In Togo, HI supports victims of armed violence in the Sahel region

A life turned upside down by armed conflict

Kati is originally from northern Togo. A few years ago, she left her village with her husband and children to settle in a neighbouring town in Burkina Faso. Like many rural families, they were looking for more fertile land for their farming activities.
There, the couple grew millet, maize and soya beans. The harvests were good and allowed them to live with dignity. Life seemed stable.
But one day, everything changed. Armed groups attacked the village, forcing the inhabitants to flee.

"The terrorists attacked our village, and everyone fled. We were forced to come back here to Togo," says Kati.

In a matter of hours, the family lost their land, their crops and the stability they had spent years building. They returned to their home village in Togo, where they now live in the small house her husband had built.

A precarious situation

Back in their village, Kati and her family are trying to rebuild their lives. Today, their house is home to nearly twenty people: relatives who have also fled the violence.
Their living conditions are difficult, with very limited financial resources. They live mainly from agriculture. But access to fields has become one of their biggest challenges. The plots they have access to are very small and not very fertile, and sometimes the owners take back their fields without warning, plunging the family into uncertainty from one season to the next.
The last harvest was very poor and only provided enough to feed the household for a few weeks.

Fighting to survive

Kati's husband left the village to find work elsewhere to support his family, but without success.
Kati is now solely responsible for the family. To meet their daily needs, she has taken on several jobs. She collects sand from the backwater to sell and contributes to a communal fund.
Thanks to her modest savings, she was able to start a small business to earn an income: selling spices at the village market. It is a modest activity, but it allows her to provide daily food for her family.

Support from Humanity & Inclusion (HI) provides relief

To meet the needs of host communities and displaced populations in northern Togo, HI has implemented an assistance project targeting the most vulnerable households.
It was within this framework that Kati was identified as a beneficiary. She received a voucher that could be exchanged at partner retailers and was able to freely choose the essential products she needed.

"We took the vouchers and went to retailers to exchange them for rice, corn, salt, tomatoes, sugar... We were the ones who chose what we wanted. This project has helped me a lot," explains Kati.

This assistance enabled her to meet her immediate food needs and live with a little more security.

In northern Togo and Benin, HI is implementing the PRUBB project, funded by the European Union, to strengthen the resilience of communities affected by violence and insecurity. The project includes psychosocial support, assistance for vulnerable people, financial aid and protection for children at risk of violence. Since April 2024, 1,153 people have received psychosocial support and 12,871 have received financial assistance. The project will ultimately support more than 26,000 people.

*Name changed for security reasons.