Nyaduoth, 13 years old: “I remember when I was six I would sit by my mum in the kitchen. She always wanted me to be by her side so I could improve my cooking skills. She taught me different ways to make Nuer traditional food (Kob, Walwal and others). She said that a good cook is loved by people. I still have memories of my mum. I never imagined I would lose my parents. Today, I live in a refugee camp with my five-year-old brother Bol. We walked for weeks from home to find a safe place, away from the war.

Fortunately, we met Nyachan on the way and she took us in. Nyachan is our foster mother. She is a good woman and treats us like her own children. She encourages me the same way my mother did. She also likes the food I cook for her and Bol. I feel happy when Bol and Nyachan compliment my cooking skills.

We recently moved to Jewi Refugee Camp and we registered for school there. The old camp was flooded during the last rainy season. Bol is my only brother and I was always worried he might drown in the floods, but now that we have come to this new camp I won’t have nightmares again of him drowning.”

Nyadouth,13, and Bol, 5, are unaccompanied children who fled fighting from South Sudan in Mathiiang County, Upper Nile State. Both of their parents were killed during the war and their village was burnt down. During their journey to safety, they met one of their community members and came to Ethiopia for refuge. They were among the first group of refugees who fled war from South Sudan in mid-December 2013. “I want to see my brother playing and happy. I feel good when I can cook something for my little brother,” says Nyadouth.