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Nyariaka, is one of many women who scour flooded land for waterlilies to feed their children.

Dear John,

Last week my colleague Joshua wrote to tell you about Nafisa and Rayan, two refugee mothers we met in Maban, South Sudan. They were forced to flee ongoing war and violence across the border in Sudan, bringing absolutely nothing with them. Our colleagues were there to meet them; giving everyone arriving essential items like blankets and cooking pots. The team then helped relocate them to a nearby camp on a UNHCR bus.

After Maban we travelled to a place called Bentiu, in Unity State. One of the most difficult and extreme places I have ever been to, 80% of Unity State is submerged in water. Across the state, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee, finding safety in camps surrounded by dikes, just like the ones Alex and the team are building in Maban. On the other side of the dikes, dead trees stick out of endless still water, entire forests decimated by floods - it looks like a tree graveyard.

There we met Nyariaka, who had been forced to flee her home because of flooding. “Before we were displaced by the floods, we had comfortable homes and I had a herd of more than 100 cattle and goats, but I lost them all after the flood.”


“I have traumatised memories of the loss and the impact caused by the flood. Everyone at the displacement site is severely impacted. Now, our life has turned into one of dependency, where we rely only on humanitarian assistance.”
Nyariaka used to live comfortably, eat well, and her children went to school. Now she spends her days collecting firewood from dead trees, the only thing left of the grazing land her cows once enjoyed. Nyariaka’s family no longer have enough food to eat, so they resort to eating the roots of waterlilies, a surprisingly nutritious source of food also found living amongst the submerged trees. But it isn’t enough, and she worries every day about how to find food for her children.

Despite the shocking circumstances that people live with in Bentiu, everyone is working hard every day to not just survive, but find new ways to thrive. Protecting their new homes by maintaining the dikes, building businesses and supporting each other.

With your support([link removed]), we can give more business grants to people like Nyariaka, so they can earn an income and feed their families.([link removed])
We’d love your input!

We’re exploring new ways for our amazing supporters, like you, to help refugees beyond donations. Got 3–5 minutes? Help us shape what comes next by telling us which idea you'd be most excited to take part in, so we can start planning for it.
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Thank you,

Amy Christian
UNHCR Communications Officer
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