Telling the ECSA Story

This is the journey and story of one dedicated CARE DRC aid worker operating in a complex security context working to decrease cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and improve the living condition of affected populations in places such as Minembwe Health Zone, all while providing hope for a better future for his country and saving lives in the process. The year 2021 is particularly difficult for the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the situation remains complex and prolonged in July 2021.   Humanitarian access, whether physical or in terms of security, remains a major constraint for field actors to reach the most vulnerable populations. Armed conflicts, epidemics, natural disasters, and the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 have significantly exacerbated the context of extreme lack of access to essential services for a large majority of the population, disrupting supply chains, access to markets, and humanitarian activities, all of which have hurt househo...

  Abdirahman Katsame – A member of Vector and Pest Control team during an interview on 7/8/2020 conducted by Mohammed Bare (CARE incentive staff in Hagadera Refugee Camp in Daadab).   a)       Name, age, job role, location, number of years working as a humanitarian   My name is Abdiraham Abshir Katsame. I am 29 years old. For over two years, I have been   a Vector and Pest Control refugee community worker (RCW) with CARE WASH in Hagadera Refugee Camp.   b)       What does it mean to be a humanitarian worker to you?   It gives me so much happiness to support my community in preventing diseases by disinfecting public institutions and households. At the moment, I am helping in preventing the spread of COVID-19 through regular comprehensive disinfection exercises at Undugu Primary school quarantine centre and Hagadera food distribution centre in Hagadera Camp within Dadaab Refugee Complex. ...

  Denice at a Borehole 06 site during borehole rehabilitation (borehole flushing) exercise on 10/08/2020 in Hagadera Refugee Camp in Dadaab Refugee Complex/CARE Kenya.   a)       Name, age, job role, location, number of years working as a humanitarian   My name is Denice Owino Abonyo. I am 48 years old working as a plant and mechanic engineer with CARE Kenya in Dadaab Refugee Camp for the last twenty (20) years.   b)       What does it mean to be a humanitarian worker to you?   Serving humanity by being able to offer assistance to those in need and enriching them through services such as the provision of water for daily use. It also means achieving CARE’s purpose in eliminating poverty, and achieving social justice.   c)        Why did you decide to start helping your community– why did you choose to do it, how did you get into it?   Growing up it wa...

    Hassan Guyo at Daadab Main Offices on 10 th August 2020 /CARE Kenya. a)     Name, age, job role, location, number of years working as a humanitarian   My name is Hassan Huqa Guyo. I am 32 years old. For over 6 years, I have been a Truck Driver with CARE Kenya in Dadaab Refugee Camp.   b)     What does it mean to be a humanitarian worker to you?   I glean with so much joy when I transport basic needs items such as food, dignity kits, and household items to the refugee community members and fuel for boreholes for pumping water. The difference to humanity that is touched by my work, however small keeps me going. c)     Why did you decide to start helping your community– why did you choose to do it, how did you get into it?   The desire to help refugees who lack most of the basic necessities in life even though they are human and are my br...

It’s hard to believe the changes in the world today. They are coming so fast and so completely that we can lose track of what’s happening. It can be hard to feel hopeful as COVID-19 cases rise, economies crash, and underlying inequality skyrockets. In the upheaval, there is also hope. The answer now is the same as it was in March: the only way out is through, and the only way through is together. We’re seeing extraordinary examples of  women leading through crisis . In some places, men stuck at home during quarantine are  starting to help with childcare  for the first time in their lives. Savings groups are building CARE packages for the poorest people in their communities and providing shelter for women at risk. We’ve had to transform our responses, too. This isn’t just a health pandemic—it’s a global crisis on every dimension. So how are we stepping up to meet the challenge? How are we changing to better serve the people who need it most? How have we grown our CO...

Lucia Francisco had two clear priorities in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai: “For me and my community I would like to receive food and shelter. The food will help us be strong so we can rebuild our houses and lives.” So that’s what CARE does—helps people rebuild houses and lives all over the world. CARE’s Emergency Shelter Team provides technical expertise in emergency shelter and reconstruction. Cyclone Idai dominated the Shelter Team’s humanitarian response during the financial year July 2018 - June 2019. During that period, the Shelter Team also provided comprehensive technical assistance to CARE’s shelter and camp management activities in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya refugee settlement in Bangladesh - which remains the largest refugee camp in the world - as well as supporting emergency responses in Lebanon, Nepal, Turkey, Uganda, Vanuatu. What have we accomplished? 73 projects  implemented around the world with a shelter and housing component. Two projects involved camp coordinatio...

I lost three of my brothers during the cyclone last year. It was a Thursday. I was living with them and my oldest brother on the outskirts of Beira, who supported me so that I was able to go to school. My teacher that morning said that a big storm was coming but we didn’t believe him at first because we saw no signs. But in the evening I woke up from the noise of the wind. It was so strong, it blew our roof away. I was very scared. A big tree in front of our house fell against our wall and my brothers rushed to the cabinets resting against that wall to take out bags and folders with important certificates and documents. That’s when the whole wall collapsed on them. One of the stones hit my head. I still remember seeing the cracks in the wall moments before my brothers were buried in  the rubble. One of my brothers was still breathing and we tried to save him. We called the police and they took him to the hospital. But just minutes later we received a call saying that he didn’t...