Ariuntuya is no stranger to tragedy. Thirteen years ago, the 51-year-old lost both her legs in a car accident. She lost her much-loved husband some 10 years ago, and two years later her son tragically died in another car accident. Her immediate family gone, she now lives with her 15-year-old niece in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, making her living by sewing woollen slippers. Yet even this simple livelihood is now under threat due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Tourists, who were her primary customers, can no longer travel to Mongolia. After the country shut down to prevent the spread of the virus, many of her local customers stopped placing orders after losing their jobs. Without an income, Ariuntuya now relies on food parcels from the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS). “I appreciate the good gesture shown by the Red Cross in helping me and my family in a time I need them the most,” she said. Stories like Ariuntuya’s are playing out in homes all across Mongolia, a country which has not received global attention largely due to its relative success in tackling COVID-19. As of late September, only 313 COVID-19 cases and zero deaths were reported in the country. This was achieved through restrictions on movement and widespread prevention measures, such as the closure of borders and schools at the start of the pandemic. Though schools re-opened at the start of September, international flights have not resumed. These restrictions have led to significant socio-economic impacts and increased vulnerability among poor households. The World Bank’s Household Response Survey revealed the impact on the country’s poorest families in stark terms: nearly half of poor respondents had been uncertain about their ability to obtain food in the previous 30 days due to lack of money or rising prices; almost one in four (23%) were concerned about food security in the coming week; more than half (53%) said they were worried about their finances over the next month. Moreover, the report revealed that 12% of households experienced job losses, and 7% of households had to close their non-farm business. In response to this economic impact, the Mongolian Red Cross, together with the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), has been providing food and hygiene parcels to the most affected families. So far they have reached more than 3,000 households. Red Cross staff and volunteers are also part of the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19, distributing face-masks, conducting hygiene training and information sessions as well as providing psychosocial support. Secretary General of MRCS, Bolormaa Nordov, said the country’s economic situation was becoming more challenging every day. “These challenges directly lead to significant negative impact on social vulnerability and household livelihoods. IFRC’s COVID-19 operation provided timely support for the most vulnerable households during this pandemic.” Head of the IFRC’s East Asia support team, Gwendolyn Pang, said: “The impacts of COVID-19 in Mongolia are much greater than the limited number of infections and deaths in the country. At IFRC we always value the impact on human lives, more than the numbers.” “In the case of Mongolia, we try to reach out to the most vulnerable people in the most hard to reach communities with services and information that not only protect people from COVID-19 but alleviate the human suffering that is a tragic side effect of this pandemic.”

A decade ago it seemed like a dream could come true for Nafe Ahmad Khalifah from Syria. For two years he had worked long days making pastry in Thailand, hoping to one day have his own little bakery and house. In 2009, he finally returned home with enough savings to start building. “I came back to Syria with a small amount of money and a big dream to live there with my family for the rest of my days. I never thought I would have to leave again”, Nafe Ahmad Khalifah says. As Mr. Khalifah started to build his house and his business, the Syria crisis began. At first, he was not worried, just thought that it will be over in a few days. As those days turned into weeks and into months and finally into years, and there was no end at sight, fear took over him and his family. “One night, my firstborn daughter got so scared by the sounds of shooting nearby that all night she held onto me very tightly, refusing to let go. I still remember how desperate I felt when I realized that we have to leave.” The beginning of the year 2013 was very dark for the family: their house was destroyed in the conflict. The family fled to Jordan, where they were first taken to Zaatari refugee camp. It’s still difficult for Nafe Ahmad Khalifah to even talk about this time. “I was not even really living, just trying to survive and keep my family alive. This was the darkest period of my life.” After a few months the family was able to leave the camp and to live with some other Syrians in Amman. However, the conditions remained difficult. “We lived in very crowded places without privacy, our own space or windows, without enough warmth or light. We had small kids. I had no job and could not provide for my family. We only got by because of support from organisations, friends and relatives”, Mr. Khalifah explains. Formerly a baker by profession, Mr. Khalifah was hoping to find work in Jordan. “Preferably to have something to do with my hands, but I would have taken any job to support my family and make a living.” He had been cutting his friends’ hair to pass time, and got interested in becoming a barber, but all the courses were too expensive for him. Then one day he found an ad in Facebook about a free barbering course through the Jordan Red Crescent, supported by the IFRC and funded by the European Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, also known as the EU MADAD fund. Now Nafe Ahmad Khalifah is a proud graduate of that barbering course, and much more hopeful for the future than before. “Not only was this course like wonderful gift, and I hope that eventually I can make my living out of barbering, but I’m also very grateful for all the support I got from the Jordanian Red Crescent. They were the first ones in years that really listened to me, that made me feel like I exist again – that I am human”, Mr. Khalifah says. Together with his four children and his wife, Mr. Khalifah has quite recently moved to a small storage room inside of a parking hall in a residential building in Amman. As long as he cleans the garage and washes the cars of the residents, they are allowed to stay. “It’s not ideal, because I need to find time to also start practicing my barber skills and look for a job in a salon. But at least now my family has a roof over their heads, we have this tiny space for ourselves, and there is a window from which we see the sun. Finally, after many years of darkness, I’m hopeful and I can see some light." Photo and words by Mirva Helenius / IFRC

