Almaz*, now nine years old, was only four when the conflict erupted in western Tigray, Ethiopia. Before the conflict her family lived in Humera (Baiker) where they enjoyed a stable livelihood through farming and livestock rearing. They also had a supermarket. However, the conflict forced the family to flee their home in October 2021 and seek refuge at the Wukro preparatory IDP site.
During the conflict, Almaz had terrifying experiences. She witnessed active fighting and continuously heard gunfire and explosions from heavy weapons. These traumatic experiences severely affected her mental health. Following displacement, she developed anxiety, frequent nightmares and persistent bedwetting.
The family living conditions became extremely difficult. They were residing in an overcrowded classroom with very limited privacy and lack of adequate bedding and sleeping materials.
Almaz also experienced discrimination from other children because of her condition. She often missed school because she lacked sufficient clothes to change after wetting herself, increasing her risk of exclusion and limiting her educational opportunities. The family suffered from food insecurity and lacked essential household items, while her mother spent most of her time caring for Almaz without financial consideration to seek appropriate treatment. These combined challenges placed Almaz at significant child protection risks and caused considerable emotional distress for the entire family.
*Not her real name.
Since July 2024, ChildFund has been implementing an integrated Child Protection and Food Security project in Wukro, through which Almaz and her family were enrolled as participants. Almaz was identified as a vulnerable child requiring individual case management services, and following a comprehensive assessment, ChildFund provided coordinated support tailored to the needs of both Almaz and her family.
The support included individual case management with regular follow-up, basic psychosocial support, four rounds of multipurpose cash assistance (ETB 9,200, ETB 12,050, ETB 12,050, and ETB 12,050), cash assistance for nutrition, and additional cash support to address medical needs. To strengthen the family’s caregiving capacity, Almaz’s mother participated in positive parenting skills sessions, while Almaz regularly attended Child-Friendly Space (CFS) activities that provided psychosocial support, recreation, and opportunities for social interaction. The family also received non-food items (NFIs), including bedding and sleeping materials, and participated in child protection awareness sessions.
Furthermore, Almaz’s mother received basic business skills training and emergency cash support to start an income-generating activity (IGA), helping to improve the household’s income and strengthen the family’s resilience. Together, these integrated interventions addressed Almaz’s protection concerns while simultaneously improving the family’s economic well-being and caregiving capacity.
The integrated support provided by ChildFund has brought remarkable improvements to Almaz’s life and her family over all wellbeing. Through continuous psychosocial support, case management and medical treatment, Almazs emotional wellbeing has significantly improved. She becomes happier, more confident and socially engaged. She now attends school regularly and actively participates in child-friendly space activities where she enjoys learning, playing and interacting positively with other children. The discrimination previously experienced has greatly reduced as her confidence and participation increased.
The provision of sleeping materials and medical support has greatly improved her hygiene, dignity and daily living conditions. Her family’s food security has improved through multi-purpose cash assistants, nutrition support and her mother’s emergency IGA.
Positive parenting skill sessions strengthen her mother’s ability to care for and protect her children, creating a more supportive and nurturing family environment. Overall, the family transitioned from sever vulnerability, distress, and dependency towards increased stability, resilience and hope.
Almaz’s story demonstrates how integrated packages of child protection, psychosocial support, cash assistant, and emergency IGA interventions can restore a child’s well-being while empowering families to rebuild their lives with dignity. Today, Almaz enjoys a safer childhood, continues her education with confidence, and looks towards the future with renewed hope
This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance.