Empowering Displaced Families Living in Camps
adminRDP FSL CASE STUDY – OCT 2023
The integrated emergency response project has had a positive impact on the living conditions of IDPs in Al-Salam camp. It has led to significant improvements, providing IDPs with access to basic needs and livelihoods. Monthly food distributions have mitigated starving families and malnourished children. Cleaning campaigns and the construction of HHs latrines have significantly reduced the risk of waterborne diseases and improved the hygiene practices within the camp. Livelihoods such as livestock, vocational trainings, sewing machines, and motorcycle maintenance kits have helped IDPs generate sustainable income.
Yet, 20 more displaced/host community families – living in and around the camp – are dying to get such relief assistance. During food distributions, benefited families generously give some beans, rice, soap, oil, wheat and so on to these needy HHs, who are not targeted by the project, to ease off their bitter situation even a little bit. What a benevolent & cohesive community down there! Hassina Mohammed Ahmed Jumaei is an elderly woman in her eighties, who was coerced to flee her house in Haradh district of Hajjah governorate to Al-Salam camp in Al-Marawi’ah district due to escalated conflict in 2016. Hassina is living in a straw hut with her 3 sons, a daughter, and 7 grandchildren.
Although life’s become a perpetual struggle, the family never gave up fighting for their survival. The elderly woman knows how to grow plants and crops as she used to work in farms back then. She started to make advantage of the yard’s space to grow tomatoes and lettuce which helped them a lot in their daily sustenance. While her 3 sons are used to working anything like carrying goods, selling qat, painting, cutting woods or stones …etc. Four years later, Hassina’s oldest son “Mohammed” couldn’t bear to see his loved ones in a constant struggle, so he decided to travel illegally to KSA (without visa, sneaking out of the borders with a bunch of people) in order to end pain and agony as there would be abundant job opportunities for him.
In 2021, Mohammed was powered by the love of his family, so he gave it a shot despite all obstacles. He eventually made it through the borders, seeking to create a better life for family. Soon after, Mohammed found a painting job with good daily wages, allowing him to send money back home to his family to provide their daily basic needs. Unfortunately, it was just a year when the government found that he had no legal documents, so Mohammed was immediately sent back to Yemen. But this time, he saved some money to enable his family to establish their livelihood. Hassina’s only daughter “Amal” started buying straw and making brooms and baskets to sell in the market on a weekly basis so that they could get a small income from which they could live.
Luckily, the integrated emergency response project has made positive changes for this struggling family. They have been benefited from the monthly food distributions as well as the
livestock, which enhanced their living conditions and helped them spare a little money so they
could buy fodder for the sheep to be fed and have more sheep. The countless support of SoH
has improved the lifestyle of tens of affected displaced families to the point where some
families could stand alone & independent at times of hardships.
