Marwan is a 45 years old man from the city of Mayadin in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria. He used to go out every day in search of any work he could find to provide for his big family. He is married and is supporting a family of 11 people. In a country torn by twelve years of conflict, more than 15.3 million people need humanitarian assistance. It is reported that 85 percent of households are unable to meet basic needs. [1]

"I used to wander around the streets with no goal other than to bring back enough money for my family to get us through another day," says Marwan.

The idea of collecting and selling plastic crossed Marwan's mind when he saw how widespread plastic waste was on the streets of his city. He would go out early in the morning to collect plastic wherever he could find it and sell it as it is to recycling factories. "I knew how harmful plastic waste is for the environment. My initial desire was to earn some money by selling it. It is also good to utilize and reuse it instead of having it polluting our area,” says Marwan.

"I wanted to expand my work, but I did not have the resources until I heard from a friend about the Green Recovery project,” says Marwan. 

The Green Recovery project is implemented by the United Nations Development (UNDP) in Syria, with support from the Government of Denmark. The project aims to enhance the role of social enterprises as an effective tool that contributes to offering sustainable solutions to support green recovery across Syria. The project provided small grants to help establish new social businesses or expand existing ones. In addition to funding, the selected projects received specialized training in marketing, communication, legal support and small business management, followed by counselling and mentoring throughout the implementation phase.