AL HUDAYAH, Yemen – Fatima Mujawash once had a very different life. She was well educated, with a diploma in clinical laboratory science, and happily married with three children.  Everything changed when Yemen’s conflict erupted. Her husband was struck and killed by an explosive projectile when violence engulfed their home district, Al Khokah, in Al Hudaydah Governorate. Her father’s family decided to flee. One year after her husband’s death, Ms. Mujawash made the painful decision to leave, as well. “I had no one to back me up or support me to alleviate my pain and grief,” she explained.  Without any means of transport, she and her kids – aged 7, 12 and 15 – set out on foot, leaving nearly everything behind.   Fleeing both war and disease By that point, the COVID-19 pandemic had erupted, and Ms. Mujawash feared her family could be exposed if they sought refuge in a crowded city. She decided to go instead to Tuhama, a countryside area on the outskirts of Zabid, where there was a displacement camp not far from the village where her sister lived.  They trudged for three hours in the desert heat, “under the hot blazing sun and over the burning sand,” she recalled. Finally, they arrived at a road where they were able to flag down a car for a ride. Struck down by COVID-19 Ms. Mujawash’s hope that a rural destination would protect her family from the pandemic was soon dashed. Not long after arriving at the displacement camp, she fell ill with COVID-19. She was admitted to Zabid’s quarantine hospital. There, she was in isolation, struggling for air. “I felt so lonely and dark,” she said. “I was finding it difficult with every breath I took.”  “You have to find the strength to get better,” one of the medical staff told her. “Think of people who give you strength.”  Ms. Mujawash thought of her kids. They were her motivation to recover. “I was struggling to save my life to go back to my children,” she said. A new strength Finally, at the end of March, she recovered enough to be discharged. She returned to the displacement camp and was reunited with her children.  She has sought out medical counselling at the Zabid Hospital, which is supported by UNFPA. In addition to receiving treatment for COVID-19, she was also able to receive reproductive health services, and her son has been able to access treatment for his sickle cell anemia.  This year, UNFPA is supporting 105 health facilities across Yemen. More than half a million women and girls have been reached with life-saving reproductive health services within the last six months, care that has been supported by the European Union, KSRelief, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, and the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund.  But the operating environment remains severely challenging. UNFPA, through its partners, is the sole provider of essential life-saving reproductive health medicines in Yemen. To keep reaching the most vulnerable women and girls, UNFPA requires $100 million in 2021. To date, only 30 per cent of this funding appeal has been received. As for Ms. Mujawash, she has not yet been able to find work, but her family has been getting by on emergency relief distributed in the camp. She is determined to hold onto the strength she summoned in the hospital, and is even allowing herself to imagine a better future.  “The displacement and the pandemic have changed my life,” she said. “They made me strong. I did things no one could imagine or endure. But I still dream of going back home with my kids. I hope, one day, the pandemic and war will perish from my country.”

Salwa wants to share her story and encourage others to dream big, just like she did. These are her five pillars of success. Pillar One: Find Your Calling “At the time my soul was aching from my inability to complete my education. The need to work and help others grew bigger and bigger inside me,” says Salwa. Living with her parents, four brothers and two sisters, Salwa was unable to go to university because of the family's difficult financial situation. Her father was earning less than US$ 100 a month - income the family was dependent on. Salwa would spend her days caring for her mother, who lives with a disability, and teaching neighbourhood children how to read and write. It was doing this work, that Salwa was able to discover her true potential. “Undeniably, the desire to help these children improve their education was what sparked my drive, and the opportunity to do it while generating income,” Salwa explains. “Women should know how much intellectual and practical wealth they have within themselves.”  