A family of Syrian refugees who fled their war-torn homeland have named their newborn daughter Marya – after an Aberdeen volunteer gave up her time to teach them English.
Omar Al-Hamdan and Manar Al-Kaadee first arrived in Aberdeen on March 2 last year, after leaving Daraa – which lies close to the border with Jordan – in 2012..
They believed the sustained bombing and conflict in the region between the Bashar al-Assad regime and rebel forces was putting their lives at risk.
The couple are currently receiving lessons in English from Aberdeen City Council, to help them fully integrate into the community and hopefully find employment.
As part of the resettlement project, the council has launched a volunteer scheme which encourages those with a good grasp of the language to spend time with Syrian families and help them speak like native Aberdonians.
One volunteer, Maria Fowler, is a 25-year-old English Literature graduate from Cults.
She has been visiting the family of Mr Al-Hamdan fortnightly since February, where she goes over their homework, answers questions and helps them get to grips with Scottish language and culture – and eats plenty of their homemade sweets.
And on March 24, the family welcomed their second child into the world – Marya – who they have named in honour of Miss Fowler.
They said it was to show their gratitude for the hard work, understanding and kindness she has offered them in their time of need.
Speaking with the help of an interpreter, Mr Al-Hamdan said: “We have been working very hard to learn English, and Maria has been really helpful.
“She’s very special to us, as well as the other volunteer who has been helping us, called Ruth.
“We were deciding the name of our daughter, and thought that Maria’s name was good – and one of the Arabic versions of it, Marya, means fair, bright and beautiful.
“We thought it would be a perfect name for our daughter.”
Almost 100 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Aberdeen since last March, and dozens of volunteers have come forward to lend a hand to families like Mr Al-Hamdan’s across the city.
Miss Fowler said: “It’s been the biggest honour ever to have any influence at all on Marya’s name.
“It’s been a hugely rewarding experience for me, they’re really cool people.”