School wall in Damascus decorated by group of artists defying the darkness of the war
Challenges
At career level:
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Mobilizing support for continuation of SGP program in Syria
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Networking with other potential employers
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Improving my skills so that I can have better work opportunities
At personal level:
Challenges that arise from war situations including: long power cuts due to terrorist attacks against power utilities, extended commuting time (3-4 hours a day), roads being blocked unexpectedly for security reasons, (for example the road between my house and my parents’ was blocked on several occasions, so my sisters could not come to babysit therefore I had to skip many important events to stay home with the children).
Another important challenge is fighting feelings of depression, despair and sadness over the current ugly reality, especially when compared with the beautiful past.
Working from home arrangement which is applied by our office since May 2013 is highly relaxing for me, but on the other hand it’s greatly reducing the time I have available to complete my work tasks. When being at home, my motherhood and house duties always have the priority and they’re incredibly time-consuming!
Tools in Use
Design tools:
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One element performs many functions: for example the compost research is serving both my personal and career development, and is also beneficial for the community.
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Each important function is supported by many elements: for example a PDC if started will be supported by the UA group that I started with some friends, potentially UNDP and maybe FAO too, and a local NGO that I have good ties with.
Faith and spirituality:
my faith system proved to be very efficient in providing answers to very rough questions. The cornerstones of this system are: believing in the infinite wisdom, mercy and justice of God, and believing in the afterlife and doomsday where people are judged according to their deeds in the earthly lives and are sent to eternal happiness or eternal suffering. I know that this would sound highly superstitious and metaphysic to many, but we have seen a very dark side of life, and for many of us, this belief was the saving boat.
Time management:
In order to distribute my time among the different roles I play (work, family, GU, housework) I am using a general mid-term yearly plan as a guideline, and heavily rely on detailed short term plans monthly/ bi-monthly using Eisenhower matrix (urgent/not urgent, important/not important), weekly and daily plans. I avoid long term plans (beyond one year) in this highly unpredictable situation.
Alternative plans are also needed with so many sudden and unexpected changes taking place, whether at career or personal level.
Still, it continues to prove that juggling all those balls and keeping them all in the air is not always possible. There are definitely times when one of them will fall, but not for long.
Re-evaluation counseling:
Re-evaluation canceling was a great tool for overcoming many violent emotions, and reaching out to my inner strength. Now that I have thrown away and discharged many issues from the past, I can walk faster and lighter. Although I don’t do sessions on a regular basis anymore, however understanding the discharge process and techniques helps me to deal better with my own emotions and also with my children. In a tensed situation like here, children are more vulnerable to stress and trauma and helping them at this young age increases their chances to grow normally and heal the war scars.
Conclusion and Next Step
My second year of the diploma program started in October 2013. During this period I achieved some progress on the 3 projects stated above, however my time was so tight that I could not document anything. So the next step should be documenting all that has been achieved so far and adding flesh to it. Collecting and organizing whatever evidence such as pictures and web pages would also be useful.