Kidayo is 26 years old. Before the war in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, she earned a modest but stable income running a small coffee stall in her town. The conflict changed everything. Forced to flee, she lost her belongings, her livelihood, and the sense of security she had built for herself and her family.
Kidayo and her four-year old daughter were among the thousands of families affected by the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which erupted in late 2020 and continued for more than two years. Prolonged fighting led to widespread displacement, disrupted basic services and livelihoods, and left many families struggling to meet their children’s most essential needs.
When peace gradually returned, Kidayo made her way back home with her daughter. Rebuilding their lives proved difficult. With limited resources and no regular income, meeting basic needs was a daily concern. Her daughter’s health had also suffered during the period of displacement.
From crisis to recovery
Kidayo was identified by SOS Children’s Villages Ethiopia, which is implementing a multi-sectoral humanitarian programme to support conflict- and drought-affected communities across Tigray. Her daughter was screened for malnutrition and enrolled in nutrition support, receiving regular nutritious food and follow-up.
In addition to nutrition support, Kidayo received unconditional cash assistance. This allowed her to address immediate household priorities, including purchasing a mattress, soap and sanitary items, as well as clothes for her daughter.
“The cash support gave me flexibility,” Kidayo explains. “I could focus on what my household needed most at that moment.”
As part of the programme’s recovery and resilience component, Kidayo also took part in a business management training organized by SOS Children’s Villages Ethiopia. The training focused on basic entrepreneurship skills, financial planning and small-scale income generation. Building on these skills, she is now preparing to start a small business producing handcrafts and cooking utensils for local sale, supported by a small start-up grant.
“Our approach is to respond to immediate needs while also supporting longer-term recovery,” says Tariku Mekuria, Humanitarian Portfolio Manager from SOS Children’s Villages Ethiopia. “By combining immediate life-saving assistance, such as nutrition support and immediate cash assistance, we also aim to strengthen resilience among families affected by the conflict, so communities can become more self-reliant after many years of conflict and deprivation.”
Alongside household-level support, the programme works closely with local schools and communities to help children return to safe learning environments. As part of the education component, 2,900 children affected by the conflict receive education materials, and schools damaged or disrupted by the conflict are supported to resume learning activities.
Overall, the project supports 2,396 households with food assistance and reaches 1,372 caregivers through livelihood training and start-up support, while also addressing child protection, nutrition and psychosocial needs in a coordinated way.
For Kidayo, the combined support has helped stabilise her household and allowed her to look ahead once more. With her daughter healthy and plans underway to restart her small business, she is focused on rebuilding a more secure future.
“I want to be able to provide for my child on my own,” she says. “Now I feel better prepared to do so.”