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EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis

You have to rely on yourself to go on

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I wish all Syrians here could study

Hanan Shehadat, 25 years old, used to live in Damascus, Syria with her four siblings and her mother and father. After her dad lost his shop due to heavy bombing in Yarmouk, they decided to move to Jordan to join their relatives there. Hanan’s family thought this was going to be a short stay, but the situation in Syria only worsened and this made it difficult for them to return home. They have been moving around since 2012 and have not yet been able to settle down.

“When I came to Jordan, I had to start from scratch. I had to work in different places. I worked as a cashier, as a dentist assistant and as an accountant assistant. I was looking for an opportunity but I wanted to depend on myself. Because frankly, my family was not able to help one another. Everyone had to rely on themselves.”

Hanan was a student at Damascus University in the Department of Economics. She studied there for two years but had to drop out when she left Syria with her loved ones. “When I realised we were going to stay in Jordan for a long while, I was depressed. For me education is a priority in life.” Going from a condition of stability to a life with no future planning had a serious impact on Hanan, who was however determined to find a way to continue her studies.

While looking for opportunities online, Hanan stumbled upon a post on HOPES scholarships for Master’s students and decided to apply. After being granted funds to support her studies, she registered at Petra University and decided to study marketing. She concluded her studies with a final thesis on the topic of how companies can help build local communities and she is already dreaming about a PhD.

Thanks to the financial support of the EU Trust Fund, almost 58,000 students like Hanan can take advantage of HOPES scholarships which offer them the opportunity of getting back on track and pursuing higher education.