In the dry, windy plains of the Afar region, Ethiopia, 30-year-old Amina Husein sits inside a small shelter made of plastic. She holds her two-year-old daughter tight. For Amina, this thin plastic wall is the only home she has left after war forced her to flee her home for the second time.
"My daughter turns two, and we are running again"
A mother’s loss
Amina’s struggle began three years ago. When fighting first broke out on the border of the Afar and Tigray regions, she had to flee her village, Rakrek. At the time, she was pregnant and running through gunfire.
Tragically, her husband was killed in the crossfire. He never got to see his baby girl, and his daughter never got to know her father’s hug. "Now my daughter turns two," Amina says, "and we are running again."
In early February 2026, the violence returned. Amina had to leave everything behind again. Her old village is now under the control of armed men, and she doesn't know if she will ever be able to go back.
Life with three litres of water
Amina and her children are now staying in a village called Kadebura. They arrived with nothing. To survive the heat, she has only two small plasticjerrycans that hold just three litres of water each.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) provided Amina with a shelter kit that includes rope and tarpaulin. With these, she built a small emergency tent. It keeps the sun off her children, but it isn't enough. She has no stove, no pots to cook food, and no way to store what her family needs.
Kindness in hard times
Even though they have very little, the local people in Kadebura are helping. They share their small meals with Amina and her children, making sure they don't feel alone. This kindness gives her a bit of hope, even as the threat of more fighting hangs over the area.
Amina is doing everything a mother can to protect her children when the world around them has fallen apart.
We are on the ground in Afar, providing families like Amina’s with essential tools they need to survive, such as shelter kits and household items.
As more people flee the fighting, the need for food and clean water is growing every day.
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