Lalla, a 40-year old mother to six, was forced to flee with her family when conflict broke out. Now living on the outskirts of Meneka, a town in the southeast of Mali, she talks about what she's gone through, how the IRC is helping, and why she never fails to smile.

Kaltouma is determined to keep on surviving for her children, and dreams of a future when her community returns to peace.

On 30 May 2023, 40-year-old Raouda gave birth to her third child, a healthy baby boy called Abdelrahim Arba Zackaria. Only two weeks before the birth, she did not think she would see her child be born alive. “What if I went into labor in the bush with my [toddler] strapped to my back? How would I manage?”