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...

Zainab collecting twigs to build a temporary shack. David Mutua/CARE At the edge of Dagahaley Refugee Camp located in Northeastern Kenya, 24-year-old Zainab Isak is busy building her temporary shack by tying together twigs with pieces of cloth and poles stuck to the ground. Dagahaley is already at full capacity, so all those arriving have to set up their structures outside the camp. Since she arrived from her home in Saakow Somalia, Zainab has been living in other people's structures. Her husband died in June 2022 due to sickness in Baidoa, leaving Zainab to become the breadwinner of her family comprised of her three children, her mother, and her father. As the conditions worsened, Zainab had no option but to leave her home “As a farmer, the lack of rain and drought made life unbearable. There was nothing to eat and all we had was finished. That is why we came here,” Zainab said. As she continues to build, Zainab does not know where her next meal will come from, because she still d...

Marial and his with the CARE Medical Team 58-year-old Luba Marial was brought to Pariang hospital, in northern South Sudan sweating and with a fever, by family members after suffering years of pain, without apparent diagnosis. Little did he know at the time that he was in a life-or-death situation.   “It started 3 years ago as pain in the kidney.” he says, “I visited the hospital several times, but I didn’t get a cure. I was refereed from Hakima health Centre to Pariang with severe pain, I couldn’t eat nor drink, life was hard for me.”   Upon admission in Pariang referral hospital, Marial was found to have a severe tissue infection with intestinal obstruction that required urgent surgery. Marial’s condition is a rare but severe type of bacterial infection which can destroy the muscles, skin and underlying tissue and is very difficult to treat. It is a highly fatal condition with mortality rates of 30% and above. Most Patients present with septic shock and septicemia...

 Indicators point to the erosion of gains made for girls' and women's rights in Somalia as the drought worsens. Girls are being forced to drop out of school putting them at risk of harmful traditional practices such as early marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Women-run businesses have been hit especially hard with 98% of them having lost revenue and income due to the high cost of goods, and 51% have been forced to close. Photo by Saddam Mohamed/CARE As the primary caregivers in the home, women have the responsibility of taking care of children and this can be extremely difficult when their source of income is disrupted. In Dhobley, Somalia, 42-year-old Faduma arrives at an IDP camp with 100 frail goats from her home in Wajir, Kenya. These are all that remain of her herd which comprised of 300 goats that provided her with milk and meat. She has traveled over 200 kilometers with her four children in order to try and sell the remaining goats. “ Unfortunately, most of ou...