Pillar Two: Find A Mentor and Plan Your Business In 2021, Salwa learned about a joint initiative by CARE International and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aiming to help Yemenis create sustainable livelihood opportunities. Salwa had always been both passionate about education and motivated to improve the living conditions for her and her family. She was selected as a participant. “I was enrolled in a six-day training,” says Salwa. “The training was held via WhatsApp to keep us safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was very useful. We learned how to run an enterprise, including managing finances - profits and sales.” “The most important thing I learned was the potential social impact of an enterprise for the community,” she says. “I was thinking of starting a more profitable business such as engraving, but after the training I decided to follow my passion and open a kindergarten to teach young children. The trainer’s valuable feedback helped me to shape my business idea and plan.” Pillar Three: Convince Others of Your Vision A lack of available financial support is one of the biggest challenges hindering women entrepreneurs in Yemen. To maximise fundraising opportunities, Salwa and other trainees were trained in drafting a business plan and encouraged to submit it for funding. Convinced of her vision, Salwa was selected to receive a financial grant through UNDP and CARE’s joint project. “I was extremely happy the moment I found out I was one of the grant winners,” describes Salwa. “I received a cash grant of 336,000 YER (approximately US$ 600) and went home quickly to tell my family. We were so excited we directly went to the city and bought whiteboards, tables, chairs and other teaching tools for the kindergarten.” “42 students have registered. I charge 4,000 YER for each student, earning a monthly income of 168,000 YER (approximately US$ 280),” she explains.   Pillar Four: Surround Yourself with Supportive People Small business owners need a lot of support to succeed, whether it's financial, operational, or emotional. “Thankfully, my family’s support is unlimited,” exclaims Salwa.  “My sister helps me look after the students, and I’m always grateful for my mother’s constant well wishes – not to mention my father’s strength as he stands by my side.” “My daughter wanted to open a kindergarten at the house. I didn't object, rather I felt proud and supported her,” explains Mohammed, Salwa’s father.   Pillar Five: Constantly Evolve “It has been nearly seventeen years since I started teaching children in a small living room at my parents’ house, I never lost my passion for teaching though.” she reflects. "This project has served the people in my area as well as my family - we finally have an income that helps us to live better.” Passion, dedication, and hard work, in addition to the support of UNDP and CARE International – through the Supporting Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security in Yemen joint Programme (ERRY II) – helped Salwa to demonstrate the benefit of local education to her neighbours. Now children from her community are able to gain critical skills in a peaceful learning environment through fun modern teaching methods. “Sometimes my daughter refuses to go back home and prefers to stay in the kindergarten,” says one mother. “I feel safe sending my children here and go to work with no worries. Salwa taught my son and daughter a long time ago; they are now at college,” says one of Salwa’s women neighbours. “I feel proud that I transformed my personal passion into a successful business. I hope to expand the kindergarten in a bigger building and teach more students,” she concludes.                                                                                                                                 *** These activities were implemented as a part of the Supporting Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security in Yemen Joint Programme (ERRYJP II) in partnership with CARE International, Oxfam, Sustainable Development Foundation, Youth Leadership Development Foundation, Millenium 
Development Foundation and For All Foundation. The Programme aims to strengthen the resilience capacity of crisis-affected communities through the creation of sustainable livelihoods and access to basic services.

Lahj, Yemen – He sat on the bed, gazing out the window while slowly lifting one leg from the floor onto the rubber mattress. His leg seemed somehow heavier than what he could comfortably manage, but eventually he completed the small undertaking. As people entered the room, he listlessly looked towards the door, blinking his tired eyes while taking audibly shallow breaths.  His skin clung loosely to his aching, visible bones. It had been months since his body had touched a mattress. The smugglers would never have allowed him such simple comfort. Safe in the Lahj hospital while receiving care through support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and EU Humanitarian Aid, everything reassuring and familiar to him was still around 1,000 kilometres and a world away. Yet, memories of recent horrors – months of severe beatings and forced starvation at the hands of criminal gangs – were ever present in his mind. Mohammed’s* journey began in Ethiopia with an ambition to end his family’s generational poverty. He never expected that this aspiration would lead to a near-death experience and thousands of wasted dollars. Sadly, his story is not unique. Like hundreds of thousands of other migrants from the Horn of Africa over the past few years, Mohammed was attempting to reach the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). People on this route typically hope for no more than making it to their destination to help their families moderately prosper. Most have no idea of the experiences they will have to first endure or that they may never make it. Typically originating from Ethiopia and travelling towards