For Faduma, safety is not defined by a place. It is found in the people she cares for every day.
Originally from Somalia, Faduma has spent years navigating displacement alongside her younger sister, Caasha, and her daughter, Aamiina. Their journey has been marked by uncertainty, but also by resilience, care, and an unwavering commitment to one another.
Caasha has lived with a physical disability since childhood. Daily activities that many people take for granted often require additional support, making displacement especially challenging. In Indonesia, Faduma helps care for her sister while also raising her daughter and managing the responsibilities of everyday life.
Their story reflects an important reality behind this year’s World Refugee Day theme, Until Everyone Is Safe. For refugees, safety is not only about escaping conflict or persecution. It is also about having the support, stability, and opportunities needed to rebuild a life with dignity.
Across the world, millions of refugees continue to live far from home, often facing prolonged uncertainty about what comes next. For families, this uncertainty can affect every aspect of daily life, from accessing healthcare and education to maintaining emotional well-being and caring for loved ones with specific needs.
For families that include persons with disabilities, children, older persons, or individuals facing additional vulnerabilities, these challenges can be even greater. Yet family often remains the first and most enduring source of protection.
For Faduma, that protection is expressed through everyday acts of care. Supporting her sister, caring for her daughter, and helping her family navigate life in displacement are responsibilities she carries with determination and hope.
At YCWS, strengthening the well-being of refugee families is an important part of supporting protection and resilience. Through the EMPOWER project, funded by Week of Compassion (WoC), YCWS has supported nine refugee family units identified as Women and Girls at Risk (WAGAR), including siblings, mothers and children, and other vulnerable family groups.
The support includes independent accommodation, healthcare access, education opportunities, and case management tailored to each family’s circumstances. The goal is not simply to address immediate needs, but to help families maintain dignity, stability, and a sense of control over their lives while navigating displacement.
This approach recognizes that families are not passive recipients of assistance. They are active sources of care, protection, and resilience within their communities.
For Faduma and her family, support has helped create space to focus on what matters most: caring for one another, maintaining hope, and planning for the future. Like many refugees in Indonesia, they continue to face uncertainty. Yet their story is not defined solely by the challenges they have experienced. It is also defined by perseverance, love, and the strength of family bonds.
As the world marks World Refugee Day 2026, Faduma’s story reminds us that safety means more than physical protection. It means ensuring that people can live with dignity, access essential services, stay connected to their loved ones, and participate in shaping their futures.
Until everyone is safe, the work continues. And for families like Faduma’s, that journey is strengthened by the care they provide to one another every day.
