Nhial Deng: Mother’s Medical Expenses

Hi - my name is Nhial Deng and I am living in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya - for a decade now. I got detached from my parents and younger siblings when our village in Ethiopia (where my father had settled after fleeing Sudan's brutal civil war nearly half a century ago) was attacked in 2010.

My mother moved back to South Sudan with my siblings after that incident but were forced out of the country in early 2014 when the civil war in the country erupted. They now live in a small town in Ethiopia near the South Sudan border. I got connected to her when she came to Gambella to seek medical treatment for her eye infection.

Last year, her condition worsened and I have been able to put some money together to send her to Gambella again to seek medical treatment in late January this year. We were referred to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa where she is now awaiting eye surgery.

As a refugee in Kenya, I am not allowed to seek formal employment or move away from Kakuma Refugee Camp to find work. Hence, I have very little access to income-generating and entrepreneurial opportunities. Living in a protracted crisis has hindered my economic activities since I arrived in Kenya, such that I was unable to build any savings and somehow depend on humanitarian assistance. I will only be able to pay for her full medical and travel expenses back to Matar with your generous support. Her medical and travel expenses are amounting to around USD 2,700.

My mother looks up to me as her first-born and I thank you very much for enabling me to support her during this difficult time.