Cash for Neloumta

"The floods destroyed everything," says Neloumta. 

Torrential rains poured down on N'Djaména, the capital of Chad, in June 2022. The Chari and Logone rivers overflowed their banks, flooding parts of the city, drowning livestock and destroying more than 2,200 hectares of farmland in a nation where the authorities had just declared a food emergency. 

Overall, 41,000 people were forcibly displaced in N'Djaména alone, with another 69,000 people affected elsewhere in the country -- like Neloumta, whose house collapsed under the force of the rains.  

"I have a lot of difficulties in my life," says Neloumta. "I have a disability following childbirth. I spent 3 years lying down without walking. I lost the mobility in my feet but, thank God, I'm standing now. 

"After my husband died in 2009, my brother-in-law took me and my children in," she continues. "He allowed us to build a bedroom and a living room. But the flood destroyed everything. I didn't know where to go or what to do, so I'm currently staying at the host site." 

Humanitarian actors in N'Djaména have mobilised, affirming that those affected by the floods would urgently need shelter, food security, water sanitation and hygiene -- and cash transfers to enable them to buy food, send their children to school, or resume income-generating activities to support their families. 

In partnership with Global Affairs Canada through the Humanitarian Coalition, Oxfam Quebec has responded to the urgent needs of disaster victims in Neloumta's community in N'Djaména. Oxfam Québec is committed to meeting the water, hygiene, sanitation and food security needs of disaster victims in Chad, including the distribution of essential household kits, support for the repair of damaged latrines and sanitation structures in schools, material support for vulnerable households to repair shelters, and awareness-raising sessions on good hygiene practices to reduce the risk of exposure to diseases that can result from flooding. 

Oxfam Québec's support has enabled Neloumta to re-establish her trading activities and pay off expenses that were weighing on her. She is now able to support herself -- and her children.