Why start a project in Yemen?
Yemen has been embroiled in a multilateral Civil War since late 2014, mainly between the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi-led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies; both of which claim to be the legitimate government of the country. Seven years of a military stalemate, along with counter-terrorism airstrikes from the United States within the country, has and continues to take a heavy toll on Yemeni civilians. The current situation has been cited by the UN as the world’s “worst humanitarian disaster.” UNICEF says that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen “represents a tragic convergence of four threats: a violent and protracted conflict, economic devastation, social services on the brink of collapse, including health, nutrition, water sanitation, education, protection; and a critically underfunded UN system;” and the situation is only further deteriorating. Estimates on the situation cite that approximately 56% of deaths in Yemen since the start of the Civil War are the result of indirect causes, such as food insecurity and lack of access health services. Nearly twenty-five million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance; with 50,000 people experiencing famine-like conditions, and another 5 million on the brink of famine. An estimated 2.3 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, including 400,000 who are at risk of dying without treatment, according to the UN. Additionally, one out of every two people in the country do not have access to safe water and medical services are severely understaffed or non-existent in certain regions.
Projects
Providing aid for child wastepickers in Yemen
The Unforgotten has recently launched a new project in Yemen aimed at assisting child wastepickers in the Capital City of Sana’a. We have been able to identify 5 children between the ages of 8 and 15 years old, who are currently working as wastepickers to assist their families. This group consists of three boys and two girls who are not currently enrolled in school. The Unforgotten Board decided to send emergency funds to jump start the program and enroll the children in school when classes began in December.
The children are thrilled to be part of this program and finally attend school. The program is currently being managed by an in-country staff member, who was able to enroll the students, buy them supplies and uniforms, and is checking on their education every week. Additionally, the program provides food assistance to the children while they are in school and is helping to support the families with a small monthly stipend to cover the lost wages of the children.
We are currently in the process of starting a transportation project to help the children reach school safely. We will be purchasing The Unforgotten branded bicycles for the boys to use in their daily commute to and from school. We will also be providing monthly maintenance, safety gear, and locks to ensure continuous usage of the bikes.
As the program progresses we anticipate increasing the number of children we can provide outreach to, and begin tutoring services to ensure the students are at grade level. There is also the potential to further assist these families with medical and emergency expenses the due to their living conditions.
Personal Stories
Some of the children in the program have shared their stories with staff on the ground, detailing their daily lives as wastepickers and their hope for a brighter future:
Maram
“My name is Maram, I am 12 years old. I live with my family (four siblings and my parents) in a small shelter. My parents work as wastepickers and I’ve been picking wastes with my parents since I was a child. I go through the garbage looking for plastic pieces to sell to a recycling firm for roughly Y.R 200/day (80 cents per day). My parents are pleased with my work since I assist my family to survive. I barely stayed in school for one year before dropping out to help my family. I hope that I will be able to return to school and learn with other children. My dream is to become a teacher to help other children or a physician in who can relieve patients’ agony. I think I rather prefer being a doctor!”
Rwaida
“My name is Rwaida, I am 11 years old. I am the youngest child in my family. My father hasn’t received his salary for several years; so he and my mother have started looking for other jobs to help us survive. I help my parents by picking the valuable scraps from the garbage and selling them. I can earn around 100 to 170 Y.R/day (40 to 70 cents per day).”
Mohammad
“My name is Mohammad, I am 9 years old. We are displaced from [our home] due to the war. My parents have to pay the monthly rent for our house. My father worked as a wastepicker, but he stopped working due to his recent sickness so we lost our only income source so I have to help my family doing what my father used to do. I pick up the wastes. After that, I collect some pieces to sell them and gain from Y.R 100 to 300 /day [40 cents to $1.20 per day]. My parents didn’t ask me to work but I feel like I had to participate in my family’s living expenses. I hope to go school and study to be a police officer in the future.”
If you are interested in donating to this new program please visit our Donation Page
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