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The Toubat settlement from the air, June 2024
Humanitarian work

Medical Points

Eleven places, ten Medical Points — one of them had to move and now carries a different name. The first opened in 2013; for a while seven were running at the same time, four are active today, all in Idlib province. Treatment and medicine are free, for everyone.

11 places since 20134 active todayfree for everyone

Travel Chronicle

Dr. Adnan Wahhoud documents his aid trips to Syria in detailed reports. 44 travel reports plus one special earthquake report now cover the period 2016–2026 — from the trip in November 2016 to the historic journey shortly after the fall of the regime in December 2024 and the most recent consolidation in January 2026. The reports themselves are in German.

To the travel chronicle →

Eleven places, thirteen years

Each bar shows how long a Medical Point was in operation. In February 2020, four locations were lost within two weeks.

Active today
Yakobiya since 2014
Jabal Wastani since 2016
Tuum since 2017
Blanta · Salwa · Toubat since 2018
History
Takad 2013–2020
Ibbin from 2013
Abzemo from 2014
Fattiere 2016–2020
Khan Alassal 2016–2020
Orom 2017

Twelve Signs, Eleven Places

Every Medical Point carries the name of the German town the donations came from. The signs are all built the same way: the green band with the English name at the top, the arcs of the German and Syrian flags in the middle, the Arabic line at the bottom. One place has two signs — it changed its name along the way.

The Medical Point Lindau in Takad
The Medical Point Lindau in Takad 11 October 2015
THE MEDICAL POINT GIESSEN IN IBBIN
THE MEDICAL POINT GIESSEN IN IBBIN 24 November 2013
The Medical Point Roth in Abzemo
The Medical Point Roth in Abzemo 7 August 2014
Medical Point Lindau in Yakobiya
Medical Point Lindau in Yakobiya 30 September 2021
The Medical Point Lindau in Khan Al-Assal
The Medical Point Lindau in Khan Al-Assal 13 June 2014
The Medical Point Roth in Fattiere
The Medical Point Roth in Fattiere 1 February 2017
The Medical Point Krumach in jabal Wastani
The Medical Point Krumach in jabal Wastani 18 November 2024
Medical Point Lindau in Tuum
Medical Point Lindau in Tuum 15 August 2024
The Medical Point Giessen in Orom
The Medical Point Giessen in Orom 29 March 2017
The Medical Point Lindau in Blanta
The Medical Point Lindau in Blanta 4 June 2018
Medical Point Oberschwaben in Salwa
Medical Point Oberschwaben in Salwa 2 July 2020
Medical Point Oberschwaben in Toubat
Medical Point Oberschwaben in Toubat 27 September 2023

Active today

MP Lindau in Yakobiya

active
Idlib · Christian village near the Turkish border

In the Christian village of Yakobiya, between the neighbouring villages of Qnayya and Jdaida. Christians and Muslims work here in the same team and treat patients from both communities. A midwife has been part of the staff since July 2021. For its tenth anniversary in October 2024, the health minister of the self-administered areas came to visit.

since October 2014

MP Krumbach in Jabal Wastani

active
Idlib · highlands, around 1000 m altitude

At around 1000 metres altitude in the Jabal Wastani highlands, the “middle mountain”. The Medical Point serves the inhabitants of fourteen remote villages and is housed in a rented family home. It is supported by the textile company UTT in Krumbach. Since August 2024 this location also has an ultrasound scanner — all four are now equipped with one.

MP Lindau in Tuum

active
Idlib · north-east of the city of Idlib

Opened in January 2017 as the fourth clinic to carry the name Lindau, in the village of Tuum north-east of the city of Idlib. In March 2019 the Medical Point moved into larger rooms. It is the first stop when Adnan Wahhoud travels round the four locations.

since January 2017

MP Oberschwaben in Toubat

active
Northern Idlib · Toubat settlement on Salwa land

One Medical Point, one move, three names. In Blanta it went into service in March 2018 and out of service on 15 February 2020. Three and a half months later it reopened, newly built, in the settlement on Salwa land, staffed by the people from the lost points in Fattiere and Takad. Later the sign changed from the municipal name Salwa to the village name Toubat — Salwa is attested until May 2021, Toubat from May 2022; no source gives the month of the change.

