By Laura Brookes (Canadian Foodgrains Bank)

In Yemen, years of conflict, extreme weather, repeated disease outbreaks, collapsing services, and a failing economy have pushed families into a severe hunger crisis. Yet, in places like Taiz, the efforts of Canadian Foodgrains Bank (through the local Yemeni partner* of Foodgrains Bank member The Alliance) are making a meaningful difference, providing vital food assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs) living through crisis.

For IDP camp resident Ali*, his wife, and their eight children, the arrival of the first food basket restored their hope. The family has been displaced multiple times by conflict, and every time, Ali brought the family’s sheep to preserve their livelihood. But one day while grazing his sheep, Ali was struck by a landmine and his leg had to be amputated. This was a tragedy for the family, as Ali – the sole breadwinner – was now unable to work.

When frontline staff from the Yemeni partner organization arrived at his camp with the first of eight monthly food baskets, it brought Ali and his family a moment of joy amid the chaos.

“I feel sad for the children when they go without food and fall asleep without eating anything,” said Ali. “However, you have made our children happy and brought joy and smiles to their hearts. Thank you very much. I hope that this wonderful work continues, as we need this basket more than ever.”

Life in an IDP camp is incredibly hard, yet despite being unable to work, Ali continues to do all he can to lighten the burdens his family – and other families in the camp – are carrying.

One of these is the widespread health problems affecting residents (particularly children) in Ali’s camp, stemming from water scarcity, lack of proper sanitation facilities, and waste build up. When one of Ali’s children developed a severe skin infection, he participated in a hygiene awareness session hosted by local partner staff, and was moved to take action.

The former shepherd began guiding his family to regularly wash their hands with soap, set a basket outside his tent to separate waste, and created a small handwashing station labelled ‘Hygiene Corner – Start with Yourself.’ Initially Ali’s neighbours were skeptical, but when they noticed the number of infections among children start to decrease in his part of the camp, they began to encourage him.

Soon after, Ali and his wife launched a weekly ‘Hygiene Hour,’ inviting residents to clean shared spaces every Friday, collect waste, and bury it in designated pits far from their tents. As he puts it: “Hygiene does not just protect us from diseases, it is a social responsibility.” Since Ali started his initiative, bad odors have decreased, complaints of skin diseases have significantly declined, and the camp residents have started to feel a sense of pride in their hygiene standards.

Even in his hardest moments, Ali continues to work for the good of his family and community – embodying what it means to find joy even in chaos.

*Partner name not included and pseudonym used in story for security reasons.