Facing challenges with tough hearts

How Awareness Led to Action: Khaled’s Story

Khaled, a 30-year-old father of five, attended an awareness session by the Yemeni Mine Action Center (YEMAC). While walking near his village, he spotted a partially buried object. Recalling what he had learned, Khaled immediately reported it. YEMAC teams responded quickly and safely removed what turned out to be an old artillery shell. Inspired by the experience, Khaled helped organize a new awareness session in his village, promoting social responsibility and vigilance.

In partnership with local organizations like YEMAC, UNICEF is dedicated to educating communities on how to stay safe. Thanks to funding from the Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF), UNICEF supported an awareness campaign between March and May 2025. The campaign reached 81,905 people, including 50,514 children, across Alduraihimi and Alhali districts in Hudaydah.

Awareness sessions, combined with widespread media and poster messaging, equipped families with the knowledge to protect themselves from unexploded remnants of war.

Director of Explosive Ordnance Risk Education at YEMAC in Sana`a, Ali Al-Shagheer stated that “Awareness is the first line of defense. These campaigns reduce post-project casualties by educating communities how to recognize danger signs and respond safely.”

Al-Shagheer stressed the importance of continued education on types of mines, cluster bombs, booby traps, and reporting protocols, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, shepherds, and farmers.

Supporting children through action

Beyond awareness, support for survivors is crucial. With assistance from YHF, UNICEF also backed the Prosthetics Center in Sana’a, providing prosthetic limbs for 195 children who suffered injuries from explosive remnants. UNICEF has also worked to support the center previously. In 2024 alone, UNICEF provided prosthetics materials for 500 children to help the Prosthetics Center in Sana’a continue its mission of restoring hope and improving children’s lives.

Ahlam’s story

13- year-old Ahlam[1], a resident of Hudaydah governorate, benefited recently from the services of the prosthetics center thanks to support from UNICEF and YHF. Ahlam was only six years old when she lost her hand due to an explosive ordnance. This marked the beginning of a life of suffering that has profoundly impacted her psychological state to the point that she refused to go out to play with other children for a long time. When she would go out to play with her peers, she would return crying because they would make fun of her.

Her mother did not give up to her daughter's situation, nor was she shaken by the harsh living conditions. She provided her daughter with psychological support, to help her overcome the depression that had nearly taken away her childhood.

Thanks to her family, Ahlam was integrated into the surrounding community by going to school a year after the incident. "I enrolled my daughter in a private school, despite its high costs for those in our situation, so she could receive special treatment and integrate with people, said Ahlam’s mother. "I had to work here and there, whether in our neighbors' homes or on their farms, to cover Ahlam’s school costs. Ahlam’s father can barely afford buying the necessary stuff for the family from his daily work as a motorcycle driver,” she continued.

Sadly, Ahlam has been one of thousands of children who fell victims to the conflict. Since the conflict escalated in Yemen in March 2015, The UN has verified that more than 12,000 children have been killed or injured because of the conflict (up to December 2023)- an average of four per day.

Ahmad’s story

15-year-old Ahmad[2] from Hudaydah is another victim of the conflict. Ahmed lost his lower limbs and an arm.

His father says "About two and a half years ago, I received a call informing me that Ahmad had been transferred to the Hospital in Hodeidah. This news came as a shock to me. I later discovered that my son had become disabled." Ahmad underwent several surgeries. During that time, the family spent a great deal of money to help him regain his health. However, due to their difficult living conditions, they were unable to provide full support for their son, especially since his father was a simple employee working as a janitor, and his salary was insufficient to provide the basic necessities of life.

Hope is restored

The families of Ahlam and Ahmad heard at Al-Thawra Hospital in Hodaydah about the support provided by UNICEF through the Prosthetics Center in Sana’a. Both families quickly asked for support. After visiting the center, Ahlam received a prosthetic hand, and Ahmed received two prosthetic legs, bringing smiles back to their faces. 

[1] Name has been changed due to the sensitivity of the subject

[2] Name has changed due to the sensitivity of the subject.

The director of the center Mr. Mohammed Jayash, spoke about the steps of therapeutic intervention for Ahmad’s case and other similar cases: "An initial and comprehensive assessment is conducted, along with an analysis of the psychological and social status, to determine the person’s readiness for the rehabilitation phase and the feasibility of fitting it to achieve structural balance and comfort for the patient."

Jayash added, "Then comes physiotherapy phase to strengthen the muscles of the torso and other limbs, train them how to balance and to sit, and improve blood circulation. Then, we train the person functionally to use their limbs, and how to boost their self-confidence and integrating them into recreational activities that boost morale." 

With his charming smile and laughter that fills the air, Ahmad roams the alleys and streets of the neighborhood, walking on the prosthetic legs he received from the center. Freed from all suffering and pain, he is in harmony with his present, which has loomed large with a glimmer of hope.