“We now have a place we can call home once again!’’
Tessema Yilma, 65, had a peaceful home in West Guji zone, in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Together with his wife, four daughters and two sons, the family found joy in farming. It was their only source of livelihood.
However, everything changed when communal violence erupted in April 2018 pitting the Gedeo and Oromo ethnic groups against each other. The violence left thousands of people displaced on both sides. Tessema’s family was among those uprooted from their homes.
Tesema and his wife standing in front of their destroyed house in January 2020. IOM 2020
“This upheaval seriously disrupted our lives and we were forced to flee in search of safety and temporary shelter”, said Tessema.
At first, the family stayed in temporary camps established for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Biloya kebele, Chelelektu woreda (district) in Gedeo zone.
Tessema and his family returned home in December 2018 once the situation normalized. However, there was no longer a place to call home as houses had either been damaged or burned to the ground.
“Upon our return, we lived in our old compound in a small shelter we made using plastic sheets”, he recalled.
“Our living conditions were very harsh as the structure we set up was too small for a family of six people. We struggled to both cook and sleep in this small structure, and it did not adequately protect us from the cold at night. “
Tessema’s wife and daughter got sick due to the chilly nights and the punishing weather conditions.
With no financial means to build another home, IOM provided them with the much-needed support.
“This upheaval seriously disrupted our lives and we were forced to flee in search of safety and temporary shelter”, said Tessema.
At first, the family stayed in temporary camps established for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Biloya kebele, Chelelektu woreda (district) in Gedeo zone.
Tessema and his family returned home in December 2018 once the situation normalized. However, there was no longer a place to call home as houses had either been damaged or burned to the ground.
“Upon our return, we lived in our old compound in a small shelter we made using plastic sheets”, he recalled.
“Our living conditions were very harsh as the structure we set up was too small for a family of six people. We struggled to both cook and sleep in this small structure, and it did not adequately protect us from the cold at night. “
Tessema’s wife and daughter got sick due to the chilly nights and the punishing weather conditions.
With no financial means to build another home, IOM provided them with the much-needed support.
Tessema receiving shelter construction materials at an IOM distribution centre. IOM 2020
“IOM helped us, and many others like us, by providing materials to build a new home. Not only did they provide the building materials, but the organization also helped us construct the buildings by hiring carpenters and monitoring their work”, Tessema says gleefully.
Soon to be his family’s new home, Tessema stands in front of the new structure under construction. IOM 2020
The happy family at their newly completed home. IOM 2020
“We now have a new home, just as the rainy season begins”, Tessema shares.
IOM’s distribution of full shelter kits and the construction of houses for returnees in Gelana wereda of West Guji Zone, Oromia Region is being done within the framework of
its response to the emergency, and in order to ensure that returns are safe and sustainable.
Giwe is one of the first locations where displaced people returned voluntarily a few months after the initial clashes. After assessing the level of stability in the community and the willingness of the returnees to come back and remain in their original place of residence, IOM identified this location as suitable for a transitional shelter project.
The community is located along the boundary line with some kebeles of Kochere woreda of Gedeo zone in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR). Compared to other locations in both zones (West Guji and Gedeo), Giwe is relatively stable and shows strong signs of durable reconciliation and safe and sustainable return.
IOM provided over USD 500 worth of construction materials for families with totally damaged shelters and supported the construction process. This work was made possible with the generous support of the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).
This article was written by Addis Alemayehu and edited by Krizia Kaye Viray and Eric Mazango from IOM Ethiopia.