Jessica: “My name is Jessica; I am a 24 years old mother of three.“

Victoria: “My name is Victoria, I am a 30 years old mother of three. We both traveled here without our husbands.“

Jessica: “I have lost trace of my husband. Victoria: My husband was killed in Burundi.“

Jessica: “I do not know where my husband is because I had to run quickly that day after shots were fired at civilians in the village where my family and I lived. I did not have a chance to collect my clothes and the only thing I remember was that I grabbed my children and ran as far as I could until it was safe for us to walk. But we did not stop until night fall and we walked for days.”

Victoria: “My husband was killed because of a disagreement with a group of people.”

Victoria: “Our lives were already difficult even before the war started. I remember it was difficult to own a piece of land due to the armed men surrounding the area. We have been cheated once. They have claimed back a piece of land which we had bought to build our house. I feel much safer here in the camp than back in Burundi.”

Despite this positive outlook of both these women toward living in the camp, their lives remain very challenging particularly for single women living with children in the camp. During every food distribution in the camp, they often have to take their children with them.

Jessica: “We cannot leave our children unattended. Which makes it difficult for me to go anywhere beyond our assigned shelter. We have no spare clothes. In terms of sanitation, the soap provided does not sufficiently cover for our month-long needs. We receive food rations from WFP, but we have had to adjust the types of food we consume with the available food commodities being distributed in the camp, but we have no qualms about it. We understand that UNHCR and these other organizations have been doing their best to help us. They are like our guardians looking after us here.”

Victoria: “We are not planning to return to Burundi because of the escalating tensions and atrocities that are spread throughout the country. We are doubtful of our futures beyond the camp.”

Written by Gina Meutia, UNHCR

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