COVID-19 Emergency Response

Disclaimer: ADRA Tunisia has the full permission of Neila to publish her story and photos.

Neila, a 40-year-old mother of 4 children, works hard to provide for her family. Her husband, who lost an eye in the past, suffered another accident at work just the day before the money distribution and lost his second eye; and now he is completely blind. As a business owner of a small restaurant, Neila was able to sustain her family. But unfortunately, when the government declared the national lockdown because of the COVID-19, Neila had to close her restaurant for three full months. Because this was the family’s only source of income, Neila found herself in a situation where she couldn’t pay the rent for both business and apartment. The landlord of the apartment started pressuring Neila to pay the rent, but understanding her condition, the landlord forgave Neila’s debts but asked her to find somewhere else to live. Day by day, she searched for small jobs but her efforts were not successful. That added more pressure to her situation. As a last resort, Neila put her house’s furniture for sale and started gathering plastic bottles in the street to take to recycling factories. The little money that she earned could barely allow her to provide for her family the basic needs.