Story summary:

Martha, an 18-year-old teen, recently gave birth to a baby girl as a result of an unintended pregnancy she experienced while displaced and living in an IDP camp far from her home village as a result of the recent fighting in northern Ethiopia.

Due to heavy fighting in their hometown of Amhara, which borders Tigray, Martha and her family were forced to flee their home and travel to a place in north Gondar, which is over 500 kilometers away, where they stayed in an internally displaced people camp for more than four months until they were recently repatriated to their hometown.

Martha is one of hundreds of thousands of people who were displaced by the conflict in the area and lost everything they owned as a result of it. They are currently attempting to rebuild their lives and livelihoods with the assistance of the government and other aid agencies. Action Against Hunger gave Martha and other returnees and host communities 4,000 birr ($75) for three months as part of an ECHO-funded unconditional cash assistance project for conflict-affected communities in northern Ethiopia. This has enabled Martha and other community members who have been displaced by conflict to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Martha's story in her own words (Quotes):

My name is Martha, and I am 18 years old and in ninth grade. I live in the Amhara Region with my siblings and parents. My family and I fled the fighting in our hometown about a year ago and traveled to another location, where we stayed in a displaced people's camp for more than four months before returning home. We lost everything during the fighting and are now struggling to sustain life.

To make matters worse, I became pregnant while in the shelter and I recently gave birth to my daughter who is now six months old. As a result of my pregnancy, I faced many challenges, to name a few, I was unable to attend school for over a year at the time. However, with the assistance of my family, I am now able to resume my education in grade nine.

We've been entirely reliant on government and other agencies' assistance since we returned home a few months ago. AAH has provided us with cash assistance for the past three months. I received 4000 ETB ($75) from AAH today, which we have been receiving for the past three months.

With the cash that I received in the first round a few months ago, I was able to buy a chips frying pan and start a business selling chips on the street. With the second round of cash provision, on the other hand, I was able to prepare and sell tella (a local beer) to local customers. This time, I intend to grow my business and earn a steady income.

I am grateful for the cash assistance provided by AAH; we appreciate receiving this critical support in our community. My daughter has also started complementary foods since she was six months old, and I have started giving her other supplementary foods besides breast milk. This assistance not only helped to alleviate our financial difficulties, but it also allowed us to provide a nutritious meal to our children every day.

I wish my baby could grow up healthy and happy, and I wish I could continue my education so that I could advance to the next level of education and graduate.

Background / Project information

Hundreds of thousands of families have been affected by the recent war in Amhara's Region of northern Ethiopia, exposing them to food insecurity and malnutrition. Women and children were among those most impacted by the conflict in the region. Many families lost their property and livelihoods as a result of the conflict, were unable to provide enough food for their families, and are now struggling to make ends meet.

Action against Hunger one of Save the Children's consortium members, through ECHO funding, launched a project to support conflict-induced IDPs, returnees, and host communities in northern Ethiopia's Amhara region.

Action against Hunger, through its cash voucher assistance for conflict-affected households in northern Ethiopia project for three months provided cash assistance to the target families. This assistance will allow families to purchase food and other necessities for a limited time

The project is funded by a consortium led by Save the Children and has been distributing cash for three months. The project's goal is to increase household access to and consumption of diverse, nutritious foods. It will be implemented in three districts of the Amhara region's Waghemra zone, reaching over 7,000 people.