Life has always been hard for the Rakhine population, but it has only been made worse by the recent military coup in February 2021. Coupled with a second wave of Covid-19 and a crippled economy, families in Rakhine state live in constant fear and are struggling to access basic necessities and feed their children.

In Ethiopia, a region is facing a dire humanitarian crisis as ongoing conflict drives children and families from homes and deeper into despair.  4.5 million people need emergency food assistance, as many as 2.3 million of whom are children. 

“I felt so sad. Nothing to eat. A sick mother. I did not know what to do. I sneaked out with my sister without my parents’ knowledge and we begged for money under the hot sun. I was shy asking for money but we needed it,” shared nine-year-old Thandar.

Eliseu is an 11-year-old who stopped going to school because his family can no longer afford his school fees. He sits by the border and sells Quisangua (a drink made from sugar and maize) to people travelling across. More children like him stand around in the scorching heat, hoping to sell and afford the next meal.

Drought has ransacked their lands, leaving their families in uncertainty of a future. The severity of the drought is sweeping the chances of selling anything as people no longer have the money.

Tarina* works in the brick fields to support her family. She is 12 years old. Each day, she earns 50 to 60 taka (S$0.80 to S$1) by breaking bricks. “If I stop breaking bricks, how will [my family] pay off our loans?” she says.

Orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children are the top priority one week after Cyclone Idai tore through Mozambique. World Vision continues to rush aid workers into disaster-ravaged areas across southeast Africa to respond to the Cyclone Idai catastrophe, which has affected millions and left as many as 1,000 people dead in Mozambique.