![[Somalia] A woman with her children at an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Arare, 12 km from Jamame, southern Somalia, 15 December 2006. United Nations agencies involved in providing relief aid estimate that up to 454,500 people have been affec](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/2006121814.jpg.webp?itok=YvsvxJPD "\"Hear Our Voices\" - 'I lost everything to the floods'")
For Waktia Mahado, 30, a resident of Jamame in Somalia's Lower Juba region, 15 November is a day that will remain etched in her mind for a long time – it was the day she moved into a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) after flood waters submerged her home.
Mahado and her husband, who works as a porter on canoes used by relief agencies to ferry food and non-food aid on the Juba River, together with their 11 children, moved into Arare camp, 12 km from Jamame, having salvaged only a few household goods.
She told IRIN about life as an IDP:
"As the flood levels rose in our village in November, I realised we had to leave for higher ground. I left in a hurry, salvaging only a few items. We came to Arare where the camp had been set up.
"Since my arrival, I have received two tarpaulin sheets to cover this [temporary] structure, which we now call home. My husband and I are sharing, with all our 11 children, this small structure. I have received one blanket, one mosquito net, and we all share the food we have received so far.
"My biggest concern at the moment is lack of bedding for all my family. As you can see, we have no bedding, we lie on this mat here and it is not enough since I have a large family. The one blanket is not enough.
"The other thing I am concerned about is the fact that we only have one type of food [corn-soya blend distributed by aid agencies]. Even when we catch fish, lack of cooking utensils is the other problem as I have only received one pot since my arrival. As you can see we have also managed to harvest bunches of green bananas from the flooded fields. I plan to cook the bananas but at the moment I don't have enough pots.
"We also lack salt to use in our cooking. Can you imagine eating food without salt every day?
"Although I lost everything to the flood waters, at least here at the camp my children's medical needs are being taken care of. Medical teams from Muslim Aid [an international NGO] attended to them.
"I am now looking forward to the waters subsiding, perhaps then we can venture back to where our homes used to be."
js/mw
Mahado and her husband, who works as a porter on canoes used by relief agencies to ferry food and non-food aid on the Juba River, together with their 11 children, moved into Arare camp, 12 km from Jamame, having salvaged only a few household goods.
She told IRIN about life as an IDP:
"As the flood levels rose in our village in November, I realised we had to leave for higher ground. I left in a hurry, salvaging only a few items. We came to Arare where the camp had been set up.
"Since my arrival, I have received two tarpaulin sheets to cover this [temporary] structure, which we now call home. My husband and I are sharing, with all our 11 children, this small structure. I have received one blanket, one mosquito net, and we all share the food we have received so far.
"My biggest concern at the moment is lack of bedding for all my family. As you can see, we have no bedding, we lie on this mat here and it is not enough since I have a large family. The one blanket is not enough.
"The other thing I am concerned about is the fact that we only have one type of food [corn-soya blend distributed by aid agencies]. Even when we catch fish, lack of cooking utensils is the other problem as I have only received one pot since my arrival. As you can see we have also managed to harvest bunches of green bananas from the flooded fields. I plan to cook the bananas but at the moment I don't have enough pots.
"We also lack salt to use in our cooking. Can you imagine eating food without salt every day?
"Although I lost everything to the flood waters, at least here at the camp my children's medical needs are being taken care of. Medical teams from Muslim Aid [an international NGO] attended to them.
"I am now looking forward to the waters subsiding, perhaps then we can venture back to where our homes used to be."
js/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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