Nimat's Journey - Sudan

"Before UNIFIED came, we waited for help. Now I can get food to my children." — Nimat, Sudan

In the sun-scorched plains of eastern Sudan, the village of El Gureisha sits quietly between stretches of dry farmland and fading riverbeds. For years, life here moved slowly—marked by scarcity, uncertainty, and resilience. Nimat, a mother of four, knows this rhythm intimately.

Each morning, she rose before the heat set in, tying a scarf around her head and setting out with a jerrycan in hand. The nearest water source was nearly two hours away, and even then, it wasn’t always safe to drink. Her days were consumed by survival—gathering water, searching for food, and hoping her children wouldn’t fall ill from what little she could provide.

“We waited for help,” she recalls. “Sometimes aid trucks came. Sometimes they didn’t. We were always waiting—for food, for medicine, for someone to notice.”

When UNIFIED arrived in her village, the approach was different. Instead of delivering temporary relief, they listened. They asked what the community had, what they knew, what they dreamed of. Nimat remembers the first meeting clearly: “They didn’t come with answers. They came with questions. And they stayed.”

Through UNIFIED’s support, a women-led agricultural cooperative was formed. Nimat joined with hesitation—she had never farmed before—but quickly discovered her strength. With training in drought-resistant crops, composting, and water-efficient irrigation, she began growing okra, sorghum, and leafy greens in a shared plot near her home. UNIFIED also helped install a solar-powered water pump, cutting her daily water trek from two hours to ten minutes.

The transformation was swift and profound. Within months, Nimat was harvesting enough to feed her children and sell the surplus at the local market. With her earnings, she bought school supplies, repaired her roof, and even saved for emergencies. “I used to wait,” she says. “Now I plan. I grow. I provide.”

But her impact didn’t stop at her own doorstep. Nimat began mentoring other women—teaching them how to plant, how to budget, how to believe in their own capacity. The cooperative now includes over 30 women, each with a story of struggle turned into strength.

“We are no longer invisible,” Nimat says, her voice steady. “We are no longer waiting. We are building.”

Her journey is a testament to what happens when development is rooted in dignity, ownership, and trust. UNIFIED didn’t just bring resources—they helped unlock the power that was already there.