  1. Blanta March 2018 – February 2020 In operation from March 2018, at first under the name Lindau, from January 2019 under Oberschwaben. Out of service on 15 February 2020.
  2. Salwa June 2020 – April 2022 Newly built in the settlement: two examination rooms, pharmacy, waiting room. Staff and 85 refugee families came from Fattiere and Takad.
  3. Toubat since May 2022 The same place — only the name on the sign changed, from the municipal name Salwa to the village name Toubat.
since March 2018

History

Six locations are no longer in operation.

MP Lindau in Takad

destroyed
Western Aleppo

The first Medical Point, opened in June 2013. For seven years it was the only place to seek medical help for Takad and the neighbouring villages. On the night of 15 February 2020 the inhabitants had to leave their village; the same day the Medical Point was bombed. Its team has been working in Salwa ever since.

June 2013 – February 2020

MP Gießen in Ibbin

closed
Western Aleppo · about 35 km west of the city

The first Medical Point supported by Gießen. On 17 November 2013 a hand-painted wooden sign still hung above the door; six days later the printed board was mounted above it — a photograph of 23 November 2013 shows both together. The Lindauhilfe orphan project also began in Ibbin: in March 2014 it supported 37 families with 109 half-orphans, by June 2014 already 54 families with 175 children. An overview map from November 2014 lists Ibbin as one of five locations. When the Medical Point closed is not documented.

from November 2013 · end not documented (last evidence: November 2014)

MP Roth in Abzemo

closed
North-west Syria

Supported by the district of Roth. Fitting out the premises took from June to August 2014 — shelving, painting, plumbing, doors, locks; the list of costs runs to sixteen items. The opening notice of 12 July 2014 names two consultation days a week, the handbill from August already four. Alongside the consultations, infant formula was handed out. For 2015 the report to the district records 11,736 patient visits, 63 per cent of them children; from January to September 2016 a further 11,409 followed. When the Medical Point closed is not documented.

from July 2014 · end not documented (last evidence: September 2016)

MP Roth in Fattiere

destroyed
Southern Idlib

The southernmost location and for years the largest: up to 2,900 patient visits a month, with no other medical facility within twenty kilometres. In August 2019 a barrel bomb struck a hundred metres from the building; by October the team was working again. On 1 February 2020 the Medical Point had to close for good, and shortly afterwards it was destroyed.

until February 2020

MP Lindau in Khan Alassal

closed
Western Aleppo · at the gates of the city

Right at the gates of Aleppo. In November 2016 the Medical Point had to close for the first time because of the air raids, and was able to reopen in February 2017. From March 2019 it was staffed only two days a week for lack of doctors — many had left the country. On 1 February 2020 it closed for good.

until February 2020

MP Lindau in Orom

closed
North-west Syria

In operation from February 2017, first supported by the Olivetas association in Bad Nauheim, from October 2017 by the Lindauhilfe. The only Medical Point with its own maternity care: in September 2017 alone, twelve births were attended there. A nurse and a pharmacy assistant were also trained here. In November 2017 Orom was the largest of all locations with 2,680 patient visits.

February 2017 – November 2017

What we do on the ground

Primary medical care

Examinations, wound care and treatment of acute illnesses for adults and children.

Mother & child care

Pregnancy support, birth assistance and infant care under difficult conditions.

Medication supply

Procurement and distribution of essential medicines — purchased directly in-country, against pain, infections and chronic illness.

Local staff

Employing Syrian doctors, nurses and care workers — help that creates dignity and jobs.

