For years, Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya was home for thousands of South Sudanese families who fled conflict. Life there was never easy, but the monthly food ration was something families could count on. That changed when differentiated food assistance was introduced. Households were placed into categories, and many saw their rations reduced sharply. For mothers trying to feed several children, a ration that once lasted the month now ran out in days.
Faced with hunger in the camp, many families made one of the hardest decisions of their lives: to pack what little they had and return to South Sudan. They came back hoping for a fresh start, but most arrived with empty hands. No savings, no food stocks, no seeds and no tools to work the land. Home was there, but the means to survive at home were not.
This is where EcoRise South Sudan stepped in. We believe returnees do not need pity; they need a starting point. So we provided returnee families with farming tools, giving them the means to clear land, plant and grow their own food from the very first season.
The woman in this photo is one of them. The tomatoes around her are not a donation. She planted them, watered them, protected them and harvested them with her own hands. Some will feed her children tonight. The rest will go to market, bringing in money for soap, salt, medicine and school needs.
For a mother who only months ago was watching her ration shrink in Kakuma, this harvest means something deeper than food. It means she is no longer waiting for someone else to decide whether her children eat. She is providing for them herself.
This is what dignity looks like. Not standing in a ration line, but standing in your own field.
#EcoRiseSouthSudan #IREP #SouthSudan #Returnees #Kakuma #WomenInAgriculture #FoodSecurity
With support from @Cohere and @Quadrature Climate Foundation
