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A moving first-hand account of the effects of the terrible conflict Yemen has been suffering for the past few years, but a call to remain hopeful, however, that peace will arise after the war’s darkness. This entry posted by Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Oxfam Yemen’s Country Director, on 12 June 2017.

As the sun rises, covering the rocky mountains with a coat of gold, we are welcomed to Yemen by fishermen and dolphins jumping out of the blue water.

After a 14-hour boat journey from Djibouti, the view of Aden city in the early morning was a magical sight. At first, life in the city looked normal: road dividers were freshly painted, people were chatting while sipping red tea or having breakfast in small restaurants, youth were playing pool in the streets, and taxis were shouting to collect their passengers. However, as we moved in the city, buildings riddled with bullet holes appeared, several residential areas and hotels had their roof collapsed, and cars were waiting in long queues for petrol.

This tableau of contrasts was telling the story of Aden.

The second day after our arrival, we travelled to Lahj with the Aden team. Our conversation kept switching between the work Oxfam does in Aden and other Southern governorates, and the destruction passing before our eyes, a terrible witness of the conflict Yemen has been suffering for the past few years.

Oxfam is there

In such a volatile and insecure environment, Oxfam continues to provide water, improved sanitation and basic hygiene assistance to more than 130,000 affected individuals in Lahj governorate. The team sometimes travels for more than two to three hours to reach the target location. Community engagement is thus key to deliver assistance. Our staff along with community based volunteers consults affected community as well as key leaders to identify the intervention. The affected community not only participates in water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities, but also works closely with host communities to ensure that social harmony is maintained.

In Lahj, the focus is to rebuild the water supply system to help both displaced persons as well as local communities, and Oxfam works with the local water and sanitation authority to ensure the sustainability and viability of the rehabilitated system. Displaced people in these areas used to collect water only once in a week because of the long distances they had to walk to reach the wells. Now, both IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and host communities can access water on daily basis.

Meeting community members made clear that war has impacted everyone, and they all share their grief and pain and support each other. The strong bonding between displaced people and host communities despite their high level of hardship also indicates that Yemeni people have come a long way through several wars and conflict and are therefore more resilient.

Water tank built by Oxfam in Al-Jalilah village, in Al-Dhale governorate. Credit: Omar Algunaid/Oxfam, March 2017

Hunger is rampant

The impact of war and conflict in Aden and surrounding governorates is very high. More than two million people were affected since the beginning of the crisis. Food insecurity in Lahj, Abyan and Al Dhale is rising and remain among the governorates in Yemen with high food assistance need.

The tragedy and suffering of Abdullah, a 70-year-old man who had to flee Abyan during the peak of the war, speaks for itself. However, he does believe that peace will return back to Yemen, but to survive, he had to mortgage his pension card to feed his family. There are many invisible people like him who probably would like to see peace come back to Yemen so their impoverished lives can improve.

Displacement crisis

Tough host communities initially provided spaces to displaced persons, but in addition now, displaced people have started settling down in barren land areas on their own. Those who managed to return back to their original location are now severely impacted by a cholera outbreak. Lack of provision of salaries to government employees have further added burden to the households who host displaced families. Water, food assistance and healthcare remain the top three priorities. Hardship has reached to a threshold where affected people are willing to mortgage anything and everything they can. Basic services and utilities including water, education and health have been halted to a greater extent and therefore increasing stress on affected communities.

Oxfam Yemen Country Director, Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, visits the pumping room in Al-Roweed village, as part of the water project Oxfam implemented in the area. Also there, Al-Melah district Manager and members of the water management committee. Credit: Omar Algunaid/Oxfam, February 2017

Fighting cholera

Saleema* is community health volunteer who works with Oxfam and is a true agent for change. She raises awareness with the affected communities on the importance of clean and safe water.  She visits houses and speaks to women, elders and young girls to ensure key health messages are understood and applied. Increasing numbers of youth, such as Saleema, support affected communities to rebuild their lives and to help build social cohesion.

