“I lost two of my cousins, all my animals (cows, camels, and donkeys), and my household items because of the conflict and I am starting from scratch. The items I have just received are the first I have got since I lost everything”

Says Nurai

Located at the base of the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian highlands, and bordered on the south by Megale, on the west by the Tigray Region, on the north by Berhale, on the northeast by Afdera, and on the east by Erebti is Abala town. This town is one where African Initiatives for Relief and Development is implementing the distribution of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Non-Food Items.

Nuria aged 28, and a mother to a 7 months old baby is one of the very many civilians that were affected by the conflict in the Tigray region that left at least 2 million people displaced from their homes. This civil conflict involving ethno-regional militias, the federal government, and the Eritrean military was the cause of turmoil and suffering for the entire region.

Currently living in Abala, Nurai cannot help but express her gratitude to African Initiatives for Relief & Development(AIRD) for giving her a fresh start with home items that include a bucket, basin, washing soap, bathing soap, flashlight, sanitary and laundry. She states that these items will help her as she goes about her house chores and promote hygiene in her home by washing clothes and using sanitary products.

Nuria is one of the 34,000 beneficiaries that AIRD will be distributing to Water Sanitation and Hygiene Non-Food Items in the Afar Region. Through this, hygiene and sanitation practices will be promoted so that beneficiaries do not fall sick and also can collect water that they use in their home to cook food, boil for drinking wash their clothes as well as use to keep their homes clean.

“Now that I am beginning to settle and live a normal life, I hope that my baby will study, and work for a humanitarian organization so that she can help people the way AIRD is helping us,” Nurai states.