Assisting families affected by floods and heavy rains

In 2022, Save the Children assisted families affected by floods and heavy rains.

Asmaa, 16 years old, was living with her parents and six siblings a normal life in River Nile state, when their village was hit unexpectedly. She recounts:

“We were in the field and water started coming from all sides. I could have never imagined something like this could happen to us. Some people took me, my sisters and other children in a truck to the neigbouring village and left us in a school building. We were sitting there, watching and no one dared to speak a word. I was very worried about my parents. I was also afraid, that I will not be able to go to school anymore as I was about to sit for my final exams.”

Asmaa’s mother Ahlam remembers the day when the floods came: “I stayed behind with one of my daughters and my husband. We tried to save our belongings, until the water surrounded us up to the waist. We could not reach the village anymore where my kids had been taken, because the water was too high. I was very scared that I would never see my daughters again. After eight days, I was finally able to reach them. It took us a whole month before we could return home. When we arrived, it was around the time of the sunset, and I could not find our house anymore. When my husband showed it to me, I only saw rubble and water.
 

Her husband Abdullrahman explains:” The house had three rooms constructed with red bricks, now there is nothing. During the floods we stayed here with the men of the village, trying to save what we can save. We managed to get out some of the beds and a bag of wheat. My dream is to be able to rebuild one bedroom before next autumn.”

Asmaa is now living with her relatives in another village until her parents can rebuild the house. Save the Children supported the family through an emergency cash grant, which helped them to pay for their daughters’ tuition fees despite their losses. Also, one of Asmaa’s sisters received free medical treatment in a clinic supported by Save the Children.

Asmaa is now hoping to study at the Faculty of Medicine after her final school exams. She says: “Being a doctor is a humanitarian profession and I will not allow any patient to leave my clinic without receiving treatment – even if they cannot afford the medicines.”

Under the emergency response grant funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Save the Children and its partners, assisted 627,639 people with food-aid, cash transfers and clean water installations as well as vector-control campaigns.