By Nora Peter, IFRC Evgenii Novikov gently sweeps snow from the base of one of his colourful beehives and starts to tell a story about how a tiny insect gave him back his life. When the former soldier returned to his hometown of Pavlograd from the conflict zone in Ukraine’s east, he found that everything had changed. There were no jobs, and his family, friends and neighbours did not understand what he had been through. “When servicemen return from the conflict zone, they bring a different mindset that is difficult for others to understand. This can result in mental health issues and a distance between them and their loved ones,” Evgenii explains. Evgenii, 56, was thrown a lifeline when the Red Cross told him about its livelihoods scheme. With five other former soldiers, he used a grant of 6,000 Swiss francs to buy 50 beehives and build up a business. “When you work on an apiary and devote yourself to beekeeping, you’ll start feeling better because you see a creature who works and does good. You can approach them only with love and they repay it in kind. “Bees work together as a family and make you understand that life never stops. If you adopt the same attitude and devote yourself to the work, your problems and sorrows eventually disappear.” Luckily, two members of the group had experience with bees. Evgenii became the manager of the company and handles administrative tasks, while the others do the manual work. He says there is a good demand for the honey from factories and local markets, and they plan to increase the number of beehives to 1,000 in a few years. But the bees provide more than just an income. “All the guys feel emotionally uplifted as a result. It improves their relationships with their families and their communities.” “We can become a good example for other people,” he concludes. Since the start of the conflict five years ago, more than 25,000 people in Ukraine has received support through the joint livelihoods scheme of the IFRC and the Ukrainian Red Cross in the form of food vouchers, small business grants or multipurpose cash grants.

By Mirabelle Enaka Kima, IFRC The long-awaited day has finally arrived: The lives of internally displaced persons in communities settled at the Zamai camp, in the Far North region of Cameroon are changing for the better. It was a sunny morning. The smiles on the faces of people at the Zamai IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp were already showing signs of their joy and excitement as Red Cross volunteers were getting set to start the distribution of farming aid and tools destined to support 150 people in farming activities. Clad in a special attire, Sherif Moussari is one of the people who received the grant at the Zamai settlement hosting 2562 IDPs. “I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Farming has always been my passion and my only source of income to cater for my family. I have not been able to work as I used to do back in my village, and this has affected me and my household. We have never been used to begging from others but being in a foreign land, with no means, we have been living thanks to the generosity of well-wishers.” Moussari hails from the Mayo Mouskota village in the Far north region of Cameroon. His village and many others along the border between Cameroon and Nigeria have, for the last few years, witnessed armed groups’ attacks, including kidnappings, killings, looting, burning of villages and theft of foodstuff. Moussari sought shelter at the Zamai camp two years ago, alongside his two wives and 12 children aged between two and 20. To survive in his new host environment, Moussari has been working in people’s farms and keeping the livestock of those who need that kind of service. “I do not earn money for the work I do. I am being paid with foodstuff, which helps me to feed my family. Sometimes when I have much food, I take part of it to the market and retail to be able to buy oil and in some rare occasions I buy meat. For the livestock, my contractor has promised to give me one small ram for each ram that delivers. If he keeps his promise, I should be able, in a few years to come to have my own livestock and start my own animal farm. I just have to be patient and keep working hard,” says Moussari A livelihood programme launched by the Cameroon Red Cross in three divisions of the affected Far North region, has mobilized 130 volunteers to support targeted families. These volunteers have been trained in farming and livestock techniques. “At the Zamai camp, we have trained 15 volunteers who in return have extended the training to 150 people supported by the project. Each volunteer will have to follow up a group of 10 people as the latter shall start the farming activities. The volunteers shall assist the families in each of the stages of the farming process; from the reception and distribution of the farming inputs to the preparation of soils, the seeding and plowing, watering fertilization and phytosanitary treatment,” explains Ichaga Saidou, IFRC food security and livelihood supervisor. Encouraged by Red Cross teams, most potential beneficiaries started a home garden as an experimental stage of the project and as a measure to test their level of commitment to carry out the agricultural project and be eligible to support. The pilot stage of the project was a success for the Moussari family who, in addition to the home garden, has already identified a piece of land measuring 50 square metres to start commercial gardening. “I am confident that with the support we received we will be more resilient and fully integrated in our new host community,” adds Moussari. “For 2019, as part of the project, there are plans to extend its actions to support river crops, in addition to commercial gardening and animal farm. However, the two major challenges faced by farmers remain the scarcity of arable land and limited access to water. Most of the land given to displaced families is arid and unproductive and the problem of drying water points is a general concern in the region,” concludes Saidou. The ongoing project supported by the IFRC and the Swedish Red Cross intends to improve the livelihoods of 540 internally displaced persons and host communities in targeted Mora, Mokolo and Maroua localities through agriculture and livestock farming. The overall intervention is part of the lake Chad basin initiative to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable IDPs from armed conflicts who live in dire conditions in settlements and host families.