Orphan aid

Monthly support of about 225 half- and full orphans from 119 families — co-funded by the Peter Dornier Foundation.

Bridge Germany — Syria

Transparent coordination between German supporters and Syrian partners on site.

Wahhoud’s own hand

“Roof Over the Head” — the Toubat settlement

Displaced families should not have to pitch a tent somewhere and spend the winter in the open. That sentence became a village: 20,000 square metres in Idlib province, construction started on 10 December 2019. Each family receives a plot of 8 × 8 metres with a foundation, plus 800 US dollars as an interest-free loan, repaid in instalments of 10 dollars a month.

20,000 m² site in Idlib
125 families
$800 per family, lent interest-free
2 wells with solar pumps

From blueprint to village

Before Toubat existed, there was this sketch: Dr. Wahhoud drew the complete development plan himself on graph paper — 30 numbered plots, a grocery store (28), a snack bar (29), a cemetery (30), four-house residential blocks, mosques, asphalt and gravel paths. The annotations are bilingual in German and Arabic.

What began as pencil strokes on graph paper now stands on 20,000 square metres in Idlib — home to 125 families.

Hand-drawn on graph paper — before construction
SketchHand-drawn on graph paper — before construction
Aerial view of the completed settlement — 125 families
RealityAerial view of the completed settlement — 125 families

How Toubat came to be

Forty-two photographs, from the first sheet of graph paper to the planting beds in front of the houses. Adnan Wahhoud drew the plans himself; the dates below them are taken from the drawings and from the cameras. Where no date survives, none is given.

The plans
The first settlement plan: 27 numbered plots, with dimensions and compass directions, labelled in German and Arabic.
19 December 2019 The first settlement plan: 27 numbered plots, with dimensions and compass directions, labelled in German and Arabic.
Building plan for the “Desert Child” primary school: six classrooms, corridor, staff room.
March 2020 Building plan for the “Desert Child” primary school: six classrooms, corridor, staff room.
The upper floor of the same school, with the stairs to the kindergarten.
13 March 2020 The upper floor of the same school, with the stairs to the kindergarten.
Floor plan of the kindergarten.
13 March 2020 Floor plan of the kindergarten.
A second kindergarten floor plan from the same day.
13 March 2020 A second kindergarten floor plan from the same day.
Floor plan of the medical point.
14 March 2020 Floor plan of the medical point.
The same settlement plan with a legend: grocery shop, snack bar, cemetery.
The same settlement plan with a legend: grocery shop, snack bar, cemetery.
The floor plan of the mosque.
12 August 2020 The floor plan of the mosque.
Extension plan: four more blocks of houses, the lanes marked in yellow.
12 April 2021 Extension plan: four more blocks of houses, the lanes marked in yellow.
The same extension plan, with the well, the playground and the main road added.
12 April 2021 The same extension plan, with the well, the playground and the main road added.
A ball court for children and young people, 16 metres long.
10 April 2023 A ball court for children and young people, 16 metres long.
The building
The slope before building began: olive trees, stones, two men.
6 December 2019 The slope before building began: olive trees, stones, two men.
The same plot of land, seen from higher up.
6 December 2019 The same plot of land, seen from higher up.
Five days later the excavator is there. Adnan Wahhoud is holding the plan.
11 December 2019 Five days later the excavator is there. Adnan Wahhoud is holding the plan.
The first stones have been cut from the slope.
11 December 2019 The first stones have been cut from the slope.
Two and a half months on: the foundations are in.
24 February 2020 Two and a half months on: the foundations are in.
Walls of natural stone, the excavator still working in the background.
26 February 2020 Walls of natural stone, the excavator still working in the background.
The same site, a few steps further along.
26 February 2020 The same site, a few steps further along.
Water pipes are laid between the walls.
29 February 2020 Water pipes are laid between the walls.
The water arrives.
29 February 2020 The water arrives.
Tents already stand between the foundations.
3 March 2020 Tents already stand between the foundations.
Six months on: the concrete columns of the next block are up.
30 September 2020 Six months on: the concrete columns of the next block are up.
Stones are cut to size.
4 October 2020 Stones are cut to size.
The walls go up.
4 October 2020 The walls go up.
Adnan Wahhoud on the building site, briefcase in hand.
5 October 2020 Adnan Wahhoud on the building site, briefcase in hand.
The same corner, a mason setting the next stone.
5 October 2020 The same corner, a mason setting the next stone.
The road between the blocks, shells of houses to left and right.
6 October 2020 The road between the blocks, shells of houses to left and right.
A shell with scaffolding, two workers carrying stones.
A shell with scaffolding, two workers carrying stones.
The water main being connected.
The water main being connected.
The well with its inscription, behind it the solar panels that power it.
18 July 2023 The well with its inscription, behind it the solar panels that power it.
The village today
The village sign “Toubat” in the evening.
The village sign “Toubat” in the evening.
The village street, the shop on the left.
The village street, the shop on the left.
Across the rooftops into the valley.
Across the rooftops into the valley.
A child in front of a finished house, planting beds laid out before it.
A child in front of a finished house, planting beds laid out before it.
Paved lanes between the houses; the medical point’s sign hangs on the house to the right.
Paved lanes between the houses; the medical point’s sign hangs on the house to the right.
A natural stone wall with a freshly planted bed.
A natural stone wall with a freshly planted bed.
An olive tree, planted in front of the house.
An olive tree, planted in front of the house.
A finished house, with windows and a door.
A finished house, with windows and a door.
The playground with swings, slide, see-saw and benches.
The playground with swings, slide, see-saw and benches.
Children on the playground, the olive groves behind them.
Children on the playground, the olive groves behind them.
A maize bed between the houses, children looking on.
A maize bed between the houses, children looking on.
Young plants in the bed.
Young plants in the bed.