Last year when a cholera outbreak was declared in Yemen, Aden was one of the governorates among others like Al-Hudaydah where most suspected cases were registered.

Resilience in the face of darkness

As we returned from Lahj, the smell and taste of Mindi (local chicken meal with rice) and mouth watering local paratha (wheat based chapati) reminded us that that Yemeni people’s resilience had also stood strong in the face of adversity.

As the Apollo boat finally departed Aden after sunset, with the noise of waves gushing in and the dark smudging in, we remembered that a beautiful sunrise would welcome us upon arrival, in a similar way that humanitarian needs in Aden and surrounding governorates continue to grow. We remain hopeful, however, that peace will arise after the war’s darkness.

This entry posted by Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Oxfam Yemen’s Country Director, on 12 June 2017.
*Name changed to protect identity.

Yemen is in the grip of a runaway cholera epidemic that is killing one person nearly every hour and if not contained will threaten the lives of thousands of people in the coming months. We’re calling for a massive aid effort and an immediate ceasefire to allow health and aid workers to tackle the outbreak.

Please donate to save lives today

A young girl from Hassansham camp enjoys Oxfam’s painting workshop. Photo: Tommy Trenchard

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Little hands wrapped tightly around coloured pencils and paint brushes, foreheads furrowed in concentration, a small group of children slowly depict scenes of greenery, homes and villages born from their imaginations and memories of a time before ISIS.

The excited chatter rises above the sound of pop music playing from a small stereo just outside the door. The children show each other their masterpieces and adult artists who have joined the group mentor and guide them to create their visions on paper.

Sura, Oxfam’s Public Health Promotion Officer, helps some of the younger girls paint. Photo: Tommy Trenchard

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Sura, Oxfam Public Health Promotion Officer, sits on one of the tiny chairs with some of the youngest little girls. She shows them how to hold the paint brushes and urges them on as they slowly draw the shaky outlines of their pictures. It’s the last day of April and the children painting on canvases are in Hassansham camp. The camp is home to nearly 10,000 people who have fled the violence in and around Mosul.

Sura has been supervising all of Oxfam’s public health work in Hassansham 3 camp and today she is helping run a fun painting workshop in the Oxfam community centre in the camp. She is encouraging the children to paint positive scenes of their life now or their homes as they remember them, helping them pick bright colours to fill in the crooked lines.

Sura explains the importance of the workshop for the children. “It’s really important to give the children a chance to have fun and do activities like painting together. Most of them have lived in Mosul under ISIS control for over two years and haven’t had a chance to do anything fun for a long time.”

Around the edges of the room a few adults use easels to paint and sketch much more elaborate pictures. Garbi Eunice, 51 is from Yarmouk in west Mosul and is now living in Hassansham, volunteering with Oxfam. He drew a symbolic picture of Mosul that shows his home and the local Mosque. “I drew a woman to represent Iraq – her hair is the flag”, Eunice points to the picture pinned on the wall, “her clothes are the hills and the river and her necklace is a map of the country. Her hands are clutching the rockets and keeping my city safe.”

Eunice’s drawing shows not only Mosul but the Kurdistan region, it was important for him to show a united Iraq. “I drew birds to represent peace and I didn’t draw any clouds because they represent war; I want the skies to be clear.”

“It’s important that people have a space to come to where they can do positive things like painting and drawing. Now that they have left the bombing and the war they can start to think about nice things again,” says Sura, looking over to the sun drenched area outside the centre where children are huddled over their pictures. “These children are having a lovely day being here together having fun and that’s important for their well being.”

A boy shows a picture he painted of his hometown, Hamdannia, which he remembers fondly. It shows the surrounding river and mountains. His hometown suffered extreme destruction at the hands of ISIS, and most families are yet to return. Photo: Tommy Trenchard

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Hassansham camp opened in October 2016 and has the capacity for 10,000 people. Oxfam established a full water, sanitation and protection programme in Hassansham camp. Activities included public health promotion, water trucking, toilet and shower cleaning, distributions of blankets and hygiene items, and referrals to other agencies for things such as medical issues and family reunification.

