LocationsEuropean Union support is helping restore electricity and create better conditions for families to return and rebuild
Bringing Life Back Home: Siham’s Return to Yarmouk Camp
September 6, 2026
©UNDP Syria – Tahseen Saor
“When we first returned, the neighbourhood was almost empty. Today, it is full of life again.”
At 62, Siham Zaghloul is back in her home in Yarmouk Camp, Damascus, after years of displacement.
A mother of five who lost her husband during the conflict, Siham moved with her family several times in search of safety, first staying with relatives and eventually renting a small home in Tadamoun.
About a year ago, rising rent pushed her to make a difficult decision: go back to Yarmouk Camp.
Her home was partially damaged and stripped of everything from electrical wiring to pipes and plumbing fixtures. She spent all her savings and borrowed money from relatives to make it habitable again.
“When we returned, life was very difficult,” she recalls. “There were almost no residents, no open shops, no water and no electricity. But we decided to come back because we could no longer afford the rent.”
©UNDP Syria – Tahseen Saor
Water was among the biggest daily challenges. The family bought drinking water, carried water for washing and cleaning from a nearby mosque, and sometimes paid for tanker deliveries.
Even when water was available, without electricity they could not pump it into their household tanks.
Then electricity began to return.
For Siham, the difference was immediate. She could operate the water pump to fill her tanks and use household appliances that had sat idle.
“Before electricity came, we could hardly use anything. We could only charge a phone or a small battery for lighting,” she says. “Now we can use the refrigerator, washing machine, fan and television. It has made a big difference.”
That difference reaches beyond her front door.
Siham runs a small shop in the neighbourhood. Without refrigeration, she was unable to stock perishable goods or offer customers cold drinks. With electricity, she can now keep a wider range of products and has seen her sales improve.
©UNDP Syria – Tahseen Saor
“Now we can sell ice cream, yoghurt, cheese and cold drinks,” she says. “Even the workers fixing homes in the neighbourhood come looking for cold water and drinks.”
Siham’s neighbourhood is one of several communities reached through the “Energy for Resilience in Syria: Addressing Community Needs” project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with humanitarian support from the European Union. Across Yarmouk Camp in Damascus and Darayya, Babbila and Sbineh in Rural Damascus, the project rehabilitated more than 59 kilometres of electricity networks, installed nine transformers and provided three health centres with solar energy systems. More than 400,000 people benefited from improved access to electricity, helping households, businesses and essential services resume their activities and creating better conditions for families to return. The project also created more than 90 temporary jobs, contributing to local recovery.
As basic services are restored, families are gradually coming back to Yarmouk Camp. Siham sees the change unfolding around her: homes that once stood empty are filling again, and shops are reopening.
Siham in front of her shop holding her grandson
©UNDP Syria – Tahseen Saor
“When people ask about returning, their first question is: Is there water and electricity?” she says. “Without them, people cannot live in dignity. When electricity returns, people are encouraged to repair their homes and come back instead of paying high rents elsewhere.”
Her hope now extends beyond her own street.
“We hope electricity reaches every street and that Yarmouk Camp becomes full of life again,” Siham says. “I hope to see families return to their homes, rebuild and start their lives again. And I hope that one day, people across Syria will be able to return home too, rebuild what was lost and begin a new chapter in their lives.”
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