Student, volunteer, shopowner: NW Syria’s Shaima defies limitations
Al Jazeera
She was born with a missing limb, but Shaima has never let that even slow her down.
Azaz, Syria – With a quick, confident step and a wide smile, Shaima Hilal walks through the streets of Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo, stopping every few seconds to respond to people greeting her.
The young woman who arrived in the city four years ago has quickly become a popular figure.
Many people know her not only for her humanitarian work in psychological support, case management, and sponsoring orphans, but also as a charismatic character who earned their respect.
Shaima, 33, has overcome all possible vulnerabilities in a conservative society; she is a woman displaced by war who is her family’s sole breadwinner, and she lives with a disability.
She is also a college student, a humanitarian worker and an ambitious entrepreneur.
