Maryam's Story
How climate change forced her to flee her home in search of food and clean water
“There is no looking back. The place we left doesn’t have food and water.”
— Maryam, 15
At 15 years old, Maryam was forced to make the impossible decision of leaving behind her home and her own mother. All in hopes of finding enough food and water for herself and her 10 younger siblings.
Maryam’s home country is Somalia, where at least 7 million people don’t have access to enough food — let alone nourishing food — they need to thrive.
As many as 213,000 children and their families are one step away from famine-like conditions. In 2022 alone, more than a million people, mainly women and children, were forced to leave their homes in search of food due to failed rainy seasons year after year.
Every year, drought dries up more and more of the resources families — like Maryam’s — desperately need to survive.
Maryam had enough — she couldn’t continue to watch her siblings suffer.
She knew she had to flee, but still faced an even harder decision no daughter should ever have to face: Leaving her sick mother behind, alone, with no food.
“My mother had a leg injury. She couldn’t dare to take the risk knowing the suffering. I’m worried for my mother. She doesn't have anything to eat.”
— Maryam, 15
Maryam knew she had to act quickly. So, she gathered her five sisters, five brothers, and her family’s livestock. With nothing more, they started walking towards Kaharey, a humanitarian aid centre Maryam had only heard about.
That was their only hope.
Before the journey even began, Maryam was already familiar with how hunger and thirst felt: a growling stomach, low energy, dizziness, problems focusing, and more. Still, nothing could have prepared her for the extremely difficult walk ahead of her:
“We spent three days on the road. While on the road, our donkey cart broke. We lost some livestock on our way and left others behind. It was horrible.”
— Maryam, 15
For Maryam’s family, their livestock was everything they had. A source of transportation, a source of income should they need to sell, a potential meal if worse came to worst.
And just when one might wonder... Could this journey get any more difficult? Maryam shares how three litres of water from nearby families was just enough for their survival:
“Several of our children collapsed from thirst and had to be rescued by nearby families who provided us with three litres of water in order to keep us going.”
— Maryam, 15
Despite all odds, Maryam and her younger siblings made it to the Kaharey centre, where World Vision is providing food vouchers and cash to 38,000 displaced families in Somalia every month, in partnership with the World Food Programme.
Maryam had just enough strength to flee and lead her younger siblings to safety. Now that she is at the aid centre, she has just enough food and clean water to sustain her.
Finding refuge doesn’t mean child refugees are safe.
Today, Maryam and her siblings are as safe as they can be, but they’re still at heightened risk of violence as unaccompanied children on the move.
The climate crisis is one of the issues, like conflict and cost inflation, that is fueling today’s hunger crisis. Multiple years of drought have made it impossible for farmers to grow food. When families don’t have enough water for their crops and livestock, they can’t provide enough nutritious food for their families.
Maryam misses her mother and hopes for them to be reunited soon: “Mum will likely join us. There is no way to look back.”
Besides seeing her mother, Maryam has big dreams for the future:
“I want to study and go to school. I aspire to be a teacher and study everything.”
— Maryam, 15
Hunger forced Maryam from her home, tore apart her family, and put her education on the line. We say: ENOUGH.
Now is the time to stand with children like Maryam. Help us amplify their stories.
Add your name to our petition and learn more ways to take action.
Let’s keep this movement going, until there is enough.
