Abeba Shifraw Demeke fled conflict in northern Ethiopia with her four children and arrived at a displacement site in Kobo Town with almost nothing. Months later, a cash transfer from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) restored her ability to protect her children's health.
Starting with the essentials
Seven people in one space
In February 2026, conflict reignited in Alamata and surrounding areas in North Wollo Zone, forcing thousands from their homes.
Abeba Shifraw Demeke left Wofla District with her husband, four children, and brother. They made it to the Vocational Training College displacement site in Kobo Town, and seven people settled in a single room.
"We didn't know where we were going," she says. "We just had to go."
Abeba was breastfeeding at the time, and there was no soap, jerrycans or buckets at the site. Her children, previously enrolled in school, had no classes to attend. The family relied on whatever casual labour her husband and brother could find in Kobo Town to get through each day.
"For months, we had nothing," she says.
5,986 ETB for essentials
Through the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF), NRC provided Abeba with emergency cash assistance, 5,986 ETB (USD 38.60), transferred directly to her bank account. It was the first financial support the family had received since leaving Wofla district.
She bought soap, a jerrycan and a bucket.
"At least now, I can keep my children clean and prevent illness," she says.
The transfer gave Abeba a choice most people take for granted: to decide what her family needed and act on it.
Still in the camp
The hygiene items addressed one problem, but the others remain.
The shelter is overcrowded, food is scarce, and the children are still out of school with no return date. The family's income depends on irregular daily labour when it exists.
"Dignity begins with the basics," Abeba says. "But we need much more than the basics to recover."
NRC is responding to displacement needs in northern Ethiopia through emergency cash assistance, WASH support, shelter, education, and legal aid with funding from the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF).
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