“The feeling when you save someone’s life cannot be described.”
In October 2017, Iman, a 23-year-old woman fled the battles between the Iraqi army and ISIS in Tal Afar District in Iraq. Her first attempt to escape with her husband Aziz and their 3-year-old daughter failed, and Aziz was killed. Iman later returned with her daughter to Tal Afar and eventually relocated to an internally displaced persons camp in Northeast Syria.
Iman’s loss and difficult journey made her transition to her new home even more challenging. “I constantly had a sinking feeling because of the traumatic events and experiences I had, especially my husband’s death,” she said. “It was such a great shock and loss.”
Under the Camp and Settlement Assistance in Syria (CAS) program funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Blumont holds various activities to help residents cope with the complexities of camp life and the trauma that many faced prior to arrival. These activities include health education sessions and the provision of healthcare vouchers to the chronically ill and persons with disabilities.
Iman regularly attends training sessions on topics including first aid, a lifelong passion of hers, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). One evening while Iman was walking in the camp, she came across a woman whose 18-month-old son had a high fever and labored breathing. Noticing no one was around to help, Iman felt obliged to intervene to save the child’s life. She administered care and the boy gradually regained his breath. Camp medical staff were alerted, and the child was transferred to a hospital in Al-Malikiyah to be provided with follow-on treatment.
“Restoring the child’s life was a miracle, thanks to Blumont nurses who taught me this procedure,” she said. “The feeling when you save someone’s life cannot be described.”
