Nyanuk Mayen is a widow who fled the conflict in Sudan with her children and returned to South Sudan, to her father's village of Mabokthon in Madhol Payam, Aweil East County. She was looking for safety and a chance to rebuild her life.
Home is now home again for Nyanuk
Nyanuk had lost three of her children. Later, her husband was killed while serving on the frontline in Upper Nile State. She was left to care for her surviving children alone, with very little money and no steady support.
When Nyanuk and her children arrived in Mabokthon, her father took them in. But his tukul was not big enough for the family.
"My father gave me a small shelter that was leaking from all sides and could not accommodate all of us," Nyanuk says.
Her father was elderly and in poor health, and he could not work. Nyanuk stepped up and took on the responsibility of feeding the family.
Her father was elderly and in poor health, and he could not work. Nyanuk stepped up and took on the responsibility of feeding the family.
Life soon became harder. In the rainy season, Nyanuk and some of her children had to sleep under a tree, with no protection from the rain.
"When we were exposed to the rain, my children often became sick. I could not afford hospital bills and had to rely on local herbs for treatment," says Nyanuk.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) enrolled Nyanuk in the cash for shelter programme, with funding from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF). She received USD 150.
She used the money to buy building materials. She built a shelter on a piece of land her father gave her. It changed everything for her. The shelter now protects her family from the weather and gives them privacy and dignity. For the first time since returning home to South Sudan, she does not have to worry about rain coming through the roof or where her children will sleep.
"My family and I are now living comfortably in this new shelter, which I constructed with the support I received from NRC," says Nyanuk.
Today, Nyanuk supports her family with casual work. She works on other households' farms and does small jobs in the local market. Life is still not easy, but she is determined to give her children a better future.
With a safe home, Nyanuk now focuses on rebuilding her life and providing for her children, without the worry of sleeping outside. Now, when the rain comes, they are inside.
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