Lebanese people who fled bombs face harsh winter as crisis worsens
Concern is preparing people who fled bombings for freezing and bleak wintery conditions.
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Meet the Artist: Eugene Ikua
Raising awareness is a massive part of the scope of our work and it could not be achieved without journalists on the ground who connect with people and bring their stories to life. Concern Worldwide’s Regional Mobile Journalist, Eugene Ikua, is one of those people. With a keen eye for storytelling and making sure the human element shines brightly in our stories, Eugene uses his knowledge and experience to place a spotlight on the communities we work in.
Based in Kenya, Eugene is a photographer and videographer who has travelled throughout the countries Concern is based in. We wanted to give him a chance to share the stories behind the photos he has taken on his journeys and talk a little about the pressing issues facing those places.
Eugene Ikua, our videographer and photographer.
Chad
Ranked 189 of 193 countries in the UNDP Human Development Report 2023-24, Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world and as such is acutely vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity. Chad is the tenth largest host community for refugees in the world, with more than one million displaced people in Chad, including 762,731 refugees from conflicts in neighbouring Sudan, the Central African Republic and Cameroon.
Refugees in Chad are predominantly women and children, which makes them particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence amid the already poor conditions in the refugee communities. Causes of poverty in Chad are numerous, but the key factors include high food prices, below-average market supplies, continued disruption of trade across the border with Sudan as well as an ongoing climate crisis. Food insecurity, water scarcity and malnutrition are also severe issues which compound the existing situation.
We’re responding to the humanitarian needs of locals and displaced people in the Lake Chad area, implementing health and nutrition programmes to deliver life-saving assistance and access to basic health, water, hygiene, and sanitation services.
Children from Tcharaw primary school heading home after a day of school. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
I remember taking this shot during lunch hour, as the children headed home after school. They appeared quite excited to finish for the week, rushing through the grass. I captured it from a long distance, and I loved the contrast between the sandy, dried grass ground and the blue bags the kids carried as they hurried home.”
Mahadia Gamar (24) showcases her watermelon at her farm in Karo village. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
Mahadia was quite excited to take us to her farm on this day. It was around 5pm and the sun was going down and the orange hue around us blended very well with the dress she was wearing. We also indulged in fresh watermelons from her garden. It was best way to finish the busy week we had.”
Ethiopia
This year, Concern has scaled up its emergency response in Ethiopia to match the challenging demands of the ongoing drought and hunger crisis. An estimated 10.8 million people in Ethiopia are predicted to become food insecure between July and September 2024. On top of this, Ethiopia is also host to millions of refugees. Most have had to flee their homes due to conflict in nearby South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea. In a country that is already exasperated by the stresses of hunger and conflict, this presents a particularly dire situation.
Meisha Mohammed Asrar (15) one of the programme participants in the Playmatters programme that helps students who were affected by the conflict in Tigray get back to school by engaging them in various educational activities as well as child protection awareness trainings. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
I remember this moment. Meisha had left school and was on her way home when we realized we hadn't taken her portraits. We contacted her, and despite having to trek back up and down the hill to her home, she returned with a radiant smile. Meisha had endured a traumatic experience due to conflicts in her village, yet her enthusiasm for schoolwork never wavered. You could see her passion and self-belief and her unwavering dedication to her studies.”
Rwanda
Concern staff have been working in Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, where over a million people were killed in a period of 100 days. While Rwanda has largely stabilised, chronic malnutrition and extreme poverty are still long-lasting issues in the poorest provinces in the country.
Concern’s Graduation programme aims to support extremely poor and vulnerable households to rise from poverty. We implemented programmes to help 162 homeless families obtain land and build houses, with additional work being done to support families with livestock ownership as part of income-generating activities.
Mother-of-five Marie-Claire Ayinkamiye (45) lives alone with her five children. She has built a new house and owns a cow, goat and pig in Muganza, Gisagara. Marie-Claire runs a successful business selling grains and legumes. In her home, she stores two sacks of sorghum and one of soya beans that she has harvested from her two plots of land, and a sack of rice that she bought. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
Marie-Claire was full of smiles on this day as she showed us how much her life has changed after being part of the graduation program. You can’t tell from this picture, but we had just come back from chasing her cow around which had managed to escape its enclosure and was running all over the compound causing chaos.”
Türkiye
Following the deterioration of the situation in Syria in 2013, Türkiye received over 3.7 million Syrian people seeking refuge. Moreover, in 2023, Türkiye and Syria suffered devastating earthquakes that caused massive destruction and loss of life. Over the course of a year, Concern has reached over 350,000 people with food, water, shelter, essential items and psychosocial support.
Meryem Kaya sits at the remains of her home in Malatya. Meryem was trapped under the rubble of her home for days following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria earlier this year. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
This was the last interview we did in Malatya in July 2023. We met Meryem Kaya at her home which had unfortunately been ravaged by the earthquake. The reason I love this picture is you can’t tell that just a few moments from when I took this picture, Meryem had broken down as she recalled the heart-breaking experience she underwent at the onset of the earthquake. You could tell that she enjoyed having people over and that she fed off their energy. Seeing Concern teams dedicating their time to build her a sunshade made her so happy, and it was a proud moment to see the smiles my colleagues brought to her household on this day.”
How is Concern helping?
Concern staff are on the ground across 24 countries addressing the impacts of extreme poverty in several ways:
- Providing life-saving food and water to families experiencing hunger
- Working with communities to provide assistance in the form of psychosocial support to people living with trauma from conflict.
- Transfer cash to families so they can buy what they most need.
- Giving medical equipment and treatment to specialist teams to treat malnutrition and sickness.
- Advocating for greater action on climate change and commitments on climate funding from high-income countries.
