Dabaya Nasser (20), her husband and her son Dehalit (8 months) arrived in the Doro refugee camp in Bunj (the capital of Mabaan County in South Sudan), after six days of walking. They fled their hometown Balduck in Sudan due to increasing violence.
Today, her family and six other families from her community are living within the Doro camp. “The living conditions are difficult,” says Dabay. “We only survive thanks to humanitarian aid.” During the day, Dabaya leaves her sons at her sister’s tent and tries to sell some weaving work to support her family. In Blue Nile, she was from a wealthy family; she had her own properties.
In October, Dahalit, her only child, was integrated into Handicap International’s stimulation sessions programme. “We assessed the boy along with a number of other children and diagnosed him with a developmental delay,” says programme manager Laurène Deglaire. “Her baby is 8 months old but his developmental condition is around 6 months. If we hadn’t intervened, his situation could have got much worse. He may even have been disabled for life.”
Dahalit has now participated in five stimulation sessions. “Since then, his condition has improved remarkably,” says his mother. “I’m also very grateful that Handicap International showed me how to do stimulation exercises with him at ‘home’. Soon he will be fully recovered.”