ERCS helps displaced families in Qobo Woreda

Chora Woreda, Ilubabur Zone of Oromia Regional State is among the many places affected by conflicts that have occurred in Ethiopia in the past year.

W/ro Zainab Seid lived in Chora Woreda with her husband and three children but had to flee to Qobo Woreda in North Wollo Zone of Amhara Region due to conflict. The fighting not only forced her family to become displaced, it also took her husband’s life.

“My husband was the bread winner for the family. He was a brave and well-known farmer in our village. He always liked to share what he had in his hand with his neighbors.” Zainab and her children are psychologically and financially suffering. She is unable to provide for her family and they have no place to stay and nobody to rely on.

Seid Hussen is a father of three and comes from the same area. He was previously a successful farmer and used to grow 23 types of fruit and vegetables. Last year alone he produced 30 quintals of coffee from his 10 hectars of farmland. However, Sied’s life was turned upside down in October 2017 when Seid and his family were also displaced.

“I am thankful for what Ethiopian Red Cross Society, the community and the government is doing to help us. But what I am wanting in the future is to have my own earnings and be able to support my family by myself again”.

Ethiopian Red Cross is supporting families like Zainab’s and Seid’s who have been severely affected by conflict. In November the North Wollo Red Cross Branch distributed non-food items, including blankets, mats, soap, cups and sanitary pads to 400 families. However, ongoing assistance is required to support the 5,375 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Qobo Woreda who have come from Oromia, Somali and Tigray regions.