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CAR + 1 more

Returnees rebuild their lives, back at home

In the Central African Republic (CAR), a main obstacle for return of displaced people has been the destruction of their homes after they had initially fled. With the support of their community and our teams, displaced people can finally return home. CAR has been mired in crisis since 2013, when the Muslim-dominated ex-Seleka coalition took power, provoking violent clashes with the predominantly Christian anti-balaka group. This led to intercommunity violence, deeply affecting the southern province of Ndjoukou. Schools, health centres and houses were looted and burned by armed groups. People fled with few items, and everything they left behind was lost.

In this southern region of CAR, many people became refugees by crossing the river and entering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is the case of Audrey and Marguerite, two women who left their village in 2014 after armed clashes broke out. After calm was restored in 2015, they returned home only to find their houses seriously damaged.

Both were selected by our organisation to benefit from house reconstruction support, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). We were able to provide building materials, and pay masons to rebuild the house.

Audrey lived in an abandoned house in a state of very advanced ruin while her husband was looking for a job in Sibut, the main town of the province. “I had to stay there; there was no alternative to have a roof''. With her new house, Audrey can finally begin to look beyond today and make plans: “As soon as I have some money, I will extend the house, because I want to have children in the future”.