"Dad, when can we eat?"
How one father persevered, finding hope through emergency assistance, allowing him to rebuild his shattered life
As each day blurred into the next, Kwaje battled a consuming hopelessness at the refugee camp.
At one point, Kwaje became so depressed that he considered taking his own life. A deep, painful and immense struggle occurred for over five years for Kwaje and his family as they lived in a refugee camp in Northern Uganda, where thousands of other families from Kajo Keji fled from war and violence.
Kwaje and his family were lost. Life in the refugee camp was a struggle. Resources were scarce, and his children were vulnerable to violence and mistreatment. Not only was his family at risk, but Kwaje’s hope of providing and cultivating the land could no longer take place after being forced away from his native land. Kwaje shared, “In the camp, life was tough for me. I could not afford to take care of my family. My children were getting malnourished due to poor feeding.” Kwaje lost his purpose and belonging.
His older sons came to his rescue and saved his life, which was a turning point for Kwaje. Soon after this monumental aid, Kwaje and his family headed back to their village. Upon arrival, they quickly realized they had come home to nothing. There was no shelter, food, water, or way to access basic necessities. The living conditions were so severe that Kwaje said his family “could go for days without food.” But because of donors like you, support and assistance were available for families like Kwaje’s.
With your help, Tearfund and partners CFGB were able to provide Kwaje and his family with food and resources. These resources and food help families start their lives again in their homeland. To support families returning home, Tearfund and CFGB support the households with food assistance, quick maturing seeds, helpful tools, and agriculture training to improve their yields.
“I received the first round of food assistance and received various seeds to plant, like maize, groundnuts, cassava stems, beans, and other vegetable seeds such as tomatoes, onions, kale and okra. We were also organized into farmer groups and offered training. It was a big change for us, and I never expected to have a quick solution come so soon.”
Tearfund’s extension workers move around to villages, supporting the returnees with needed guidance on establishing their nursery beds and transplanting the seedlings. As a result, most participants received fruitful yields that not only fed their families but allowed them to sell the surplus to buy other essential household items.
As a supporter of Tearfund, you are participating in giving families a chance to survive and thrive. Because of you, Kwaje says, “To date, I was able to raise more than 1 million Uganda shillings from my sales since I started getting support from Tearfund.” This is tremendous!
Your gifts and prayers allow Kwaje and his family to earn extra money to buy goats, pigs, and chickens, which help fund his children’s schooling and medical bills. Kwaje is back to living, cultivating and caring for his native land. He has since found his purpose and can now support his family again. Tearfund and its partner CFGB provide families like Kwajes with early recovery and development activities that allow families to return home and thrive again.
Without you, none of this would be possible. Many families continue to face conflict and disaster in South Sudan and need food and assistance. We thank you for your support and ask you to consider supporting families like Kwaje’s struggling to make ends meet, giving them hope through the love of Christ.
