A Small Step Forward: Hawa’s Journey from Displacement to Hope

Hawa’s displacement journey was marked by tragedy. While travelling toward Darfur with her family, their convoy was struck by a drone attack, killing her husband and causing the family to lose all their belongings. Left alone to care for her children, Hawa continued the journey under extremely difficult conditions, eventually arriving in Um Dukhun in Central Darfur. 

However, displacement did not end there. Seeking greater safety and stability, Hawa and her children fled once again to Chad. Yet poor living conditions and lack of support forced the family to return to Um Dukhun.

To survive, Hawa relied on occasional support from neighbours and small-scale income-generating activities. She prepared and sold food near her shelter to earn a small daily income that helped cover food and basic necessities for her children. Despite her efforts, the family continued to face severe humanitarian needs and economic hardship. 

Through ECHO-funded programming, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) provided Hawa with cash assistance through the protection programme’s Individual Protection Assistance (IPA) support. The assistance enabled her to improve her living conditions and reduce some of the immediate protection risks facing her family. 

Using the cash support, Hawa was able to construct a basic shelter on land provided by neighbour and purchase clothes for her children. The support also helped her strengthen her small food-selling activity, allowing her to generate some income independently. 

“The cash support helped me build something to cover my children and start a small work,” Hawa said. “It gave me a small step forward'.

In addition to the emergency assistance, Hawa was identified for further referrals to shelter, non-food items (NFIs), and psychosocial support services to address the family’s ongoing vulnerabilities and protection concerns.