Gifts that save lives

Money from private donors enabled us to start humanitarian aid work in Sudan and allowed us to respond quickly when the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region forced thousands to flee across the border.

Melat is smiling again

When five-year-old Melat arrived in Um Rakuba refugee camp a year ago with her mother and three older siblings, they had nothing.

Thanks to our private donors, NRC has built the family a new temporary home, and Melat is back in school.

But the violence of war has left a deep impression on her young mind.

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.

Fleeing for their lives

In 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 receive protection inside the camp. They needed assistance with many things: a roof over their heads, food, cooking utensils, water jugs, blankets and all the other things you need to survive.

The refugees come from the Tigray region in 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.

Building a school

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

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

“She remembers everything, and she still talks about what she heard and saw. But since she started going to NRC’s school, she talks less about the terrible things she has experienced, and she’s starting to become the cheerful and happy girl we know and love,” says the mother.

A little makes a big difference

“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 only €35. For Melat, it means that she can continue her schooling, have a safer life and look forward to a brighter future.

Money from private donors allowed us to invest in youth and young women in areas where few others are there to help.

When Facebook came to town

Imagine life without the internet. Facebook was just something you’d heard about. You’d never posted anything on Instagram. Well, that was life for most people in Akobo, South Sudan.

But the youth of Akobo were determined to break their isolation – and NRC was on hand to help them.

“Now we can surf the internet. We can communicate with the rest of the world and stay up to date with what’s going on. And not least, many of us can get an education and apply for jobs,” says Nyawech Nyoat Banygach, 25.

A remote corner of a country ravaged by violence

She is one of the young people attending the youth centre in Akobo. It is an area that houses many refugees and internally displaced people who have returned home. At the same time, it is a remote area with little internet access and poor communications. To get to the capital, Juba, takes several days.

INNOVATION PROJECT

NRC has given new hope to the young people in this area through an innovation project at the Youth Centre in Akobo. They can now access the internet, study online, meet other young people, develop and exchange new ideas, create their own groups, collaborate on projects, get in touch with the outside world, and expand their digital and physical networks.

Money from private donors financed this project.

Young people struggle more than most. It is young people who want to get an education and a job, and who dream of a different life to the one their parents have had.

For many young girls, getting married early is the solution.

Nyawech was herself married as a 19-year-old. At that time, her family was internally displaced and living in the capital, Juba. Her parents still live there.

Today, Nyawech has two children, is expecting a third, and lives with her husband in Akobo.

“There are few educational opportunities here, and most people have to make do with only primary school. Gender equality is an unknown concept, and girls always come last,” she continues.

“The conflict in the country has led to high unemployment, and many young people feel useless and redundant. This in turn leaves them vulnerable to recruitment by criminal or violent groups. Poor roads and communication also make it difficult to move around or run a business.”

New opportunities

Gatluak Ruot Yiek, 26, one of the youth leaders in Akobo, believes the youth centre will contribute to better educational opportunities and more jobs, in addition to reducing violence and helping to stabilise the community.

He is taking several courses, and has already received one diploma from the University of Arizona in the United States.

The project has also given Gatluak the opportunity to have online contact with displaced friends and relatives. “I had not heard from my brother, who is a refugee in Sudan, for several years, but now I can get in touch with him again,” he says.

Nyawech is also positive about the project. “We see that the project is already bearing fruit, and it has changed my life,” she says.

Now, she communicates daily with others via Skype and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“We build networks, exchange ideas, plan activities and I have made countless new friends,” she says.

Young people as a resource

Nyawech believes that the entire local community benefits from the project. People have opened their eyes to the fact that young people are a resource and can share important information.

Now, she wants to take a leading role and contribute to the development of her community.

“My dream is to become a leader, so that I can help young people get out of isolation and make sure that women are heard and participate in decision-making processes,” she says.