In May 2017 Oxfam handed over most of its programming to a government agency called EJCC and the staff moved to work in Hamam Alil camp to better serve newly arriving families from the west of Mosul. The painting workshop was one of a series of activities the Oxfam teams planned to say goodbye to the camp volunteers and families they had been working with. Oxfam’s protection team will continue to work in Hassansham camp for the next nine months.

The Oxfam Trailwalker 2017 was a memorable weekend for Team Rad.

Lani Evans, her partner Hugh Davidson and two of his sisters, Helen and Lee, set off to tackle the 100km course. But, little did Hugh know that Lani had something pretty special planned for the finish line – a proposal.

Unfortunately, Lani had to pull out of the event at the 80km mark, but it meant she could wait for the team to come in with a ‘Marry Me Hugh?’ banner at the end of the finishing chute.

How did you come up with the idea of proposing at Trailwalker?

“We got together on a tramping trip a year ago, and the date of Trailwalker was our one year anniversary. So it felt like an appropriate place to propose because of that, but also because there are some commonalities between Oxfam Trailwalker and marriage – you start with a shared vision and goal, along the way there are amazing parts and difficult parts, and you need a community around you to make it work.”

Did he see it coming?

“He didn’t! He was appropriately surprised.”

What was it like experiencing the emotions of Oxfam Trailwalker and the emotions of getting engaged all at the same time?

“It was definitely an emotional time period, and I think it took us a week or two for it to actually sink in.”

And how did you celebrate?

“With a bottle of champagne and a long sleep!”

We love that it was you who proposed – was that always the plan?

“We didn’t have a plan for proposing, but we are in an equal partnership, so why would I wait for him to propose? The gender norms are pretty ridiculous!”

Any wedding plans in place?

“We’ve got a date and location all locked in for early next year.

“Our wedding is planned for the same day as Oxfam Trailwalker so we won’t be [participating next year], but I think in the years after that it would be a fantastic way to celebrate our anniversaries.”

How do you think you’ll ever top your finish line experience at Oxfam Trailwalker?

“I’m not sure that we can! We might have reached our peak Trailwalker.”

Read about Ilene’s family-feeding and income-generating success, through a little hand-up from the FSA and Oxfam.

Written by Dominique Doss and Glen Pakoa

Ilene Kiel, 38, is a successful female farmer in Lounapkalangis village who has seen firsthand the benefits of FSA’s support. Ilene and her husband, Kiel, have been farmers for many years; they make a living by cultivating local root crops such as taro, cassava, yams, sweet potato, banana, island cabbage, and peanuts. The family consumes most of the harvest and when they need money for school fees or basic necessities for their home, they sell some of their crops.

“Everyone around Tanna is selling the same crops, so it’s hard to stand out from them and make a decent income. Many times the crops just don’t sell; it’s difficult to make money because we are all selling the same items.”

Through FSA’s 2016 recovery program, the organization sent vegetable seeds to Lounapkalangis village, for Ilene to distribute. “I was responsible for selling the seeds around the community. They sold for very low prices, so when people heard about the seeds from FSA, they rushed to buy them. I would run out of the seeds quickly and people would always request them because they saw the high purchasing demand for the harvest.”

Ilene now has a vegetable garden where she grows broccoli, ball cabbage, carrots, lettuce, cauliflower, beans, onions, capsicum, tomato and peanuts. “FSA gave us broccoli and cauliflower seeds, which people in other villages don’t have, so we are able to sell most if not all of our harvests.”

Seeing how well FSA has benefited their family, her husband Kiel began helping Ilene more by clearing the bush and ploughing the soil, as well as helping her harvest the crops when they are ready.

“The support that FSA has given us has not only helped us build better lives but it has also allowed my husband to work closer with me. I like the fact that he is willing to help and support me, we are now working as a team. It has made us a stronger family and it has been a good influence for our children to see.”

Although this has been a great success for her and her family, IIene has dealt with some challenges.

