A New Home and a Helping Hand

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A New Home and a Helping Hand

Kora - Voices of Refugees in West and Central Africa, 14 Jun 2015

URL: http://kora.unhcr.org/new-home-helping-hand/
After fleeing violence in the Central African Republic, Jacob’s family find a new home in Chad, where generous locals have greeted them warmly.

Time seems to have stopped in Dilingala, a sleepy farming village in southern Chad. But for many local residents, including 40-year-old Nicolas, life is forever changing. The violence ravaging the Central African Republic, just 50 kilometres from here, spilled over into Dilingala a year ago. Now, Nicolas hosts a refugee family whose home was burnt down, their cattle and property stolen. “People from Central Africa are our brothers,” he says. “They gave us shelter when our own country was at war. We owe them hospitality.”

“They gave us shelter when our own country was at war. We owe them hospitality.”

Nicolas has turned over one his eight cabins to a refugee family: Jacob, his two wives, their five children and his mother. They are restarting their lives with the help of Nicolas and other local villagers, as well as UNHCR and its partners. “With nine other households, we constitute a grouping,” Jacob explains, smiling. “We received from the Lutheran World Fund [LWF, a UNHCR partner] two oxen, a plough and a cart, and a set of axes and sickles. During the rainy season, we use the oxen in turns to plough our fields.”

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