The mosque, sheet by sheet

The community and prayer room, too, begins as a hand drawing on squared paper.

The hand drawing, 12 August 2020.
The hand drawing, 12 August 2020.
The second sheet, 15 August 2020.
The second sheet, 15 August 2020.
The third sheet of the same series.
The third sheet of the same series.
The columns are up, the ground cleared.
The columns are up, the ground cleared.
A view across the site towards the olive groves.
A view across the site towards the olive groves.
Adnan Wahhoud among the columns.
Adnan Wahhoud among the columns.
A mason lays the natural-stone facing.
A mason lays the natural-stone facing.
Adnan Wahhoud on the building site.
Adnan Wahhoud on the building site.
The future interior, still a shell.
The future interior, still a shell.
Adnan Wahhoud at the finished stone wall.
Adnan Wahhoud at the finished stone wall.
Cut stones waiting in front of the building.
Cut stones waiting in front of the building.
Walls and window openings.
Walls and window openings.
The reinforcement for the ceiling is laid.
The reinforcement for the ceiling is laid.
The ceiling blocks go in.
The ceiling blocks go in.
The shell is up.
The shell is up.
The natural-stone façade with its green window grilles.
The natural-stone façade with its green window grilles.
The same side, the beds now planted.
The same side, the beds now planted.
Both minarets, seen from the road.
Both minarets, seen from the road.
One minaret at full height.
One minaret at full height.
The tip with its crescent.
The tip with its crescent.
The green entrance door.
The green entrance door.
Adnan Wahhoud at the pulpit.
Adnan Wahhoud at the pulpit.
Inside: the prayer niche and the calligraphy panel above it.
Inside: the prayer niche and the calligraphy panel above it.
The prayer hall with the carpets laid out.
The prayer hall with the carpets laid out.
Evening, the lighting is on.
Evening, the lighting is on.
Dusk over both minarets.
Dusk over both minarets.

