SOOHÊR EL-İDLİBÎ

Idlib - 46-year-old Muna El-Qendeh, who had been forcibly displaced from the city of Maarat al-Numan, currently lives in the Deir Hassan refugee camp of Idlib. Her husband died and she has 10 children. She helps women, who lost their husbands, orphans and disabled people. All women living in the camp visit her when they have a problem and Muna El-Qendeh tries to help them as much as she can.

Muna El-Qendeh is like the head of the camp

Although the living condition of Muna El-Qendeh is not different from the living condition of the women in the camp, she raises money for poor people in the camp. After raising money, she buys food, medicines and clothes and gives them to the people in need. For this reason, she is called as “Mother of poor people” and “The head of the camp” by the people living in the camp.

“They don’t even have bread to eat”

Speaking about her activities in the camp, Muna El-Qendeh said, “People endure bad living conditions in the camp. People suffer from many diseases. Most of the people living in the camp are women, who lost their husbands. I lost one of my sons when our city was bombed. My other children had to leave school and began to work due to our poor financial condition. Despite everything, I want to help people around me. I feel sad when I see women who have lost their husbands. They cannot even find bread for their children. Sometimes, I visit their tents and see that they don’t even have bread to eat.”

“We need women like Muna El-Qendeh”

50-year-old Sibhiya El-Erebu is a blind woman living with her brother with disability in the Deir Hassan refugee camp. Stating that she has asked help from Muna El-Qendeh many times, she said, “Although she does not help us financially, she provides psychological support to us. We need women like Muna El-Qendeh, who feels our pain.”

“She is the psychologist of the camp”

28-year-old Suad El-Berhum, who has three children, is one of the women who lost their husbands. Stating that Muna El-Qendeh is the psychologist of the camp, she said, “When I feel helpless due to the difficulties of life, I need to talk to someone I trust. I trust Muna El-Qendeh and tell her everything. She helps me. I overcome the problems I face with her advice.”

She is also the doctor of the camp

30-year-old Siham El-Heci told us that her son felt sick but she couldn’t take him to the hospital due to economic reasons. “I took my son to Muna El-Qendeh. She gave me some herbs. My son got better after having the herbs she had given me. She is also the doctor of the camp. We feel the world is more beautiful with her.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agoYKPaE7_I