Eight-year old Amir's parents have wonderful memories of their life in Homs, Syria before the war: “We remember our home and how we used to live – going to the souks and shopping. We felt safe. We were really living.”

It was in the middle of the night when the conflict erupted in a village in the Konzo Zone of Ethiopia that forced 40-year-old Makito, her family and many of her neighbours to flee for their lives. The conflict took everything they had from them: their livestock looted, their home destroyed, and their harvest and village burned down.

Masresha Mitiku, Senior Cash Transfer Officer at IRC Ethiopia, gives insight into the challenges of her work, what keeps her going, and how cash relief has proven to be a lifeline for displaced families during the COVID-19 pandemic.