In a displacement camp outside Port Sudan, Baderia holds her baby daughter close.
Before conflict escalated, doctors were preparing for urgent surgery to treat her daughter’s brain tumor. Appointments were scheduled and the family was counting down the days.
Then fighting spread across the region, and the plans for surgery stopped.
As fighting spread, the family fled for safety and became separated in the chaos. Since arriving at the camp, Baderia has been caring for her daughter alone in a place where shelter is temporary and medical care is out of reach.
“The nights are the hardest,” she says quietly. “I ask myself, what can I do?”
She had been counting down the days until surgery. Now she counts the days watching for changes, listening to her daughter’s breathing, and wondering how long they will have to wait.
With surgery postponed, Baderia’s focus was on keeping her daughter as strong as possible.
Nutritious food is essential to sustain her small body, and clean drinking water reduces the risk of additional illnesses.
Through International Relief Teams’ emergency response efforts in Sudan, families like Baderia’s are receiving food, clean water and other basic support while they wait for the medical care their children urgently need.