Melat is smiling again

When Melat and her family arrived at Um Rakuba refugee camp in Sudan a year ago, they had nothing. But thanks to our generous donors, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has now built a temporary home for the family, and Melat is back at school.

The five-year-old’s smile is back, but the violence of war has left a deep impression on her young mind.

Melat, 5. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

NRC’s Secretary General Jan Egeland visited the refugee camp where Melat lives in December last year.

Portrait of Melat, a young girl from Ethiopia. She has braids in her hair and is wearing a light yellow top.

Melat, 5. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Private donations

“Money from private donors enabled us to start relief efforts in the country and respond quickly, as the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray province forced thousands to flee across the border into Sudan.”

Jan Egeland

Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

60,000 new arrivals

“New refugees were arriving at the camp every day, and they were in extreme need. Luckily, we were ready to help,” says Egeland.

“In record time, we distributed money so that people could buy the things they needed most. We built temporary homes, and we built a school so that we could take care of the children and create a safe haven in their otherwise chaotic daily lives.”

DECEMBER 2020: There were long queues of newly arrived refugees outside NRC’s office in Um Rakuba camp. They were waiting to be registered so they could move inside the camp. They needed assistance with many things: a roof over their heads, food, cooking utensils, water jugs, blankets and everything you need to survive. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

The refugees had come from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. In November 2020, fighting broke out in the region, and the violence continues to this day.

More than 60,000 people – many of them families with children – have been forced to flee across the border into neighbouring Sudan.

DECEMBER 2020: Pregnant Leilti, her husband Gebreyesus and their daughter Lela have recently arrived at Um Rakuba refugee camp in Sudan, 70 kilometres from the border with Ethiopia. They fled the fighting in Tigray. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

A large group of people are queuing up to register outside a refugee camp. The ground is dry and the sun is scorching.

DECEMBER 2020: There were long queues of newly arrived refugees outside NRC’s office in Um Rakuba camp. They were waiting to be registered so they could move inside the camp. They needed assistance with many things: a roof over their heads, food, cooking utensils, water jugs, blankets and everything you need to survive. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

A small family that has recently arrived at a refugee camp in Sudan.

DECEMBER 2020: Pregnant Leilti, her husband Gebreyesus and their daughter Lela have recently arrived at Um Rakuba refugee camp in Sudan, 70 kilometres from the border with Ethiopia. They fled the fighting in Tigray. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

A new life

Melat, 5, and her new friends can finally fill their everyday lives with play and laughter.

Four young girls hold hands and run towards the camera laughing.

The Um Rakuba refugee camp has become Melat's new temporary home. She is back in school and has made new friends. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

A little makes a big difference

Melat’s mother, Fiyori Kidonewaria, has been worried about her daughter.

“She remembers everything, and she still talks about what she heard and saw,” says Fiyori.

“But since she started going to NRC’s school, she talks less about the terrible things she has experienced. She is starting to become the cheerful and happy girl we know and love.”

Melat has a new home and a place in school. It makes her feel safe, and Melat’s mother says that her daughter is beginning to put the painful memories of war behind her. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

“When the sound of the bombs reached our village, I was scared. I was afraid of being kidnapped.”
Melat, 5, refugee from Ethiopia

Melat is back in school. School provides security and contributes to a more normal everyday life for refugee children. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Melat misses her home and her school. And she longs for her old friends and her teacher. “I wish I could go home, but I’m afraid of the war,” she says.

A mother and her daughter, both dressed in yellow, are sitting together in front of their home.

Melat has a new home and a place in school. It makes her feel safe, and Melat’s mother says that her daughter is beginning to put the painful memories of war behind her. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Four young girls sit together on the ground and play.

Melat is back in school. School provides security and contributes to a more normal everyday life for refugee children. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Feeling safe

It’s good to have a hand to hold for a little girl fleeing from war.

Melat, en ung jente, holder en av Flyktninghjelpens hjelpearbeider i hånden mens de går gjennom flyktningleiren Um Rakuba i Sudan.

Melat, 5, can finally smile again. She is pictured here with NRC's Rawan Kara. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Melat is back in school. Life feels more normal now. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

“It’s good to see that children like Melat have received help and that her family is doing well,” says Egeland. “It often takes so little to make a big difference.”

A school package containing books, writing materials and a backpack costs just 35 euros. For Melat, it means that she can continue her schooling, have a safer life and look forward to a brighter future.

Three of our aid workers in Sudan. From left: Razan Abdalgadir, education assistant, Rawan Kara, media assistant, and Zahia Mohamed Ali, logistics assistant. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

About Um Rakuba refugee camp

Established in November 2020
Gives shelter to 20,000 refugees from the Tigray region of Ethiopia
NRC is working in the camp providing shelter and emergency aid

Melat, a young girl, shows a drawing she has done in her exercise book.

Melat is back in school. Life feels more normal now. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Three of our aid workers in Sudan. From left: Razan Abdalgadir, education assistant, Rawan Kara, media assistant, and Zahia Mohamed Ali, logistics assistant. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC