It has been a year since Yakaka, her husband and their four boys moved in Mafa camp, along with thousands of other displaced persons from various parts of the state. The conflict in the northern part of Nigeria forced her and her family to leave their home in Gawa village to Dikwa LGA to Mafa LGA.
I was very scared, I had to pack the little things I could and leave the village immediately with the kids, who were crying upon hearing gunshots. We had to trek for a whole day from Gawa to Dikwa LGA.
“Then the military brought us to Mafa,” she explains. Yakaka’s husband was a trader and she was selling groundnuts and farming before the conflict unexpectedly forced them out of their village. “We were comfortable: we could at least afford our day to day necessity and needs. So it became very difficult for us when we arrived here, living in the makeshift [shelter], with nothing and no one to cater for our needs, until we received the kits,” Yakaka remember
ACTED 2018
Yakaka using the jerrycan she received in the NFI kit in Mafa, camp B to pour water.
The family received an emergency shelter kit provided by ShelterBox and distributed by ACTED. It contained items such as timber wood, rope, nails, and two pieces of tarpaulin. They also received an NFI kit that contained jerrycans, pots, mats, mattress, blankets, etc. “The tarpaulin has really helpful to cover our shelter, we no longer have to worry about rain. We use the jerrycans to fetch and store water, and we now have mats to sit on and blankets to cover ourselves at night.”
ACTED 2018
The items received helped the family build a small shelter using the tarpaulin and woods where they sleep.
Yakaka appreciates the assistance received, however, she hopes to find a more permanent solution to ensure her family is eventually living in a safe place.