Marie Jones’ Story, Ghana
UNHCR’s Yusif Sidik and Rebbeca Kitcher at Egyeikrom refugee camp, Ghana, with refugee children.
A story told by Yusif Sidik
Marie Jones* is one of the refugees in a refugee camp in Ghana who made us cry. She is a single parent with nine children under her care. She arrived in our camps in Ghana in 2011.
She and her entire household have lived in emergency tents since then. UNHCR has been repairing her tent every year in order to maintain the structure for continued living. Whenever it rains, staff in the field goes to repair the tent for her as they do for all refugees.
This is a woman who lost everything including her husband during the conflict. She had a good standard of living in her country of origin before the conflict. She left everything behind for her children’s lives. In 2013 UNHCR Ghana received funds to build 100 transitional shelters for a population of over four thousand persons of Concern.
As they are so many people at the camp, this woman never thought that she could get one of the transitional shelters. One day UNHCR gave her a key for her own shelter and she was sent to see where it was located.
The moment that she saw the structure, she knelt down in tears, thanking God. It was so moving that all of us present wept with her.
(*name changed for security reasons.)
