In April 2019, clashes between armed forces and militias in Fizi, DRC forced over 800 families into displacement. Hasha and her family were among them. ACTED was able to support 800 highly vulnerable families with food and basic necessities, thanks to support from USAID.
Hasha fled her village, Kirambi, with her four children. She was seven months pregnant. Her house and possessions were looted, and had to leave the remainings behind. She arrived in a host village where she was welcomed by a friend: “People here are generous, and life is not too expensive,” she says. She manages to find opportunities for work, sometimes in the fields, sometimes in small shops, or by helping others. However, this is not enough to feed her family: “My children go to bed hungry too often.”
For Hasha’s family, ACTED’s food aid was crucial, and a real relief. The NFI kit Hasha received will allow her to be more self-sufficient, and the tarpaulins and blankets will provide better shelter conditions. While the security crisis continues to affect their home region, there is no return in sight for Hasha’s family.
Urgent need for support also for host families
In host villages, the arrival of displaced populations usually exacerbates already preexisting vulnerabilities.
Sifa welcomes us with a big smile, carrying her last daughter, three and a half months old, on her back. Sifa is 36 years old and already has 11 children. She lives in a small village on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where she supports her family with income she earns from farming activities.
Since March, Sifa and her family have been hosting three displaced families in their home. They didn’t know them before, but opened the doors of their home to them.
I have already experienced displacement with my family, and was welcomed and hosted by people I didn't know
She wanted to return the favour, and therefore shared her house with the three families. She would lend them her kitchen utensils so that they could prepare food, and in the evening they would often share the meal together. Thanks to support from USAID, Sifa will receive food assistance from ACTED: 50 kilos of rice, 20 kilos of beans, 10 kilos of manioc flour, 1 kilo of salt and 5 litres of oil. This assistance helps her and her family cope with the difficulties they experience by welcoming displaced families. She is very happy to have received rice, which is considered a festive dish and is often eaten on the occasion of the New Year.
She will also receive a kit of essential household items and hygiene kits for the girls and women in her family. Thanks to this assistance, the daily life of her household will be greatly facilitated in the coming weeks. But her family’s needs do not stop there. In the future, she would like to be able to pay for school fees for her 11 children.