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Providing Cash Assistance to Help Displaced People Rebuild Their Lives

In Yemen, the ongoing conflict has left millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Cash assistance has proven to be a vital tool in helping people meet their basic needs and regain their independence. By providing cash transfers, families able to purchase essentials in local markets and support the local economy. Additionally, cash assistance enables people to pay for critical services such as healthcare and education.

Displacement is very tiring and difficult.

Dhikrah, 30 years old

Life After Displacement:

Dhikrah, 30 years old, has five children. Dhikrah fled from Al-Misrakh district in Taiz governorate to Al-Anad after a long journey of dispersion with her family. Dhikrah expresses "Al-Anad was my last stop after I moved between the homes of our acquaintances and relatives." "Displacement is very tiring and difficult."

Dhikrah lives with her children - including a disabled child and her husband who suffers from mental health problems - in a house with one room and a bathroom.

However, the construction of the bathroom’s roof has not yet been completed. They live in an area where they don't know anyone, and it has been difficult for them to coexist with it.

Dhikrah fondly remembers her past life, saying, "before the war, I used to live in my village in a house made of mud. Even though it was a simple house, I was happy because my sisters and my mother used to visit me and I felt a sense of safety that I don't have here."

Livelihood Needs:

Dhikrah’s family depends on the source of their livelihood on the eldest son, who is 13 years old, and who buys water cans from the supermarket and sells them on the streets to passing cars, so that the money he gets helps his family in buying flour, sugar and the necessary things.

Dhikrah mentions, "before displacement, I used to work of cultivate lands and get money. Unfortunately, now I am unable to work because of my husband's and my child's health condition, in addition to my inability to leave my children home alone."

What Dhikrah’s family has from food security is few and sometimes not enough, so she resorts sometimes to ask for some flour from her neighbors and sometimes to ask for a loan, but she always felt that this matter was not easy for her because she was not used to do that, Dhekah says "I sometimes ask the neighbors for some flour to make bread, sometimes I get, and other times they refuse to give me."

Cash Assistance Impact:

Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding and close collaboration with the Cash Consortium Yemen (CCY) team, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has delivered cash assistance to over 5,000 households in Yemen. Among the beneficiaries is Dhikrah. This valuable support has empowered socio-economically vulnerable households affected by conflict in Yemen to meet their critical basic needs.

“This assistance has brought about a transformative change in my circumstances. Previously, I was burdened with the heavy responsibility of relying on debt to provide food and medical care for my disabled son. However, thanks to the support received from the organization, I have been able to alleviate some of my debts and procure essential items such as food and treatment for my son. It has also enabled me to meet other critical needs, such as filling gas.” Dhikrah mentions.