When Belal learnt he had a serious heart condition and needed open-heart surgery, the news was doubly devastating. Without surgery he was unlikely to survive – but he had no way of paying for an operation. Thankfully he was able to find help through Embrace’s partner the St Vincent de Paul Society.

When Fatima moved in with her new husband at the Dbayeh Palestinian refugee camp, life was difficult. Poverty levels are high in the camp and making ends meet is a daily struggle. But, for Fatima, her main challenge was fitting in – as a Muslim she remained isolated from the camp’s mainly Christian residents. But all that changed when she went to the Embrace-supported library and community centre there.

In the last in our series of stories featuring extraordinary mothers we meet Nadeen, who had to go to incredible lengths to keep her two young daughters safe from the violent and unpredictable behaviour of their father.

In the third in our series of stories featuring extraordinary mothers we meet Myriam, who had the courage and determination to protect the children in her care from the harmful and illegal practice of Female Genital Mutilation.

In the second in our series of stories featuring extraordinary mothers we meet Auset. Like many women in rural Egypt, gender discrimination meant Auset was not able to access adequate education as a child. This left her isolated, limited in what she could do and struggling against inequality.

In the weeks leading up to Mothering Sunday, we’ll be sharing stories of incredible mothers in difficult situations who have overcome the odds and built safer, better lives for themselves and their families. Divorce from her husband left Madiha with nothing to support herself and her children – so she built up her own business from scratch.

Young Khaled has had a lot to deal with in his sort life. His rare neurological disorder is causing progressive physical palsy and has left Khaled with profound hearing loss. Then, during the Israel-Hezbollah war he lost his home in an airstrike. He and his family have found support through the Learning Centre for the Deaf.

10-month-old Layla is the youngest child enrolled at the Learning Centre for the Deaf’s Early Intervention Programme…

An estimated 12,000 children in Gaza have new disabilities caused by injuries they have suffered as a result of the current war. 5-year-old Malak is one of them.