LocationsOne Hand, Endless Determination: Abdulaziz Is Helping Rebuild Deir Ezzor
July 21, 2026
"People used to ask me, 'You are injured. How are you going to work?' I would tell them, 'I still have another hand. I do not want to depend on anyone. I worked hard and proved to myself, and to everyone else, that a person can overcome difficult circumstances.'"
For 27-year-old Abdulaziz Azzo, rebuilding Deir Ezzor has also meant rebuilding his own life. A husband and father of two, he lost one of his hands in an injury and now relies on a prosthetic hand. In a city still recovering from years of conflict, finding work became one of his greatest challenges.
"I have a wife, a little girl and a little boy. We had rent to pay, and our situation was very difficult," he recalls. "I used to work as a daily wage worker, but after my injury I could not do most jobs because they required physical effort."
The financial strain became even heavier because his young son, Youssef, requires ongoing medical treatment. With little and irregular income, providing medicine often became a challenge, forcing Abdulaziz to worry constantly about how he would support his family.
A turning point came when he applied to join the UNDP-supported debris removal and neighbourhood rehabilitation project in Deir Ezzor.
"When I was accepted, my situation changed," he says. "I had a stable salary that I could rely on. I could pay the rent, buy food and provide medicine for my son. A huge burden was lifted from my shoulders."
The project offered more than a paycheck. It restored Abdulaziz's confidence and gave him the opportunity to once again provide for his family through his own efforts.
Working alongside his colleagues, he helped remove debris from damaged neighbourhoods, reopening streets and making it easier for families to return to their homes.
"When we cleaned an area, people welcomed us and thanked us," he says. "They told us we had eased their burden."
With every street cleared, more families were able to return home. Yet Abdulaziz knows the work is far from over.
"Deir Ezzor suffered enormous destruction," he says. "We worked in five neighbourhoods, but many more still need debris removed. When people learned our contracts had ended, they were disappointed because they wanted us to continue."
The project also created livelihood opportunities for many others facing hardship, including women-headed households and persons with disabilities, allowing them to support their families while contributing to their city's recovery.
Abdulaziz's story is one of thousands made possible through the Reviving Hope, Restoring Services, Reaching Communities (REVIVE) initiative, funded by the Republic of Korea. Through a US$10 million contribution to UNDP, the initiative reached more than 400,000 people across Aleppo, Homs, Deir Ezzor and Rural Damascus. More than 570,000 tons of debris were cleared, over 10 kilometres of roads rehabilitated, around 4,300 livelihood opportunities created, and mine risk education delivered to more than 12,000 people, helping communities recover while creating jobs for those most affected by the crisis.
Looking back, Abdulaziz does not remember the project simply as temporary employment. He remembers it as a chance to restore stability to his family while helping bring life back to Deir Ezzor.
"When we see people returning to their homes, we feel we have done something for our country," he says. "Our goal was simple: to bring life back."
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