Telling the ECSA Story

A refugee who recently arrived in Adre, Ouaddai province, interviews conducted by CARE staff and meetings with community leaders. CARE N'Djamena, Chad 25 May 2023 - With the conflict in Sudan in its fifth week, CARE is deeply concerned about the impact the violence has had on hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people, especially women, and children, forced to flee their homes amid the violence. This includes over 90,000 refugees , who according to UNHCR and the Government of Chad, have fled to Chad to save their lives. Dr. Amadou Bocoum, CARE Chad Country Director said: “Alongside our partners, we have noted that 90% of the refugees crossing over daily are women and children. By the time they arrive, they have endured extreme hardship not only from their journey but also from the situation they left at home. Many arrive hungry, thirsty, and in need of immediate medical attention and other basic necessities. We are working alongside other humanitarian actors to support those c...

A woman refugee with her child who recently arrived in Adre, Ouaddai province. CARE   N’Djamena, Chad 28 th April 2023 - Over the last several days in Chad, community leaders in the Sudan-Chad border region have told CARE that the region has received more than 42,000 refugees. This number is expected to grow in the coming days as the conflict in Sudan continues. The refugees are arriving in the villages bordering Chad, some with a few essential items of luggage and others not at all because of the pressure and stress. They settle in the open area or in huts made with millet stalks. Most of those arriving at the border are women and children.   Soumaiya*, a divorced woman with eight children to support arrived in Chad on 20 th April 2023. "When the conflict reached my hometown, the civilians were left vulnerable. As a result, many preferred to leave the village. My family and I left the village at one o'clock in the morning to cross over to the Chadian side.  We made ...

If you go to many schools in poor countries or refugee camps, you will see kids washing their hands like they are scrubbing in for surgery. They are much more thorough than most Americans, where apparently  69% of men  don’t wash their hands. What makes kids in crisis so smart about handwashing? Why are they following the  best practice guidelines  for how to wash your hands, even when running water is scarce? They understand that it could save their lives. As we’re all learning, handwashing is one of the best defenses we have against all kinds of diseases (including COVID-19) better than  wearing gloves . It’s the  top tip WHO offers  for slowing the spread of the virus. It saves lives all over the world. But  a lot of people still don’t do it , even with the best access to resources, running water, and information. So how do we make it possible for more people? How do you get people who have little access to running water or soap to priori...

“…now having a latrine is not an option but it is a matter of dignity” How do you cut diarrhea by 40%  and have people use the latrine so the water stays safe? Make it about dignity. That’s not the only change people in Ethiopia are seeing with the RESET II project. They’re also seeing improved agricultural production, better government services, and sustainable practices for the future. RESET II in Ethiopia is running from 2016-2020 with $7 million in funding from the European Union. In partnership with Action Against Hunger, it is reaching more than 378,000 people. What have we accomplished?     People are healthier: there has been a 40% reduction in diarrhea.     Water is safer: people are 83% more likely to be using safe water sources, and 44% more likely to be using a latrine.    Agriculture is more sustainable: people are 83% more likely to be using sustainable land and water management practices. They ha...

By Jennifer Bose, Emergency Communications Officer, CARE · There is a sea of mud and rubble for as far as the eyes can see. In one of the poorest neighborhoods in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique, the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai is plain to see. It’s all around you. The blazing sun is searing to the skin. Yesterday, my personal nightmare was not having running water in the guesthouse, forcing me to shower with a bucket full of cold water. Looking at the children playing in dirty water around me, my “phobia” vanishes almost instantly. There’s rubble everywhere. Parts of metal roofs have sunk into the mud and large patty fields now have the same effects as quicksand, making them impossible to cross. In the middle of the narrow walkways, puddles remind me of the vast flooding people experienced here just a few days ago. "The water was up to my hips," Manuela tells me. She ran outside with her eight-month-old daughter, Mariam, when the cyclone ble...

By Joseph Scott The spectre of flooding has always hung over Chitsa village in Nsanje, Rhoda Benford says. A fact of life during rainy seasons, the floods have traditionally always been anticipated during the month of January. So, when the month of January passed without incident, Rhoda thought the worst was over and started preparing for a good harvest. This year, she says, the crop had been good and she expected a bumper harvest. “I had a good crop of maize, some millet and a lot of pumpkins,” says the mother of five. “But all has been washed away.” Cyclone Idai caught communities unaware Like many in her village, Rhoda never saw the Cyclone Idai induced floods coming. She was looking into the future with hope. Almost 80 percent of people affected by the floods rely on their small holder farms as a source of income and for their livelihood. So, having a good harvest means much more than just a meal on the table. “If I get surplus harvest, I sell some to get mo...

September 1, 2018 Viola Jackline, 20, is currently a pupil in Primary 5 in Imvepi Refugee Settlement. Viola is from Yei, South Sudan, and arrived in Uganda in March 2017 after two weeks of travel by foot with her grandmother and three siblings. She was only able to carry two bed sheets and two sets of clothes with her as she fled the violent conflict in her country. However, her grandmother was able to carry two saucepans, allowing her to cook some food along the way. With the bed sheets, Viola and her family were able to sleep in the bush in dark, camouflaged areas. Her long journey was coupled with thirst and hunger, verbal harassment from armed men, witnessing killings and escaping gunshots, and no means of bathing until she reached the Ugandan boarder. Viola Jackline Viola is one of 100 women and girls who participated in a menstrual hygiene management pilot that introduced menstrual cups, referred to as “Ruby Cups”, implemented by CARE and local partner WoM...