the Somali or Djiboutian coasts, migrants face exhaustion and dehydration along the way, which proves fatal for an unknown number of people. Crossing the Gulf of Aden, they are crammed into smugglers’ boats; some succumb to asphyxiation or drowning. Once in Yemen, many migrants are held by smugglers for anywhere from days to months. Most are savagely beaten while their families are forced to pay ransom. “One day a smuggler came to the field where my friend and I were working. He told us that he could take us to Saudi Arabia to find work and that we would be rich in a year and be able to build our families villas,” said Ibrahim*, a 20-year-old Ethiopian man who, like Mohammed, bought into smugglers’ lies. He left his family’s onion farm – along with his innocence – in Ethiopia. At the IOM Migrant Response Point in Aden, Mahmoud parked the mobile clinic van near the entrance, making it easier for his colleague, Dr Yasser, to load the medical supplies needed for their day’s grueling work. Nurse Abdullah and interpreter Ahmed also helped the doctor prepare. The IOM mobile medical team starts their day at around 7:30 a.m. when they set out for the Lahj coast, close to the hospital where Mohammed is receiving treatment. “We begin early every morning with a renewed ambition to treat vulnerable migrants and help them on their way to living a dignified life,” explained Dr Yasser, the team leader. He runs an emergency health clinic for migrants newly arrived from Djibouti on the coast near Ras Al Arah, Lahj. The mobile team travels four hours each way in harsh, hot weather, and even sandstorms, to reach their weary patients. On the long drive, they are fearful of accidents or criminals, but they are always determined to reach their destination. “It's a beautiful feeling to save a vulnerable life – migrants have a right to health care like all of us. When I think of the cholera outbreak here in Yemen, at times, we literally had minutes to save a life,” added Dr Yasser. After leaving his family’s onion farm, Ibrahim travelled to Yemen and became one of Dr Yasser’s patients. “We walked for many days. People died along the way from drinking dirty water; I buried six people. In Djibouti, they crammed 250 of us into a truck. Those who died were thrown out without mercy,” Ibrahim explained, as he teared up. Then Ibrahim was squeezed onto a small boat. When they arrived near the Yemeni coast, the smugglers forced him to swim through thrashing waves. By the time he reached the shore, he was in urgent need of health care. Dr Yasser and his colleagues ensured that he was helped. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, migrant arrivals in Yemen have lessened. However, over 32,000 migrants have become stranded across the country, some of whom are held in detention or by smugglers. The mobile team are encountering more injured migrants who had been held by smugglers for long periods. One migrant told the mobile medical team about their experience with smugglers: “In Yemen, smugglers took us by force. In the holding pen, we could see people’s bodies were bloody from torture. They started beating us and made us call our families, asking them to send USD 1,500. I called my family and the next day, they sent USD 300. That was all they could afford.” “The smugglers used to hang us from one leg, and take turns beating us. Even women and girls would be beaten. One girl was abused by seven men. Because my family only sent USD 300 first, I had to stay there for weeks until they sent another USD 1,200,” the migrant added. And in Ibrahim’s case, his family were forced to sell their onion farm to ensure their son’s release. Most migrants do not get the medical attention they need after suffering at the cruel hands of smugglers. Those reached by IOM’s health teams are lucky. IOM’s three mobile medical teams assist an average of 1,200 people per month in three locations: one along the coasts of Aden and Lahj, another in Shabwah and a third in Ma’rib, which has seen an escalation in recent violence. Migrants receive health awareness sessions, mental health and psychosocial support, referrals to nearby health facilities as well as food, water and other essential relief items. When Mohammed arrived at the hospital in Lahj, he was at death’s door. The smugglers had brought him to avoid dealing with a dead body. “I didn't think we would be able to save him due to his advanced condition, including his poor nutrition,” said Dr Yasser, who further elaborated that this was one of the more dire cases he had ever seen in his years of health work. Mohammed had not eaten a proper meal for seven months. Once he was on the mend, Mohammed was brought to the IOM foster family in Aden to recover comfortably with other vulnerable migrants. He will likely return to Ethiopia when he is well enough. Like many others, the dream sold to him by the smugglers about an easy journey to and life in KSA was far from reality. The life-saving support that IOM provided to Mohammed, Ibrahim and thousands of other migrants in need of medical and protection assistance across Yemen was made possible through a partnership with EU Humanitarian Aid. *Names have been changed This story was written by Rami Ibrahim and Olivia Headon from the IOM Yemen communications team.

