Elzahra: the impact of the conflict

Elzahra Mohammed, Plan International Sudan’s Programme Lead in White Nile shares the impact of the conflict on herself and her 3 children, one of whom has Downs syndrome.

Having fled Khartoum, Elzahra is now separated from her children who are living in Egypt with her mother while she has returned to Sudan to continue her work with Plan International.

In her own words

“I still can’t believe it. It’s like I am living in a dream and anytime I will wake up. It’s very tough. A lot has changed but at least, we are trying to survive.

I remember the day the war started. I was in my house alone with my 3 children. My brother had come to my house to fix something. I was sleeping. I didn’t know there was shooting going on. He knocked on the door and said to turn on the TV and see what was happening. Soon after, I started hearing the shooting. I asked him what was happening, he said this is the war.

On that day, we didn’t have any water or electricity so I decided to get the car and go get water for my children before the war intensified. While driving to the market, I saw most of the shops were closed I so had to drive further. The military airplanes came and shot just in front of me. I am talking to you but I may have been dead right now. I lost control of the car but I was thinking I need to be strong. Eventually I managed to regain control of the car and immediately went back home and asked someone who was on their way back from the market to bring me some water.

“My children are now in Egypt with my mother, but I had to come back to work in Sudan so we can continue with our response. We have no choice.”
Elzahra

Over the next few days, the shooting increased and moved closer and closer to where we were living. On the third day, when we were sleeping, I heard a big, big noise and when I went to the balcony, I saw a huge bomb had been dropped outside our house leaving a big hole. Our neighbour then came down and said there’s shooting on the upper floor. My children started to cry and panic, so I decided we should leave.

We encountered numerous check points but were miraculously allowed to pass. We eventually left Khartoum and went to Gedaref where we stayed for one month. I have a small child who has Down syndrome and respiratory problems. He started getting sick and needed oxygen. I was panicking, thinking I would lose my child, so decided to move to Egypt.

We spent 7 days on the road. We had to sleep on the ground with snakes and scorpions around us. No one wanted to move, so it took us so long and was so expensive to get to Egypt. We used all means – bus, car, train, foot, and boat. It was a relief when I got to Egypt as I was able to take my 3 year old boy to hospital.

“Protection needs especially among separated and unaccompanied women and children is paramount.”
Elzahra

My children were so confused, especially since we had lived in Darfur 2 years before and had to move to Khartoum because war broke out there. My eight-year-old daughter once looked at me and said “Momma, why is this happening again?” I couldn’t answer her. I didn’t have answers. My little one was also very afraid. He kept holding my leg and was so scared of noises. When we put the air conditioning on, sometimes we’d forget and panic thinking we were back in war.

My children are now in Egypt with my mother, but I had to come back to work in Sudan so we can continue with our response. We have no choice. I have never gone back to my house in Khartoum since the war started a year ago. This has made me very depressed. I can’t sleep now for more than 4 hours because I can’t adapt to sleeping in any place outside of my own house and room. I wish just to go see my house and my room.

Someone sent me a video of my house and everything has been looted. I have been forced to buy everything new – clothes and furniture – in Egypt and forget about everything in Khartoum. That is how I cope. I don’t want to remember because I will be sad. The first few months we couldn’t even eat but now we are slowly picking up the pieces.”

On Plan’s response

Twelve months since conflict erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April 2023, Sudan is facing one of the fastest unfolding crises globally, with unprecedented needs emerging in such a short period. About 25 million people – of whom over 14 million are children – need humanitarian assistance and support, making Sudan the largest child displacement crisis in the world.

Children continue to pay the highest price for a crisis not of their making. Increasingly with their own lives. Plan International is working to deliver life-saving assistance to children, especially girls, whose lives have been devastated by the Sudan crisis. We have a presence in 7 of 8 states in Sudan and our work has continued throughout the conflict.

“Protection needs especially among separated and unaccompanied women and children is paramount,” explains Elzahra.

Elzahra is responsible for leading 3 projects in White Nile State, on health, nutrition & water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and protection, catering for families who have relocated from Khartoum.

For the health project, we are operating clinics where internally displaced persons (IDP) can go to access services such as consultation for communicable and non-communicable diseases, child and maternal health, immunisation and reproductive health services.
There is currently the distribution of emergency contraceptives by the community to young women and girls in case they are attacked.
With our WASH project, we distribute WASH kits for families – buckets, soap, clothes, hygiene kits, sanitary pads and water tracking which bring water by trucks into communities each week. This activity is usually accompanied by hygiene awareness training so communities know how to treat the water, how to dispose of waste and keep latrines clean.

Lack of funds is making it hard to support all those who need it so additional funding is required to continue our work in areas such as nutrition, our project activities having come to an end in January.

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