Sidal, 12 years old, now lives in North West Syria, close to Idlib. She has been displaced five times since the war broke out in Syria in 2011, when she was only two years old. Due to war and displacement, she was forced to drop out of school for the past three years. In the video, Sidal shares her story and talks about her difficulty she faced in going back to school, but also her determination to continue studying and how she managed to overcome her fear and went back to school in September 2019. Her message to girls around the world, who live in war and displacement conditions, for the International Day of Girl Child: “We have to stand up against all odds because we are still very young and we owe it to ourselves to follow our dreams. We have a long life ahead of us!”
Sidal is supported by Ihsan Relief and Development and CARE International through the organizations’ mobile protection teams in Idlib who offer recreational activities for Syrian children in schools in Idlib.