Nduta-Nyarugusu: widows and single mothers face many difficulties

The Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps in Tanzania host at least 9,860 widows and single mothers including several of them who say they are facing multiple difficulties because they take care of their children alone, in very difficult conditions that complicate life even for the rest of the refugee community. They are asking for help.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to data provided by the UNHCR, these women take care of children, including orphans, whose number is estimated at 16,234. Single mothers say they cannot afford enough food, school supplies to give their children, let alone means to get them medical care.

They are calling on the UNHCR, the Tanzanian government and other humanitarian organizations to come to their aid. Aid workers say they are not able to help all these women.

“We have the means and capacity to take care of only 3,560 women out of the 9,860 who need help,” says Musa Manka. He is a representative of the NGO Help Age in Nduta. The organization assists widows, orphans, the elderly and the disabled in the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps.

Children cared for by single and widowed mothers in Nduta, October 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)

The Tanzanian authorities, however, continue to repeat that “all categories of refugees must return to be taken care of at home because peace reigns in their country.”

The Nduta and Nyarugusu camps located in northwestern Tanzania are home to more than 58,000 Burundian refugees and more than 110,000 refugees respectively, including more than 50,000 Burundians, the rest being Congolese.

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A disabled mother in need of help in raising her children in a Burundian refugee camp in Tanzania, October 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)