When Salem, 39, and his family of six became sick with cholera, they didn’t know what had hit them. As a fisherman by trade, he thought the fish he had brought home might have caused them to fall ill.

When you have gone without care, you make it your mission to heal.

Samira*’s children are the center of her world. In her hometown in northeast Syria, she spends her days taking care of her children, preparing food, and cleaning the house. Two of her children go to kindergarten in the morning, while the youngest one stays home. After her husband returns home from his job as a school teacher, they sometimes go outdoors to spend time together as a family.

By the time mothers bring their malnourished children to the IRC health facility in the Imvepi refugee settlement, in the north-west part of Uganda, they are often deeply worried because their child is in an extremely weakened state. As the IRC nutrition assistant that meets them, Esther, 28, gives hope to these mothers, letting them know she is there to support their child and to help provide the critical care they need.