Syrians are among the largest recent arrival groups in the Netherlands, and Dutch settlement policy spread them out: not concentrated in one or two cities but distributed across municipalities the length of the country, from Groningen down to Maastricht. It makes for a diaspora that is well integrated locally and often quite isolated from other Syrians — you may be the only Syrian family on your street.
That isolation shows up in how people send. Without a nearby community running informal channels, the question "how do I actually get something to my mother" has no easy answer over coffee with a neighbour. Jawlaha Gifts is a formal answer to it: you choose in the app, we quote once, you transfer, and we buy and deliver on the ground in Syria.
The Netherlands also skews towards families who arrived with school-age children who are now teenagers or students. Which means the people still in Syria are frequently grandparents — and grandparents are the hardest to send to, because they will not ask for anything. Groceries and a monthly food basket do most of the work here.
Only one hour behind Syria, and a country where everything is expected to be arranged properly and confirmed in writing. That is roughly how this works: one quote, one transfer, a receipt, and confirmation when it is handed over.
How it works
Choose what to send
In the Jawlaha app, pick the items and the shops inside Syria to buy them from, plus the recipient’s name, address and phone number — and a note for the occasion if you want one.
We send you one quote
Our team reviews the order and sends you a single all-inclusive price in Syrian pounds covering the items, the service and the delivery.
Pay by money transfer
Transfer the amount through Al Haram Al Fouad exchange or Western Union, then send us the transfer number and a photo of the receipt.
We buy it and deliver it
Once the transfer is confirmed, a Jawlaha driver buys everything from the shops and hands it to your family at their door inside Syria.
The price comes in Syrian pounds
You think in euros; the quote arrives in Syrian pounds, because that is what the shopping and the delivery cost there. Our team sends one all-inclusive figure before you transfer anything.
Paying by money transfer
Payment is by money transfer — through Al Haram Al Fouad exchange or Western Union. When we send your quote we confirm how to send it from the Netherlands and what details you need. Nothing starts until the transfer is confirmed.
Occasions that matter from the Netherlands
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
The holiday shop delivered before Eid morning — sweets, meat, clothes for the children.
Ramadan
A month of staples arriving at the start of the month, especially for grandparents managing alone.
Syrian Mother’s Day, 21 March
Syria marks Mother’s Day on 21 March. Flowers or a cake on the actual date, not a week either side of it.
Winter
Heating fuel, blankets, warm clothes. Practical, unglamorous, and the thing most often asked for when someone finally does ask.
What you should know before you send
You are wiring money to a distant country for someone you love. Here are straight answers to the questions in your head right now.
Why payment is by transfer, not by card
Because card rails do not reliably reach Syria. A transfer through an exchange office or Western Union is the route that actually gets funds into the country and into the hands of the team who will do the buying.
It is the same reason everything inside Syria is cash on delivery: we use the payment method that works rather than the one that looks modern. It is also why we ask for the transfer number and a photo of the receipt — they are what ties your payment to your order, and nothing starts until we have confirmed them.
And if the order cannot be fulfilled?
Every order is quoted individually by our team before you pay, and the quote can be affected by what is actually available in the shops and at what price.
If an order cannot be fulfilled after payment, or a paid order is cancelled, we refund the amount you paid less the non-refundable service fee, via the same transfer method you paid with, within up to seven business days — and you can follow the refund status in the order details.
You do not have to know the person receiving it
A lot of what we carry is not a gift in the usual sense: a food basket for a family going without, or help reaching someone you have never met — sadaqa that arrives at a door instead of passing through intermediaries.
You decide what to send and to which area, and we handle the buying and the handover inside Syria as if you were there yourself.
We deliver on electric bikes
We use electric bikes for delivery wherever we can: less noise on the streets of the cities we work in, and less pollution in their air.
It is a deliberate choice on our side. It costs you nothing — it just means your gift arrives a little more quietly and a lot more cleanly.
A team that speaks your language
The Jawlaha team works in Arabic and English. Write to us in either, and the same person follows your order from the first message to the moment it is handed over.
Talk to a human before you send
The first gift is always the hardest one. Write to us in Arabic or English and we will walk you through every step before you pay anything.
Where your gift arrives inside Syria
Jawlaha Gifts delivers to recipients across Syria. These cities have pages of their own, and the recipient’s city is confirmed with you order by order.
Distance does not have to mean absence
Choose what to send, and we take care of the rest inside Syria.
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Frequently asked
How do I send a gift to Syria from the Netherlands?
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Do you have a Dutch-language service?
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Can I set up a monthly food basket for my parents?
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How do I know it actually arrived?
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Sending from somewhere else?
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