‘Conflict and hunger gave me sleepless nights’
World Food Programme helps Congolese refugees find peace in Zambia
“It’s not easy to laugh or smile when you live in fear, under the constant threat of being killed,” says Kalombe Kalombe, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) living in Mantapala Refugee Settlement in Zambia’s Luapula province.
Kalombe fights back the tears as she recounts the horrific stories of conflict, hunger and death that punctuated her life. “We had no food and the conflict meant that we had no permanent shelter. I saw so much sadness that for more than one year, I could not even smile,” she adds.
Her decision to flee came when she realized the conflict was robbing her children of their safety, health, happiness and education.
“A week before my children and I fled, militia were firing guns in a nearby village, and my husband ran away in fear,’’ she says.
Willing to risk everything for her family, one rainy evening she decided to leave with her children aged 6 and 1. They travelled across waters and walked for weeks, surviving only on food donated by fellow asylum seekers. Exhausted and hungry, in January 2019 they finally arrived at a refugee transit centre in Zambia where they received food from the World Food Programme (WFP) before being transferred to Mantapala Refugee Settlement.
Since her arrival at the settlement, Kalombe has been receiving a monthly food basket of fortified maize meal, beans, salt and a nutritious porridge to complement breastfeeding from WFP.
Kalombe has also been attending cooking lessons to learn how to prepare nutritious meals and has benefited from a range of nutrition awareness campaigns aimed at promoting the consumption of more nutritious food.
The care and support she receives in the settlement have given Kalombe hope. She is happy her children are now able to attend the school and day care facilities the government has built in the settlement to cater for refugee children and those from the host community.
“Conflict and hunger gave me sleepless nights. I am grateful to WFP for supporting my family and me with food. My children are healthy, there is peace in the camp, and I can finally sleep,” she says, finally smiling again.
As part of the emergency response, WFP has recently started distributing cash transfers in the settlement. Cash transfers have many benefits: they contribute towards diversifying diets, stimulate local economy and markets, and empower recipients to choose which food they will consume. Cash transfers are also expected to increase the refugees’ access to livelihood opportunities, which will ultimately build their self-reliance.
Kalombe plans to start a small business to support her family of three. Currently, she survives on WFP food and a small job on a farm in the host community, where she is paid in cassava meal. Her family consumes part of the cassava meal while the rest is bartered for fish, soap and a little sugar. The family also have a small back yard where they play together and grow sweet potatoes.
“If I manage to put together around US$ 35, I can start my own fish business. Fish is a big business here. Then I can use the profit to buy nutritious food and clothing for my children,” says a hopeful Kalombe.
Kalombe is one of the 14,000 Congolese refugees who receive food assistance from WFP, including approximately 4,000 children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
