“If not for WFP intervention I can assure you that my entire life would have been ruined following what we suffered during the insurgency”
It is a hot Wednesday afternoon; the sun was up with the weather men forecasting 39 degrees Celsius for Gujba general area. Mohammed Ali Goge, sat happily surrounded by members of his family as he tell his story of near death experience, hunger and starvation as well as how WFP intervention provided him and his family with succor.
Ali Goge with his family members narrating his story during an interview with CCDRN Team in Gujba, Yobe state. Picture: CCDRN
Even though, he was scheduled to be out doing some menial job for livelihood support, the willing prospect, after hearing that WFP representatives from CCDRN were coming for an interview led him to abandon his schedules. Mohammed Ali Goge is eager to narrate how WFP lifesaving intervention changed things for him and his household. For the first time since he was displaced by the Boko Haram crisis, Ali-Goge really revel in recounting his ordeal.
Doksa, Biu LGA, of Borno state where Ali-Goge hailed from was overrun by the militant Boko haram sect at the apex of the conflict. His immediate elder brother was viciously slaughtered by the sect, leaving him with no option. He knew that he has to escape with his family or face similar fate as his brother. The journey was however, tortuous and full of anguish. This was how Ali-Goge lost his home and source of livelihood.
“The boko haram insurgency affected me so much. My brother was slaughtered by the insurgents. After seeing the carnage, we had to escape at night. We set out at about 3 AM in the morning hiding under darkness and walked about 120 kilometers in the bush before getting to Biu but the situation was almost the same there in Biu, I quickly did a detour, managed to get a vehicle heading for Kano and with the money I had left, we ran to Kano” says Ali-Goge . “In kano no help came our way. We suffered a great deal of hunger and starvation. Though I was doing laborer’s job but it was barely enough to provide for my family”
The situation got even worst. Sometimes, we had to stay for 3 to 4 days without food and when I heard that normalcy had returned, I moved my family to Yobe. That is how I came to live in Buni Gari here in Gujba as an IDP” He continued
Though, Ali-Goge was strong and able bodied. In Buni Gari, he often goes out in search of jobs in farms and markets; it was not enough to feed his family. Most evenings during those trying times, his wives and children go to bed on an empty stomach.
“The day I came to Buni Gari, it was really tough. We sheltered somewhere around the markets and a few community members helped us with grains and other food items. My children were all looking sick and badly emaciated. I was famished myself.” He said
Ali Goge kept faith. His hopes for survival were legendary, though not knowing when or where help will come from. To feed, he and his family were depending on few vegetables and grains they could salvage from left overs in farms after harvest. The situation was critical and hunger was unbearable. He managed to rent a small house for the family, but all his children of school age were still unable to go to school due to lack of the means to do so.
“Before the intervention we were just depending on a few vegetables we can get and left over from farms. Anything we can just pick together for the children to have something to put in their belly was my uttermost concern” says Ali-Goge
One week after his arrival at Buni Gari, WFP’s GFD was underway at Buni yadi. Though, Ali Goge had no card to qualify him for collection. He went anyway and some beneficiaries that got their own ration then helped him with little grains and he waited patiently. During the next retargeting phase, he was captured as a beneficiary and since then, things have changed for him and his family. To him, it was like a dream. WFP was a savior in time of great need.
“Fortunately I got my own card which miraculously guaranteed our feeding on a monthly basis. WFP intervention helped us a lot because the monthly food ration we were getting then was a life saver. I don’t know how it would have been if this intervention from WFP did not come. In fact I don’t want to imagine it” he said. Adding that “This intervention saved my life and that of my family because, if it had not come when it did, I wonder how it would have been now but I assure you that life would have been terrible. I had no brothers or sisters to help me. Only a few well-wishers then, came to our aid”
Ali Goge and family experienced a major turnaround. Gradually, life started changing for him and his family. Since food was no longer a problem as it was before, he is now able to save a little from his job as laborer on market days to cater for other needs.
“I was able to save money from my other menial labor to handle other family needs. As soon as I started receiving the intervention, I had some extra money to pay for hospital bills and other necessities and that is why I must appreciate WFP. If not for WFP intervention I can assure you that my entire life would have been ruined following what we suffered during the insurgency” Says Ali Goge
Progressively, Ali Goge is regaining his means of support since he no longer worry about feeding problem for his family. Given the food aid he is getting from WFP, he now channels his extra income to supporting his children through school. He wants he children to get some education so that they can now support him and the rest of his family later in life.
“I even have the feeling that the intervention benefited I and my family the most. Through the intervention, since I no longer worry about what they will eat that much, I used the money I save to send my children to school. I am an
IDP here that couldn’t afford to feed my family some years ago, and now, 5 of my children are in school. If not for this intervention how can I even feed them talk more of sending them to school?
“My best story from this intervention is how it has helped me to stand on my feet to be able to do other things to send my children to school. When we left Doksa, we lost everything and now in this place where I am just an IDP, WFP has contributed immensely in giving me a fresh start. Now I have rest of mind, I can go and do some laborer job and save to take care of other needs” says Ali-Goge.
From GFD, WFP shifted to Cash Based Transfer (CBT). This phase of the intervention helped beneficiaries to be in charge of making choices as to the kind of food they need. For Ali Goge and others, when the news came for the transfer from GFD to CBT, anxiety and apprehension naturally set in initially, not knowing what to expect but the disquiet gave way to joy when its implementation kicked off.
“In fact, when the GFD intervention was to be phased out, we were told to come for capturing again. Although we were anxious but none of us understand how it will happen. We were just praying and hoping. Then one day we were called upon that those with cards should come forward. We did and behold we were given varieties of food” he said. “It was like a dream. At a point we were told that we have now been rerouted to shops via the CBT intervention. We went to the shops and truly we were given items worth our card tokens and since then it has been really wonderful. WFP has helped to turn things around for us. We now have varieties to eat.Ali Goge added
“Even though it is not so much as we would want, it is going round and I can assure you that compared to our previous situation what WFP did for us seems as if we are in paradise. If not for this intervention my life would have been in tartars
Beyond food support, Ali Goge and his family are still benefitting from WFP’s Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme (BSFP). One among his two wives who is pregnant and the other who is breastfeeding have been getting nutritional supplement via the BSFP intervention. She also shared her experience
”I have been accessing this intervention since I gave birth to my child for about 13 months now. When they started enrolling beneficiaries for BSFP, I was able to enroll and got a card. It has helped me a lot. I have quality breast milk and my child is growing very strong. This has helped to improve the nutrition of my one other child who is under the age of five”.
Ali Goge and his family have a word for WFP and it is a word of appreciation.“This WFP has become our mother and our father. My message to them is prayers to God to keep blessing everyone behind the organization. I remain grateful to WFP. Every month, as soon as I return with food from the intervention my entire family feels elated. WFP to us is a savior” he added
