FALMATA'S JOURNEY
The life-changing impact a mosquito net made for a family
FLEEING FOR THEIR LIVES
31-year-old Falmata is originally from Nigeria. She now lives in Minawao camp in Cameroon with her seven children and her husband.
Her husband was one of the few men to survive Boko Haram attacks on their village in 2017. These attacks forced them to flee their home and seek refuge in the camp.
Falmata said the violence was like a bad film she will never forget:
I still have the memory of the day, the hour, and what I was doing. They destroyed our village with bombs and other things. I was in the kitchen and when I went to the living room, nobody was there. I started crying and I took a bag with some clothes then I ran as fast as I could.
Fortunately, after a few hours, Falmata found her husband with her children hiding in the bush. Her husband had fled with the children knowing that if he had been caught he would have been killed.
A DAILY STRUGGLE
Falmata said they were happy to arrive in Minawao Camp as a whole family but they knew that things were now different from how they used to live
The family was provided with a ShelterBox tent which gave them some privacy and they felt warm inside when it rained. But the rains also brought mosquitoes, and Falmata’s children would get sick from the mosquito bites.
Just like her neighbours, Falmata’s children suffered from malaria a lot. She tried different techniques to get rid of them, but they never worked.
My husband and I tried so many times to find solutions against the mosquito bites. In my village, we used fire wood smoke. But we could not do it here because of the material of the tents.
[envira-gallery id=”11466″]
PROTECTION AT LAST
Falmata and her family were given vital aid items from ShelterBox, which included a mosquito net. She said they were a great relief to her.
She said that she pays special attention to the use of her nets, using them anytime somebody wants to rest during the day or sleep in the night. “Whenever someone wants to sleep, I make sure the person is well covered by the net.”
Falmata said she feels better knowing that her family are protected from Malaria and is grateful to the donors who have helped to provide this aid.
Your support makes a transformative impact for families around the world. Thank you for ensuring families have protection from mosquitoes that carry deadly diseases, so they can feel safe at night and get the rest they need to recover. This is how your support helps families rebuild their lives after disaster and conflict.
The difference is clear now that when we use mosquito nets there is less malaria. We are grateful to ShelterBox and we just pray that you keep thinking about our needs to help us have better living conditions.