Telling the ECSA Story

Stories by  By: Daniel Tesfu and Esete Kebede, CARE International in Ethiopia PART ONE “I Now Live in a Kitchen with my Newborn” Genet is a 22-year-old mother from Kercha, in the south of Ethiopia, who fled the conflict with her newborn to the district of Gedeo. “My husband was killed as a result of the conflict. Our house was also burnt down to the ground,” Genet says in a trembling voice. “My husband was killed, and now I am all alone. All this makes me sick.   I was pregnant at the time and they were about to kill me as well. I escaped and managed to get here with the help of others in my community. It has been two months since I’ve fled to this area to save my life. I had my baby 28 days ago. Lucky enough, people helped me to get to this health post for delivery and I had a safe birth. But there are many others who are pregnant and may not get help.’’ Genet is one of more than 800,000 displaced people now sheltered in Gedeo. ‘’Before the confli...

2018 will be a hard year for all affected by the drought in Somalia. All indications show that the drought will not get any better and may push the situation towards famine. Rains between October – December 2017 were expected to bring relief to millions of people in Somalia. Unfortunately, the rains were not good. This was the fourth consecutive failed rainy season. While large-scale famine has been averted in 2017, the humanitarian impact of the drought has been devastating. 5.4 million people, close to half of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.  “Things are not looking good. We have had another failed harvest season and a poor rain season. This has pushed the cost of living higher and families are struggling to put at least a meal on the table daily. Our efforts should be focused on ensuring that we do not have a famine” explained Saeed Arshe Ahmed – Care Somalia’s Head of Office in Bossaso, Puntland. On 5th December 2017, Puntl...

More than 14,000 refugees, the large majority women and children, have fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Uganda since December 18 th 2017, following increased conflict, according to figures from Government of Uganda and UNHCR, said agency CARE International. Most refugees arrive through the Bunagana border point in Kisoro district, South Western Uganda but some even brave the dangerous waters of Lake Albert to escape the even greater dangers in DRC. The majority of refugees are children (54%).  CARE International staff who conducted a rapid assessment last week explain that while initially more women sought refuge in Uganda, more men have started to arrive in the last week. Many men are still trapped in the DRC, and droves have been executed by the armed gangs for trying to leave the country. Delphine Pinault, CARE Uganda Country Director, said: “The use of sexual violence against women and girls in DRC must stop. The world cannot stand and continue to wa...

Families in the Chivi district of southern Zimbabwe rely on farming crops and raising animals in order to survive. Women often perform the bulk of these duties as well as looking after children and their household. Consecutive years of drought have made these tasks extremely challenging. In 2013, with your generous support, CARE started working with families to overcome nutrition and agriculture challenges. CARE teaches men and boys the importance of sharing the workload with women and girls in order to increase their crop yields, and improve their family’s resilience during lean seasons. With many hands making light work, sharing these duties also makes happier families. CARE taught Naphert (right) and Eleginia (left) to farm traditional vegetables which are well suited to the dry conditions. By working together, the couple are able to harvest enough to eat three times a day and even have surplus to sell at the market. Naphert explains: “The money w...

Three women sit together on the pew like seats of a waiting room in a village health centre. Despite it being midday, the clinic in the province of Kasai Oriental has no electricity and seasonal thunderstorms have left the room dark and gloomy. The women chat while their children play on the dusty floor at their feet. When a small woman slips quietly through the door, they barely raise their eyes. Dressed in a faded green t-shirt and blue and white skirt, Grace is grateful they have barely acknowledged her presence. Six months ago, Grace was raped. The mother of two was on her way to sell bananas at the weekly market in a neighbouring town. There’s little by way of public transport in this part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the journey is made by foot, so long that it involves an overnight stay in a village along the way. Grace made the journey once a month, each market day netting her a profit of USD7.50, enough to feed her children. Grace was beaten and raped...

By David Bisimwa, Emergency Coordinator, CARE DRC. David  Bisimwa, Emergency Coordinator, CARE DRC @CARE 2017/Carey Wagner   What’s the first thing that comes in to your mind when you hear the word “Congo”? If I had to guess, I’d say it’s conflict, violence, and poverty. I’m Congolese. I’ve lived here all my life and I’m sorry to say that you’re not very far from the truth. There’s a lot of suffering here, but you probably haven’t heard a great deal about it in the news lately. So it’s no surprise to me that DRC is again featured in CARE International’s Suffering in Silence report. Let me fill you in. We Congolese have witnessed so much violence in so many places, that few of us can remember a life without it. For many Congolese, violence is now the norm. Thousands of people have been slaughtered, killed. Close family members, your brother or your aunt, and afterwards it looks like nothing has happened. Life goes on. It’s been happening for so long now...

This is the story of Mediatrice, who became the leader of the colline of Bwoga in Burundi to represent women and to challenge gender-based violence. "My name is Mediatrice Ndayizeye, I am married and I have 5 children. I am a farmer and leader of the colline since 2016. I am among the first women to be elected in my community. This happened after several training's from CARE, teaching us that as women, we are capable, we have the right to be elected and we can contribute to shaping the community we want. Before it was difficult to believe that, because I have been taught that women are responsible for the household, and that we don’t have the right to speak in public. When I got elected, everyone in the street was pointing their finger at me. I was a shame to my in-laws and definitely the last woman that my husband wanted to have as a wife at this time. Therefore, we asked CARE to train our husbands as well. That is how the first VSLA groups for men were created...