The ongoing conflict in Yemen has caused devastation with 22.2 million people in need of assistance including two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Al Hudaydah, the main city of the Governorate, has been a focus of fighting as it is a main port. Over 47,000 families have been registered as displaced in the area with many moving to centres in old schools or disused government buildings where the lack of sanitation facilities and clean water threatens to lead to renewed cholera outbreaks.
With support from the Government of Japan, the project "Responding to the immediate needs of shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene in Al-Hudaydah Governorate" aims to mitigate the impact of conflict on the internally displaced and vulnerable communities in Al- Hudaydah Governorate, with a focus on women, children, elderly, and disabled persons. It provides job opportunities for community members who are the main bread winners of their families by engaging them in the repair and rehabilitation works of their homes.
Mariam & her family have a safe home after their house was destroyed by the conflict
When fighting broke out in Yemen’s West Coast Districts at the end of 2017, most of the people living in Qataba town fled and their houses were destroyed.
Mariam Saleh Mahdi and her family remained as they could not afford the transport, but their house was hit by shells and Mariam’s sister was injured and died a few days later. The family walked to a nearby village and stayed for four months. When they returned in May 2018 they found their home had been completely destroyed.
“The walls and the roof fell off and the house had no doors nor windows. The roof could not protect us from the rain anymore and the house was not safe to live in. I felt helpless, I had no idea how to rebuild the house on my own and with no source of income,” said Miriam who was looking after her sister’s children.
Mariam said that when UN-Habitat team came to the village for the first time and started collecting data, she did not believe they would help. But she was surprised when she heard that her house would be rebuilt and that she would be paid to repair her own home as part of a cash for work initiative.
“UN-Habitat has rehabilitated the entire house and provided us with electricity, lighting and a ceiling fan, all operating via solar power. Our home has become safe to live in,” said Mariam. "When I see my new house, the latrine, the water tanks and the electricity, I feel overwhelmed with happiness. This helps me overcome the bitterness I went through because of war and displacement.”
"We are grateful to UN-Habitat and the Government of Japan. They helped us and many others whose houses were affected by war. They gave us solar energy and a ceiling fan" says Hassan's wife
As part of the WASH component of the project, UN-Habitat assessed five IDP sites for urgent water and sanitation needs for the most vulnerable people and developed an action plan to prevent spread of Cholera and other potential diseases. A total of 63 units of hygienic public pit latrines were constructed in the IDP sites in Al Khawkha and Al Tuhayta. Learn more about how this project provided WASH services for more than 1700 beneficiaries in the video below.
In the closing event, the governor of Al-Hudaydah thanked the efforts of UN-Habitat, the people and the Government of Japan, for this project, which targeted the most affected areas, calling on all organizations to "exert more humanitarian efforts as people in Yemen remain struggling for their safety and to re-establish their livelihoods."