always aware of the threat of airstrikes – a potential danger whose occurrence is difficult to predict, and that relies on timely and clear communications between monitoring centers around the region. Field coordinators such as Nour then notify the relevant colleagues and beneficiaries, to exercise the highest levels of safety possible.

When we asked Nour why she chose to do this work with Baytna, she replied: "We didn’t choose our roles in the revolution, they chose us when we started working with grassroots movements from the beginning." This was complemented, in her opinion, by a surge in people wanting to pay their civic duties and help their communities – a desire shared by an increasing number of women. Having started as a field coordinator for the Capable Women Center, a vocational center in Idlib supported by Baytna that provided training and skill building to women seeking employment or wishing to start a business, Nour joined the Baytna team a year ago. “Working with civil society has increased people's awareness and raised their intellectual level, as they work for transitional justice and for better days,” she reflects.

The participation of women in every initiative continues to be of particular importance for Baytna in all its regions of activity. Baytna’s network connects eight partners in different governorates in Syria to work towards common goals. One of their projects, Change Makers Project, is an endeavor joining several partners from several regions, following an organized model to support individuals in building civil society. Via Zoom trainings, people from different regions in Syria are forming social, humanitarian, political, and civil blocs that unite the different regions.

Continue to follow our work, through our website and our social media platforms, as we continue to empower civil society for a better future in Syria.