Since graduating from the Nursing School at Damascus University in 1988, midwife Afaf Qasem Yousef has helped save hundreds of women and newborns from the dangers of childbirth.

 “I feel overwhelming joy when a newborn grasps my hand at birth, as if I were their lifeline to a new beginning,” Afaf said.

Alongside her role as a midwife at the Charitable Circassian Association Clinic in the Golan, south of Syria, Afaf also leads health awareness sessions for women and girls—covering topics like family planning, reproductive health, and hygiene—continuing to spread both hope and knowledge.

In remote villages and besieged towns in Syria, midwives have always been the ones bringing life.