The settlement from the air

The settlement on the slope, olive groves behind.
The settlement on the slope, olive groves behind.
Straight from above: flat roofs and solar panels.
Straight from above: flat roofs and solar panels.
The lanes, paved with natural stone.
The lanes, paved with natural stone.
The approach road into the village.
The approach road into the village.
The upper part of the settlement, seen at an angle.
The upper part of the settlement, seen at an angle.
The whole village, from high above.
The whole village, from high above.

Toubat from the drone

At the Toubat village sign Adnan Wahhoud at the village sign; the drone rises and opens the view over the settlement.
The whole settlement Toubat from high above, circled once: the white houses in their grid, olive groves and ploughed fields all around.
From far to near Straight above the village, slowly descending: the paved lanes, the solar panels on every roof, the square at the centre.
Across the village, from the playground to high above The longest flight: first low over the houses, then across the playground with its swing and slide, finally straight up above the whole settlement.
Over the rooftops Low over the individual houses: water tanks, solar panels, laundry on the roofs, people on the square below.
Among the houses Obliquely over the rows of houses: balconies, gardens between the walls, a shop by the road.
The playground Very low over the children on the square, then the drone climbs and opens the view over the settlement.
At the edge of the village Where the houses end: olive groves in rows, the track leading out, a herd upon it.
The settlement from above Straight above Toubat: flat roofs, solar panels, the paved lanes.
The village mosque Low over the prayer and community room: bougainvillea in bloom, children in front.

Humanitarian projects

Other projects have grown from the medical work — soup kitchens, training workshops, reconstruction support. What the travel reports of recent years document is running in full strength.

Three charity kitchens
Soup kitchens

Three charity kitchens

City kitchen in Idlib, village kitchen in Toubat and, since January 2025, a new kitchen in Ain Tarma near Damascus. Together they serve 2,500–3,000 meals daily to the poorest, six days a week — during Ramadan, seven. One portion (1.5 l vegetables, ½ kg potatoes, 3 boiled eggs, 3 flatbreads) costs about €1.50 in bulk purchase.

~3,000 meals daily
"Mahal Hani" in Toubat village
Bakery

"Mahal Hani" in Toubat village

Solar-powered bakery, opened in 2021. Three brothers run it — their father and older brother were killed in the war in Aleppo. The wages of the boys feed the rest of the family. After the 2023 earthquake, "Mahal Hani" provided free bread to earthquake victims for weeks.

3 brothers · solar & gas
Training & production
Sewing workshop

Training & production

In Toubat village, six women at a time learn the tailoring craft in 6-month courses: two months of basic training, four months of production. They produce school uniforms for the Wüstenkind school, festive clothing for Eid, garments for orphans and earthquake victims.

6 seamstresses per course
Electrical & PC training workshop
Vocational training

Electrical & PC training workshop

Since March 2023, an electrical engineer trains about twelve boys per year in theory and practice — funded by the German-Syrian Association (chair Safouh Labanieh). Since June 2024, a parallel PC training course for girls runs two hours daily in the afternoon.

12 students per year
Reconstruction

"Roof over the head" in Ain Tarma

After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, many families returned to Ain Tarma near Damascus — their houses still stood, but doors and windows were missing, sanitary facilities destroyed. Over three winter months in 2025/26, 16 families were supported with 500 USD each for repairs.

16 families · 500 USD each
Ramadan packages for 500 families
Food aid

Ramadan packages for 500 families

For Ramadan, around 500–690 food packages of 24 kg each are distributed annually in the rural areas of Idlib, Aleppo and Damascus. Each package contains rice, pasta, lentils, vegetable oil, dates, tomato paste — basic supply for a family of four for three weeks. Bulk purchase cost: €30 per package.

500–690 packages of 24 kg

Partners & supporters

The work is sustained by a network of private and institutional partners — from local service clubs to foundations and state funding programs.

