Samba's Long Journey to Safety
Sixty years old, Samba Guindo was forced to flee and take a new destination. Leaving Soyi, his village, under the threat of armed men, he had no idea of his destination.
Arriving in Marébougou, Samba thought he had done the hardest part. But barely two weeks later, he and his family relive the nightmare. Samba and his family fall back into the cycle of violence that had forced them to leave Soyi. In Marébougou, a blockade is imposed on the village where they thought they had found refuge. With other residents also displaced to Marébougou, they decide to change their destination once more. They manage to gather the means to leave the locality with seven carts to settle in Djenné.
A Father’s Greatest Sacrifice
Upon their arrival, they are warmly welcomed by the social development department. Samba is registered multiple times as a beneficiary eligible for assistance, but he never receives anything. Sometimes he spends entire days at distribution sites, but always returns empty-handed.
In his daily quest to meet his needs, he discovers another reality. Displaced, this farmer no longer has fields or money to cultivate and raise small ruminants, an activity he particularly enjoyed. He is also confronted with the high cost of living in the city.
Father of eleven children and husband to two wives, Samba's priority is to prevent his children from going to bed hungry. His two wives and he sometimes have to be content with drinking water and going to bed when there is not enough food, in order to leave the little available to the children.
A New Beginning
Though previous distribution sites had left him disappointed, Samba’s fortunes finally changed. Following his enrolment in the Global Emergency Rapid Fund Food Assistance project, he received a vital lifeline.
His emergency package consisted of a 50kg bag of rice, 25kg of beans, a five-litre can of oil, 20 packs of pasta, and a kilogram each of sugar and salt.
“Since we left our village, I have watched my children wither before my eyes. Their bodies are weakened, and my heart as a parent has filled with worry and helplessness. For two long years, we have lived without support, left to ourselves in a place where everything is expensive, inaccessible for displaced people like us, with no land or resources. Here, even feeding one’s family becomes a daily struggle. With barely 1000 FCFA earned after 6 to 8 hours of work, how can one hope to provide a decent meal for their children? Livestock raising, which could have been a solution, has become impossible due to the high cost of animal feed. This morning again, I had nothing to give my family, neither for lunch nor for dinner. I was anxiously wondering how I would face my children's gazes. But today, everything has changed. Thanks to World Vision, I received rice, beans, salt, sugar, oil, and pasta. For others, this may seem simple... but for me, it is a life-saving action, a miracle. It's as if a huge weight had been lifted from my heart. Today, I feel great joy and deep relief. Seeing that I am not the only one benefiting from this aid gives me hope. Already, some families have started cooking what they received, and that warms the heart. I give thanks to God and extend all my gratitude to World Vision for this support. Today, I feel relieved and filled with hope for my family.”