StARS staff carry food boxes
Before the war in Sudan began, 32-year-old Mrs. Amna* was living with her husband and two young children, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new baby. But when conflict erupted, Mrs. Amna faced an unimaginable choice: to leave the only home she had ever known, seeking safety for herself and her children, while her husband remained behind. Six months into her pregnancy, she made the difficult journey to Egypt.
On August 31, 2023, Mrs. Amna arrived in Cairo, where she managed to rent a small house. She initially relied on her savings and the income from her handmade jewelry, but soon, her resources ran out, making it harder to cover the rent and provide for her children.
Two months later, feeling overwhelmed and nearing the end of her pregnancy, Mrs. Amna reached out to St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS), CWS’s local partner. With her limited savings, Mrs. Amna had little money to pay for doctor’s appointments or necessities like food and rent to support her children. The team at StARS provided Mrs. Amna with emotional and medical support and in December, she welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby girl into her family.
StARS also provided Mrs. Amna with cash assistance to meet her family’s basic needs and provided Mrs. Amna with food boxes to supplement her children’s food intake and improve the family’s overall health. These boxes provide non-perishable food supplies and essential hygiene items, including soap, toothpaste and sanitary pads to more than 270 individuals like Mrs. Amna.
“[The food boxes] provided me with many of the main needs that I buy from the market, which lasted for a decent period. It came to me at a time when I had children who had anemia. It helped. Also, there were hygiene items that helped me,” Mrs. Amna shared. “Because of the food box, I found myself with oat packages that I had no clue how to use. In my culture, we never used it, but when I found it with good nutritional value, I kept searching for ways that would allow me to consume oats, and I did find and made it in different ways.”
Through the regular source of nutritious meals, her children’s health began to improve. Today, Mrs. Amna is working in a laboratory, able to support her family and provide them with nourishing meals and together, they are working towards a brighter future.
*Note: pseudonyms have been used to protect the identity of the individuals in this story
*StARS is a refugee- and women-led service provider that connects refugees in Cairo to educational, legal, medical, psychosocial, housing and other services. Since the start of the conflict in Sudan last April, StARS has opened its doors to more than 30,000 Sudanese refugees. To learn more about the work of StARS, click here.