Fatima and her children, the family that survives

"We lost everything in Sudan; this is already the third time I've fled a war. I'm afraid I'll have to do it a fourth time with my children," says Fatima with tears in her eyes.

Sitting under a shade tree near the Dirima child-friendly space in Birao, Fatima, 33, describes her life as one of "survival". 

Originally from Damazin, in south-eastern Sudan, she was forced from an early age to flee the violence in her region and take shelter with her parents and siblings in Birao, in the Central African Republic (CAR). However, when clashes broke out between armed groups in CAR in 2019, she was forced to return with her husband and four children to Sudan once again, this time to Nyala.

Fatima was happy to return home. With her husband, they had even started a small business to create a comfortable life for their children. "But it was as if the war followed me wherever I went. One day armed men attacked the town and killed my husband. I managed to escape with my four children and the only place I felt I could protect them was Birao," she recounts.

Fatima and her children arrived in the border town of Am-Dafock in June 2023.  "Once in Birao, I looked for my old house, but it was destroyed," she recalls.

Since the start of the war in Sudan in April 2023, more than 25,000 people have sought refuge in the Central African Republic. Several thousand of the refugees who arrived in Birao were welcomed in the Korsi neighbourhood.

Fatima admits that she was lucky: "We found a host family with whom my husband had a good relationship at the time, and now my children and I live with them.  

After spending the morning at the central market, she accompanies her children to the child-friendly space set up by UNICEF with funding from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), where she meets her friends.

"I feel protected here. I see my children playing with the centre's leaders. They make new friends, and the activities help them overcome the pain they have been feeling since losing their father and their stability," she explains. "I'm happy to see them learning French so that they can do better at school, and I feel good about being able to talk freely with other mothers and share our fears, especially about our future and that of our children".

Her eldest daughter, Ashi, is 12 years old and has been going to the children's friendly spaces since they were established: "If I have one wish, it's for the violence to stop because we, the children, are suffering so much", she says. Despite the pain, she admits that making friends in CAR has made things easier for her.

Child-friendly spaces bring happiness and stability. The children can see a psychosocial support counsellor who helps them deal with the problems that arose from the trauma what they have witnessed. By giving children a space to disconnect, they learn and play in a safe and supervised environment.