After leaving Syria during the conflict, Lamiaa Soluiman turned to storytelling to help children cope with uncertainty. Today, with support from World Vision Syria Response and the Syria Response Innovation Lab, her stories are helping thousands of children in Deir ez-Zor learn how to care for the environment around them.
When conflict forced Lamiaa to leave Syria with her two young daughters, she relied on storytelling to help them make sense of a difficult world. Through imagination, fear became something children could understand, and stories became a source of comfort and hope.
Over time, Lamiaa realized that storytelling could do more than help children process their experiences. It could also inspire positive change. This belief led her to establish Dar Al-Karma, a children's publishing house dedicated to bringing meaningful stories to Syrian children.
“Every book sold abroad funds a free copy for a child still inside Syria,” says Lamiaa.
As families returned to Deir ez-Zor, Lamiaa saw communities facing environmental challenges such as water scarcity, waste accumulation, and declining green spaces. Yet few child-friendly resources existed to help young people understand these issues or become part of the solution.
“From story comes behavior," Lamiaa says. "From behavior comes survival."
To address this gap, she developed Tales from the Earth, a storytelling initiative that uses children's literature to encourage environmental awareness and environmentally responsible behaviours among children.
In 2024, Lamiaa presented the idea through Made By Syrians, an initiative led by the Syria Response Innovation Lab and supported by World Vision Syria Response through providing guidance, resources, learning opportunities, and connections to a broader innovation ecosystem, the initiative helped Syrian innovators turn community-driven ideas into practical solutions. Selected as one of six innovations through the Open Challenge, the project received funding and ongoing support that helped transform it from an idea into a scalable initiative.
The first story in the series, A Fig Tree and an Incomplete Picture, follows Qasim, a young boy who returns to his family's home and discovers what he believes is a dying fig tree planted by his grandmother. Determined to save it, he begins collecting and reusing water that would otherwise be wasted.
Today, Tales from the Earth aims to reach 10,000 children aged 6 to 12 across 33 schools and community centres with the support of 300 trained facilitators. Reading clubs and community activities in Deir ez-Zor are already helping children engage with messages about water conservation and protecting the environment. all the difference.
Reflecting on the initiative's journey, Lamiaa says:
"The initiative didn't just support the idea. It helped build it. The mentorship and practical guidance were just as valuable as the funding. They helped us strengthen the project and prepare it to grow."
As the initiative expands, Lamiaa hopes to bring environmental storytelling to even more children across Syria. Her message to aspiring innovators is simple:
"Start, despite everything. If your idea comes from a real need, it has value."
Like the fig tree at the heart of her story, Lamiaa Soluiman initiative shows how resilience, care, and small everyday actions can help communities grow stronger again.
Watch the project story:
