Work, Dignity, and a Prosthetic Leg: Ayman’s Cash-for-Work Experience
Ayman is 52, from Majdal Anjar, a husband and father of four. He lost his left leg in a car accident when he was 18. “I didn’t just lose a leg,” he says. “I lost work, confidence, and for a while, my place.” For years, he picked up part-time shifts at the local mosque, doing whatever he could to support his family, but the rising cost of living was relentless. “Everything is expensive. That’s the hardest part,” he explains.
When Action Against Hunger launched a Cash-for-Work project in his town, funded by the German Government through KfW Development Bank, Ayman applied immediately. “I heard they accept people with disabilities. That was enough for me to try.” He was selected for a 40-day assignment cleaning roads and public spaces. The work offered a steady- income, but it also did something else: it put him back in the center of his community. “I wasn’t just earning,” he says. “I was standing on my feet again.”
Ayman during his work as part of the Cash-for-Work project.
From the first days on site, Ayman felt respected and supported. “The field officer treated me like a brother. I never felt different or less capable.” Younger workers began turning to him for advice, and he found himself guiding them, sharing what he had learned over the years.
“I used to think being strong meant never breaking. Now I know it means getting back up—even if one of your legs is metal.”
The project changed his routine and his self-perception. He woke up early, showed up on time, worked alongside others, and went home feeling that he had contributed something real. “These 40 days changed everything,” he says. “My mood, my energy, the way I see myself. I want to do it again.”
Ayman now talks about creating a space for people living with prosthetic limbs: a place where they can access affordable prosthetics, get repairs and physical therapy, find peer support, and push for public awareness on disability rights and inclusion. “We need a place to come together, to be seen, and to ask for the services we actually need,” he says.
Before ending, he insists on gratitude. “Thank you to Action Against Hunger, the team, and the donor. This opportunity gave me more than income—it gave me strength, dignity, and connection. I hope the program continues. There are many people like me who just need a chance.”
This Cash-for-Work project was implemented by Action Against Hunger with funding from the German Government through KfW Development Bank, providing opportunities for people like Ayman to earn a stable income, reclaim a sense of purpose, and re-engage as active, valued members of their communities.
