Amer was cycling back to his wife and their toddler in  their Aleppo, Syria, home when he heard gunfire and instantaneously felt a sharp unbearable pain in his hip. He fell off his bike. Several other shots followed. Chaos ensued. People started running in several directions. Amer realized he had been shot in the hip by a sniper on a rooftop directly above. Painfully he dragged himself under a truck and lay there for several hours.

 

After the commotion ended, he managed to call his friend and get help to make it to a local field clinic. His hip bone was shattered. While at the hospital, Amer learned that his home had been bombed and reduced to rubble. Amer spent a week recovering in a make shift clinic and then with the support of friends and family embarked on a dangerous trip to Jordan. While there, with the help of refugee organizations he made his way with his wife and 3 year old son to the US. A prized possession he brought along was his electrician’s tool-kit salvaged from the rubble of his demolished home.

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It was a long and difficult journey for Amer even after he arrival in the US. He needed help with multiple doctor visits, a hip surgery, getting a drivers license, completing a certification course and finally he had his lucky break. Work as an electrician and repairman servicing the cooking and ventilation systems at several area fast food restaurants. Wheels for Change and MFS helped Amer and his family transition from an uncertain to a sustainable future.