Cabo Delgado: A stronger roof helps Zarina protect her family
UNICEF, in partnership with INAS and with funding from the ESAHF, supports the direct cash payments programme, which is reaching 2,500 displaced, returnee and host families in Mueda District.
Mueda, Cabo Delgado - Zarina Hilário, 44, knows that rebuilding a life takes time. Six years after fleeing armed violence in the community of Auasse, in Mocímboa da Praia District, she is still taking steps to create a safer future for her children.
In 2020, armed men attacked her community, forcing Zarina, her husband and their children to leave everything behind.
"That day, all we could think about was how to escape safely. We fled without taking anything with us. It was very difficult to leave our home, our farm, and everything we had," she recalls.
The family found shelter at the Eduardo Mondlane Resettlement Centre in Mueda District. Over the years, income from her husband’s small business activities helped them regain some stability and rebuild part of what they had lost.
Even so, one of the family’s biggest dreams had not yet come true: replacing the roof of their house with corrugated metal sheets.
"Here we have been able to start our lives again. I do not want to return to Auasse because I am still afraid. Now I only want my children to grow up in a safe place," she says.
Like many displaced families, they had to use the limited income they earned for food and other essential needs.
"We wanted to buy roofing sheets a long time ago, but we never could because the money we earned was needed for food and for the children's education. There was never enough left to buy the roofing sheets," she explains.
The opportunity to make this dream a reality came when Zarina received support through direct cash payments. UNICEF, in partnership with Mozambique’s National Institute of Social Action (INAS) and with funding from the Eastern and Southern Africa Humanitarian Fund (ESAHF), supports the direct cash payments programme, which is reaching 2,500 displaced, returnee and host families in Mueda District. The assistance helps families meet their most urgent needs and protect the well-being of their children.
"When I received this support, the first thing I thought about was buying corrugated metal sheets to cover our house. For us, this means better protection when it rains," she says.
"Today, I hope to continue living here, to see my children grow up in peace and complete their education. This support came at the right time because the rainy season will begin soon," she adds.
For displaced, returnees and host families, financial assistance is more than a cash grant. It offers an opportunity to strengthen the protection of their families and build a safer future for children growing up away from conflict and insecurity.
