Refugee education journeys: The inspiring stories of Rose and Prosper in becoming changemakers
Rose Mbachilina and Prosper Etongwe are two young Cameroonians who fled their country to escape the conflict between separatist fighters and the military in the Southwest and Northwest regions. They both sought refuge at the Adagom refugee settlement in Cross River...
From Tragedy to Hope: Hauwa’s Journey towards empowerment and self-reliance
Four years ago, Hauwa’s world was turned upside down when insurgents stormed her village in northeast Nigeria’s Michika Local Government Area, leaving a trail of destruction and despair. The violent attack took the life of her beloved husband and other family...
Mustapha Ali – the village chief happy to be back home
Mustapha Ali is the village head (lawan) of Tarmuwa, a neighbourhood of Banki town in Borno State’s Bama Local Government Area (LGA). He arrived in Banki with his 38-member family, who were among the 1,320 Nigerian refugees facilitated to return from Cameroon by...
UNHCR convenes stakeholders’ engagement on the premiere of anti-trafficking film ‘Dangerous Hope’
An anti-trafficking short film directed by Nollywood filmmaker Judith Audu premiered in Abuja on February 2, 2023, in a stakeholder event facilitated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with the National Agency for the...
UNHCR seeks to increase menstrual health and hygiene for Cameroonian refugees, one sanitary pad at a time
The stark reality for many girls in Nigeria, especially vulnerable groups like refugees, is that their lives are put on hold when they menstruate. For fear of ridicule, some girls avoid school and other social activities during menstruation, especially in cultures...
“Most of us don’t have anything to eat, but with this support, we can buy food”
James Atiet, a 70-year-old Cameroonian refugee, lost one of his limbs while fleeing clashes between Ambazonian separatist fighters and the Cameroonian Army in Cameroon’s southwest region. “I ran to the bush when I heard gunshots. After crossing a footpath, I...
Brushing away gender barriers
Along Lekki highway, just outside of Nigeria’s bustling megacity Lagos, the economy seems to be humming: Traffic is dense, and businesses are flourishing. New constructions spring up like mushrooms, and in a freshly erected apartment complex, three painters are hard...
Little big cash
“We did not have anything to take with us when we fled.” Edwin Ngaba, 29-year old Cameroonian father of three little children, sounds exhausted, as if he had reached safety in Nigeria only yesterday. “When we walked across the border”, Edwin recalls, “some Nigerian...
“People thought, I would not survive”
Doris Azuwa will never forget this fateful afternoon. It had been raining cats and dogs, and there was a strong wind. All her family – seven children and her husband – was in the house on the day that would put their lives upside down. It must have been around 4 o’...