“We live close to the volcano and this is a major problem because when the ashes fall on the crops, it kills them and I’m unable to sell the harvest. It is disheartening when this happens, but I know the benefits of harvesting the vegetables, so I don’t hesitate to start over.”

Ilene is dedicated to taking care of her family’s vegetable garden and is committed to selling the harvests every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Lenakel Market.

“There are very few ways for us to earn money here in the village, we have grown up in the garden but I found that it’s not just about growing root crops and selling them at the market. We needed a way to differentiate ourselves and FSA came with the right kind of tools to help us do that.”

Jama Abdi Abdile, a doctor in Gawsawayne, Somaliland, makes do with what he can to treat his patients, many whom are suffering from malnutrition. Allan Gigichi/Oxfam

Jama Abdi Abdile is a roving physician in a small village in Somaliland, who does not allow limited access to medication and inadequate facilities to hinder his patient care.

Small-town doctors have the unenviable task of making house calls at odd hours to treat patients with all sorts of maladies, often operating as one-person medical teams. It’s a tough job no matter where you live, but even more complicated when there are no clinical facilities for miles and your access to medication is limited. These are the conditions under which Jama Abdi Abdile, 43, a roving doctor in Gawsawayne, Somaliland, practices.

Somaliland is suffering from a massive food crisis, part of a humanitarian emergency that is touching nearly 30 million lives in Somalia, Nigeria, Yemen, and South Sudan. Across the Somaliland region, water levels have rapidly declined and widespread loss of livestock is devastating communities that depend upon them for milk, meat, and to earn a livelihood.

Gawsawayne lacks a health center and essential health services. Abdile is the only trained medical professional in his village, so his home doubles as his office. “This is a family home,” he says. “There is no dedicated health center with all its facilities and separated care rooms.”

Mainly, he travels from house to house visiting patients and treating them with medications he has stockpiled in his home. Currently, there are 177 malnutrition cases, including pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, in his village. Every month, he reports, the number of cases has increased. In March, there were 84 people suffering from malnutrition in his town, mostly children.

“We have never been this busy,” he says. “There is constant pressure now and we have no transportation to go around and visit patients. There are so many difficulties, but I try to do what I can.”

The first week of April brought some relief. Oxfam began trucking clean water to households in the Sanaag region, including Gawsawayne. Now his village receives just over 4,000 gallons of water every day. The clean water has enabled Abdile to do his job more effectively.

Follow along as he walks us through a day in his life, gathering water, mixing medications, and visiting with patients.

Photo: Allan Gichigi / Oxfam

Abdile collects clean water from an Oxfam-supplied water truck. Before Oxfam arrived, Abdile’s community sourced their water from a shallow spring that had grown filthy. An Oxfam Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) engineer called it the most contaminated water supply he has seen in 20 years of working for Oxfam.

Photo: Allan Gichigi / Oxfam

Abdile mixes water with oral rehydration salts (ORS) syrup, which is used to fight dehydration.

“The Oxfam water has helped the whole community,” he says. “The health service takes a big chunk of this water. The mineral water we were using was from a faraway place and cost us a lot of money. It was difficult to mix with the syrup. The water provided by Oxfam is given to us free of charge. We are mixing up the ORS and everyone is drinking it.”

Photo: Allan Gichigi / Oxfam

Abdile sorts through the medications he stores at home. He notes that the water has made it easier for patients to swallow their medications. With villagers now drinking and cooking with clean water, he hopes that they are less likely to become ill.

Photo: Allan Gichigi / Oxfam

Abdile checks on Zaymid Mohammad, 25. She is seven months pregnant with her ninth child and has been feeling tired and weak. The majority of Abdile’s patients are women and children. “Mothers and children are most vulnerable to diseases,” he says. “When people have immune deficiency, which is related to a lack of food and nutrition, they are vulnerable to all sorts of diseases.”

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In addition to water, we have launched programs to provide at least 20,000 people with sanitation services and cash assistance for food in Somaliland. We need your support to expand our reach to even more people.

Donate to our Four Famines appeal