In August 2014, Mark and his family ran away from their town of Baghdeda after the Islamic State took over his town. Being displaced and losing everything he had in life overnight, Shlama housed his family along with 15 other families in Erbil. Thankful for the help he received, he reached out to Shlama and asked how he could help in return. From 2015 to 2016, Mark co-managed emergency projects for Shlama throughout the KRG as displacement from the Nineveh Plains lasted two and a half years. When he returned to his hometown in 2017, he became the project manager for the Hamdaniya District. He owns a stationary store in Baghdeda and is a Syriac teacher at a primary school in Bartella. He earned his bachelor's degree in Syriac Studies from Baghdad University and a master's degree in Semitic languages.