Durable Shelters Bring Security to Displaced Families on Yemen’s West Coast

Al Makha – The day Jameelah, her husband and two sons fled for their lives is a day she will never forget.  

“Shells and bullets were falling on us and we had no choice but to leave our homes. We knew we were in danger and needed to get to a safer place.” 

“We were forced to leave without anything, except the clothes we were wearing. We even left our animals,” she said, adding that her family’s farm was eventually destroyed.  

When they fled, Jameelah was unsure where she should take her family. They had no place to go and no relatives to stay with.  

They eventually made it to a town called Al Haima in their home governorate of Al Hodeidah. 

They built a small shelter with whatever materials they could find near some trees for shade and protection. 

They believed their displacement would be temporary, but this hope faded with time.  Jameelah and her family became some of the 4 million people who are displaced in Yemen today. 

“Our life here is much worse than in our old home. We have needs and we can hardly afford a meal,” said Jameelah, who fondly remembers her old home that gave her family protection and safety. 

Urgent humanitarian needs are difficult among displaced people in Yemen. Many struggle to find work that can pay a decent income, further deepening food insecurity among families.  

Without the means to afford durable materials, most have no option but to live in inadequate shelters. 

“When we first arrived, our shelter was not good enough to protect us from insects or the weather,” she recalled. 

Six months ago, she had the chance to improve her family’s living conditions through IOM’s transitional shelter programme. 

Unlike tents, transitional shelters have wooden poles that support the walls and make them stand strong against harsh weather conditions.  The door to the shelter gives families more privacy and the windows allow for better ventilation and lighting. 

After suffering greatly from instability and exposure to harsh weather, Jameelah’s new shelter has provided a more stable home for her family to stay. 

“This shelter is strong and big enough to fit us all. It protects my family from wind and rain that comes from every direction,” said Jameelah, describing how the new shelter improved their lives. 

Like Jameelah, Fouad fled with his family from their home in Al Hodeidah to this area to seek safety. Late last year, he also benefitted from a new transitional shelter.  

“This is not like our previous home. It’s a safer place to sleep. Now, we do not have to worry about where we will stay every night," explained Fouad. 

Fouad and Jameelah’s families are some of the more than 600 people who moved into prefabricated wooden shelters on Yemen’s West Coast last year. 

An additional 600 people benefited from a different kind of shelter modality in which displaced community members are provided with cash to purchase sustainable materials such as wood, hay and rope.  

Community members then come together to build the new shelters after undergoing training from IOM on carpentry and construction. 

This support helps displaced families replace or upgrade their old, often sub-standard shelters for more stable and hospitable housing. 

“Our old shelter was not strong enough to protect us from the winter cold nor the harsh conditions we faced,” recalled Said Ali. 

“Now we are better protected after receiving financial assistance to rehabilitate our shelter.” 

Across Yemen, shelter is among the most pressing needs of displaced families.  

“People were forced to leave their homes, land and belongings because of the conflict. They usually cannot take anything with them. They need urgent support to guarantee their family’s safety,” said Tareq Salem, a member of the IOM shelter team. 

“These shelters now help families feel more secure while they wait for the day they can go home.”

These families are among the more than 1200 families who were provided with durable shelter solutions on Yemen’s west coast, with support from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the Government of Canada. 

This story was written by Majed Mohammed, IOM Yemen Communications Assistant