Telling the ECSA Story

“Bride and child should never be used in the same sentence. Clean and mutilation should never be used in the same sentence. Abuse and freedom from justice should not be used in the same sentence” Hamda performing her poem Somalis are renowned poets, in times of joy, happiness and despair the spoken art is used to translate a message. In the rural communities the art of poetry is vibrant and alive. Men use poetry to court women. Intricate laid verses are sown to describe love for a woman or even a marriage proposal. Women are equally lyrically gifted drafting poems to reject or requite the love interest. Poetry and social change go hand in hand in Somaliland. During the Bare regime, poetry and song were used as methods to share covert messages about the regime.  Gender-based violence (GBV) in Somaliland is prevalent and is manifested in many forms including but not limited to; abuse, rape, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, power abuse and sexual exploitati...

When walking around the Rhino Camp refugee settlement in Northern Uganda, it is striking how few men can be seen in the villages. The large majority of refugees entering Uganda are women, elderly women, middle age women, young girls and infants. Each of them has a heartbreaking story to tell about why their husbands or fathers are not with them or what they have experienced during their journey to Uganda. Many women can hardly tell their stories as tears begin streaming down their faces. A disabled woman who crossed the border into Uganda with her baby told the story of how she witnessed her husband’s murder. Another woman explained that she decided to flee, but her husband opted to stay behind to keep and protect the family’s property and land. She has not heard from him since she left her home and doesn’t know whether he will survive the war. A third woman who fled with her niece took a taxi to the Ugandan border where they were stopped by a group of armed men in uniform who sai...

“ My son was already declared dead by the community due to Malnutrition but Thanks to Mother Child Pair Food Distribution ” Baby Mateyu will grow to hear the stories shared by his mother on how Mother Child Pair (MCP) food distribution saved his life. MCP is the largest food distribution activity in the UBALE Program. MCP food distribution beneficiaries are all Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLWs) and all children are under the age of two. The sole purpose of this distribution is prevention of stunting as it targets the first 1,000 days of human life, that is from the date of conception of the mother to the second birthday of the new born baby. It was during one of these MCP distributions at GVH Kamanga in TA Tengani that the responsible Health Field Officer (HFO), Miss Elizabeth Gondwe, came across a desperate mother, Aida Khamba carrying her baby Mateyu . The appearance of the baby was not related to his age (2 months 3 weeks) as he looked very old and with a  shru...

William, Joyce's husband One night, 26-year-old Joyce watched in fear as her husband continued to drink and his behavior became increasingly erratic. Ever since they’d fled the war in South Sudan, her husband’s drinking had gotten worse and sometimes led to violent outbursts. As he became more intoxicated, he started yelling and hitting her. Suddenly, he grabbed a machete and threatened to cut her. Terrified, Joyce grabbed their six children and ran to a neighbor’s house. The neighbor let Joyce and the children stay the night, but encouraged Joyce to report the incident to CARE who would be able to help. Joyce took the neighbor’s advice and stayed with her children at CARE women’s shelter for several weeks where trained staff provided counseling, food and access to health care for her son who had pneumonia. CARE staff also engaged the local pastor to work with Joyce’s husband on the trauma and issues that were triggering his violent behavior. “The South Sudanese peop...

Christine looks much older than she is. Every word spoken by the 17-year-old is preceded by a shameful look on the ground. She is one of many unaccompanied children who came to Imvepi refugee settlement together with her three sisters. Christine has been in the camp for two months and fled from armed forces who have killed her father and brother in South Sudan. It took them five days to come to Imvepi from Yei, their hometown in South Sudan. Just before Christine’s parents were killed, they had sent their children away knowing their lives were in danger. A few days later, Christine received a phone call saying that her biggest fear came true. “I miss my parents but I’m happy we left the people with the guns behind,” she says. But although she moved to Imvepi, she is still not safe. Her family was connected to government forces in South Sudan, which still poses a threat to her own life and that of her sisters. A few days ago, Christine and her sisters were attacked in the middle ...

“ With the coming of GPSA-SSAES initiatives I saw myself gaining hope again and seeing a brighter future ahead of me ,” Said Sarah. Sarah Sarah Austin has been a student from grade one up to grade eight at Namiwawa Primary School and g ot selected to Providence Secondary School in Mulanje in the 2016 academic year.  Namiwawa primary School in Mwanza district is not exceptional among other primary schools that face a lot of challenges in delivery of high quality education services in Malawi. One of the major challenges that affect service delivery in the education sector is shortage of teaching and learning materials that results to high dropout rates and children walk long distances in search of schools with quality and better learning environments. Furthermore, the shortage of teaching and learning materials affects performance of learners, as the learning environment becomes a challenge to access information. In addition it increases workload on teachers as they a...

In Northern Tanzania, close to the boarder of Kenya, Halima Daodi lives with her husband and two children. She is one of many Tanzanians who have bought solar panels, which is placed on the roof of her small house. The solar panel system does not only give her great light in the night, she can also charge her phone and radio from the solar battery. Halima Daodi and her husband, Hashim Hemed, rent a small house in Mandaka Mnone in the Kilimanjaro Region of Northern Tanzania. In their small house they keep the few belongings they have and sleep in a bed with their two children. The landlord grows rice and Halima and Hashim work on the rice fields every day. Halima and Hashim are members of a VSLA group established by CARE. Hashim has been a member for two years and Halima one year. The group meets once a week, they save together and whoever needs it the most, can take a loan. Recently it was Halima and Hashim who took a loan from their VSLA group, as they wanted to buy a...