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Our beautiful life returns

The aerial bombardment and repeated clashes in Al-Muton district, Al-Jawf Govern. caused extensive damage to infrastructure and heavy losses

July 9, 2020 · 3 min read

The aerial bombardment and repeated clashes in Al-Muton district, Al-Jawf Govern. caused extensive damage to infrastructure and heavy losses in the lives of citizens. Their properties from homes, shops, and farms were destructed, which aggravated the humanitarian situation in the region and displaced more than 1444 families from their original areas, either to areas within the Governorate or areas outside.

After more than three years of displacement, war and clashes in the area stopped. Therefore; some families, who could no longer bear the costs associated with their displacement, decided to return to their former houses. However, these families were unable to pay the costs of restoring and repairing their homes, which called for immediate shelter intervention to save the lives of innocent civilians and to provide cash grants to rehabilitate their damaged homes. The initial survey conducted by the Building Foundation for Development (BFD) of the damaged houses in the district showed that there were more than 390 damaged houses in which some were totally destructed and others were partially and slightly damaged.

Salaha Noran, a 50-year-old widow, is one of the beneficiaries of the rehabilitation activity of the damaged houses. She took care of 3 sons and 5 daughters after her husband passed away 10 years ago. She and her family live in a 550 m2 house made of mud that is located in the Al-Adbah district in Al-Muton Village. She received a valid sum of (3585.87 $) as a cash aid to repair and rehabilitate her damaged home.

“On a gloomy night,” she says, “we heard the sounds of explosions. The war was tough and even though we tried to hold on and not to leave the house, the roof crumbled on our heads and we had to run for our lives. We left everything behind in our damaged house along with our broken hearts. From that night to the present day, life has been tough with us. Three years have passed since that catastrophe, and we have moved to several governorates trying to survive and living in rental houses. We had to sell all of our jewelry in order to pay the accumulated rent.”

She explains, “Today we return to our home after we have heard that the village is safe and secured. However, we were shocked to see the destruction happened to our house and farms. I had no choice but to live with my children in two rooms which were not totally destroyed, but I was always afraid that the remains of the house would fall over our heads. I also had my worries about how to earn money in order to repair this house and bring peace and safety to my kids’ hearts.”

Building Foundation for Development (BFD) and the Yemeni Humanitarian Fund (YHF) rushed to rescue the affected people in Al-Muton district of Al-Jawf Governorate by distributing a range of monetary assistance, technical support, and training for the restoration and rehabilitation of their homes which were 134 houses in total.

Now more than 153 families (1205 individuals), including Salaha Nuran, have been able to return home, live in safety and dignity and ensure their long-term return to their safe residential homes.