Innerwheel Club Oberschwaben Women's Service Club
Wüstenkind e.V. School & kindergarten in Salwa
Lindauhilfe für Syrien Initiative · citizens of Lindau and surroundings
KKNH e.V. Roth War-Children Emergency Aid · sponsoring association
Peter-Dornier-Stiftung Orphan aid
VIOLET Syrian partner organization
Rotary & Lions Club Lindau service clubs
UTT Krumbach Technical textiles · logistics
Bürgerstiftung Wasserburg Benefit concerts
friedens räume Villa Lindenhof Peace work & encounter · Lindau
Lions Club Aachen Service Club · Aachen
DSV Deutsch-Syrischer Verein Dresden German-Syrian cooperation · Saxony
Khan Shaykhun · 6 April 2017

Two days after the chemical attack

On 4 April 2017 the town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib province was attacked with a chemical warfare agent. Two days later Adnan Wahhoud travelled there himself and photographed what he found.

These are pictures of the place, not of its victims: the marked point of impact, the dead greenery at the roadside, the town gate.

The country road towards the town. To the right, a field still standing.
The country road towards the town. To the right, a field still standing.
The road sign outside the town: Khan Shaykhun, 110 km to Aleppo, 280 km to Damascus.
The road sign outside the town: Khan Shaykhun, 110 km to Aleppo, 280 km to Damascus.
The marked point of impact in the roadway.
The marked point of impact in the roadway.
The same spot close up: the red warning sign with a skull symbol, right at the edge of the hole in the asphalt.
The same spot close up: the red warning sign with a skull symbol, right at the edge of the hole in the asphalt.
The street in the affected part of town. A red warning sign stands on the rubble in the middle of the road.
The street in the affected part of town. A red warning sign stands on the rubble in the middle of the road.
The same spot seen from the other side of the street.
The same spot seen from the other side of the street.
Wahhoud (right) at the site of impact, talking to a press photographer.
Wahhoud (right) at the site of impact, talking to a press photographer.
The same conversation from further back. The photographer wears a protective vest marked “Press”.
The same conversation from further back. The photographer wears a protective vest marked “Press”.
Withered foliage directly beside untouched green growth.
Withered foliage directly beside untouched green growth.
The same spot close up: dried-out leaves among undamaged ones.
The same spot close up: dried-out leaves among undamaged ones.
An entire field margin at the edge of town, leaf by leaf dried out.
An entire field margin at the edge of town, leaf by leaf dried out.
Further along the same field margin, the same mix of withered and green.
Further along the same field margin, the same mix of withered and green.
Thistles at the edge of town, behind them the silos of Khan Shaykhun.
Thistles at the edge of town, behind them the silos of Khan Shaykhun.
At the town gate of Khan Shaykhun, holding the sign of the Al-Rahma relief organisation.
At the town gate of Khan Shaykhun, holding the sign of the Al-Rahma relief organisation.
The town gate seen from the front, with market stalls under blue tarpaulins.
The town gate seen from the front, with market stalls under blue tarpaulins.
The marked point of impact in the roadway

The film footage of the same day

The footage has sound and therefore starts only on click, never by itself.

The approach Across country to Khan Shaykhun, past green fields.
Outside the town The fields just before the town, from the moving car.
The road sign Khan Shaykhun, 110 km to Aleppo, 280 km to Damascus.
At the town entrance Past the town sign, between olive trees.
Through the affected quarter The main street, destroyed houses left and right, no people.
The point of impact The marked spot in the roadway, with the red warning sign.
At the edge of town A destroyed plant with silos, rubble up to the road.
The way back Out of the town, back along the same road.
Support now

Every Euro heals.

The Medical Points are funded exclusively by private donations. There is no administrative apparatus — every Euro goes directly to people in need.

For questions on use, please reach out by e-mail at .

Recipient
Kriegskindernothilfe e.V.
IBAN
DE69 7735 0110 0038 0975 23
BIC
BYLADEM1SBT
Reference
Spende Lindauhilfe

Tax receipt issued on request — please add your full address in the reference field.