Ta’iz, Yemen – Deciding to leave their home was a difficult call for Aisha and Tawfiq, but two years ago, out of fear for their lives, the couple fled their farm in Ta’iz, Yemen. “Shells and bullets had started falling near us. We knew we were in severe danger and needed to get to a safer location,” said Aisha, describing what had pushed their family over the edge after enduring years of conflict. “We finally left our home when we saw most of our neighbours leaving. At that time, the clashes had gotten so scary that we fled with nothing. We even left our animals behind – we just couldn’t take them," she added. Not too long before the scariest moment of their lives, Aisha and Tawfiq’s world had been quiet but comfortable. They had a small garden where they kept sheep and chickens. Tawfiq could be found with the herd most days tending to their needs and helping the mothers raise their lambs. In 2015, the conflict broke out in Yemen, and more than six years later it has affected all people across the country, with over 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Deadly fighting, economic collapse, disease outbreaks and extremely limited public services remain a constant of daily life in Yemen. Aisha and Tawfiq were lucky for a while before they became two of the 4 million displaced people in Yemen, but then about four years into the conflict, their home became unsafe. Their sheep began to die, and their farm was getting destroyed. Access to food and clean water, as well as income, became completely cut off. Almost worst of all, while comfort and even necessities for survival were gone, they were replaced with anxiety, day and night. When the armed clashes encroached on their neighbourhood, Aisha and Tawfiq were not sure where they and their parents could go, but they knew that they needed security. They left their home by car and eventually made it to Heartha district also in their home governorate of Ta’iz. They built a small shelter with whatever materials they could find near some trees for shade and protection. “Our life here is bad – much worse than our old one. We have needs and the money my husband makes with his motorcycle taxi is not enough. He wakes up every day to pick up people from one place to another and he earns only 2,000 YR (USD 3) per day. This shelter is not good enough to protect us from insects or the weather,” added Aisha, describing the hardship of their life in displacement. Urgent humanitarian needs are rife among displaced people in Yemen and many have no option but to live in inappropriate shelters as Aisha describes, having left behind better-built homes and all of their belongings. Beyond emergency needs, access to income is also a major issue for most displaced families. Many displaced people have no livelihood opportunities and families often can no longer afford basic meals, further deepening food insecurity among this vulnerable community. Like Aisha, Ali had to flee his home in another area in Ta’iz to come to Heartha district when it grew more and more unsafe and risky due to the conflict. “I left my home with my children and wife because my house and everything in my village was destroyed – we lost our home and our farm,” said Ali. Ali is a father of three daughters and a son. Their lives were turned upside down when fighting occurred near their village, forcing them to flee. Although he knew he would lose everything if they left, in the end, the conflict made the decision for Ali and his family. If they stayed, he knew it would not be only the house and their belongings that they would lose. Ali had made a good living as a farmer and selling trees, firewood and charcoal. “Before the war came to us, I worked as a farmer. I used to sell wood and charcoal in the market. But everything changed when we left our village; we left everything behind. Now, it is very hard to find food for my family. Every day, I try my best to find work and secure food for my family,” he added. This is not a unique story. At least 5 million people in Yemen are estimated to be on the verge of famine. Displaced people have it particularly hard when trying to secure enough food and nutrition on a daily basis. The decision to leave their homes to find safety does not, unfortunately, mean that a family will always get all the support they need. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) works with support from European Union (EU) Humanitarian Aid to meet the emergency needs of displaced people across Yemen. Shelter is among the most common immediate needs of a displaced family. Aisha and Ali were among the recipients of shelter materials and emergency aid in Heartha. On that day, IOM distributed over 400 emergency shelter kits, 60 relief item kits and 2,000 plastic sheets. Each family who was supported now has emergency shelter materials, mattresses, blankets and kitchen tools. “These people are displaced because of the conflict. They usually cannot take anything with them, and they need urgent support to build or improve their shelter to ensure their family’s safety. With the help of the aid items that we distributed, these families can now feel secure in their shelter,” said Mohammed Alzailei, a member of the IOM shelter team in Ta’iz. In addition to distributing shelter and relief materials, IOM trained displaced people in Heartha on how to build wooden shelters, enhancing their carpentry skills. A carpentry expert was brought in by IOM to build shelters and provide the training. These skills can be used beyond just their own shelter construction. For Aisha, Ali and their families, this distribution means that they have one less worry to face. “It’s not like our previous home and we are still missing out on some services, but it is better than sleeping in a risky place. Now we can sleep safely, and we are not worried about our lives," said Aisha. “I was only thinking about my family and how I can keep them safe,” added Ali. IOM Yemen reached nearly 58,000 people with emergency shelter support and other emergency assistance in the last year through its partnership with EU Humanitarian Aid. Written by Majed Mohammed with editing from Olivia Headon of IOM Yemen’s Communications Team.