{"id":54165,"date":"2026-07-31T12:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=54165"},"modified":"2026-07-31T12:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:36:23","slug":"how-grinding-machines-are-changing-the-lives-of-displaced-women-in-bama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/how-grinding-machines-are-changing-the-lives-of-displaced-women-in-bama\/","title":{"rendered":"How Grinding Machines are Changing the Lives of Displaced Women in Bama"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the first rays of sunlight spread across the ancient town of Bama on the morning of Wednesday, 15th July 2026, 34-year-old Fati Hamza stood quietly beside a brand-new grinding machine, her hands resting gently on it and a smile slowly breaking across her face.<\/p>\n

For many, it was just another livelihood kit. For Fati, it represented a chance to smile again.<\/p>\n

The mother of seven has spent the last decade struggling to provide for her children after losing her husband to the Boko Haram insurgency. Every day, she prepared and sold akara (bean cakes), but without a grinding machine of her own, she had to pay someone else to grind her beans before she could begin work.<\/p>\n

“I have been selling akara for the past 10 years since my husband died,” she said, struggling to believe that the machine was really hers. “Every morning I used to take my beans to be ground. Now I can use this machine for my business and also earn extra income by grinding beans for other people. My children will now go back to school.”<\/p>\n

Even after receiving repeated assurances from this reporter, Fati continued holding tightly to the machine, as though afraid it might disappear.<\/p>\n

Alongside the grinding machine, she received 50 kilograms of beans, 30 litres of cooking oil, a frying pan, a large bowl and other cooking utensils needed to grow her business.<\/p>\n

For women like Fati, who suddenly became heads of households after losing their husbands, such support is more than economic assistance. It offers dignity, protection and the possibility of rebuilding lives disrupted by years of conflict.<\/p>\n

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands of women in North-East Nigeria widowed, forcing many to become sole providers for their families despite having limited education and little access to land, finance or productive assets.<\/p>\n

Fati was among 240 beneficiaries who received livelihood support during a combined graduation ceremony, livelihood kits distribution and cultural festival organised by the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development with support from the European Union and UNDP under the Support for the Disengagement, Review, Reintegration and Reconciliation of Persons Formerly Associated with Non-State Armed Groups (3DRR) project.<\/p>\n

The ceremony brought together representatives of the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, Borno State Government ministries and agencies, local government authorities, traditional rulers, religious leaders, security agencies and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).<\/p>\n

The beneficiaries included victims of the insurgency, vulnerable members of host communities and former associates of non-state armed groups who had completed vocational training.<\/p>\n

Among them was Abu Dugja, a former fighter who has been trained and supported to begin a trading business.<\/p>\n

“If people are given opportunities like this, many will not return to the bush. As for me, I now have a means of livelihood. I don’t want to fight anymore,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Young
Young women are waiting calmly in a tent for their turn during distribution.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another beneficiary, Akura, spent nine years in the bush before returning in 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although he said he is determined to rebuild his life, he admitted that reintegration has not been easy.<\/p>\n

“People still stigmatise us,” he said. “For peace to last, both the victims and those who have returned need dignified livelihoods. Those still in the bush also need to be convinced to lay down their arms.”<\/p>\n

Executive Director of the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, Hajja Hamsatu Allamin, said the intervention is designed to strengthen socio-economic reintegration, healing, reconciliation and social cohesion in Bama.<\/p>\n

She said all 240 beneficiaries underwent vocational training in skills including tailoring, baking, electrical installation, phone charging, bean-cake making, cap knitting, shoe making, food vending, fabric trading, incense making, tea and noodle sales, groundnut oil extraction and provision store management.<\/p>\n

“Both the victims and those who have returned have lost their livelihoods,” she said. “This support is meant to help them rebuild their lives peacefully and strengthen the transitional justice and recovery process.”<\/p>\n

Yet even as beneficiaries celebrated, conversations among members of the community revealed that difficult questions remain.<\/p>\n

Two men sitting close to this reporter quietly discussed what they described as an imbalance in assistance, arguing that surrendered insurgents often appear to receive more support than the victims who suffered most during the conflict.<\/p>\n

When this reporter explained that the programme deliberately included victims, host communities and former associates of armed groups, using an operational ratio intended to ensure victims and host communities receive a larger share of support, they simply nodded without showing they were fully convinced.<\/p>\n

\"Community
Community members are quietly attending a community outreach session on Transitional Justice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The concern is one that continues to surface across many communities in Borno State.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In towns like Bama, where thousands of families lost relatives, homes and livelihoods during the insurgency, many residents believe victims deserve more visible and sustained support.<\/p>\n

International organisations, including UNDP, have acknowledged that such perceptions can undermine confidence in reintegration programmes if victims are not adequately assisted alongside former combatants.<\/p>\n

Experts on transitional justice argue that lasting peace requires more than reintegrating those who once fought. It also depends on recognising victims, providing reparations, expanding livelihood opportunities, offering psychosocial support and promoting community healing.<\/p>\n

This principle is reflected in the United Nations Guidance Note on Transitional Justice (2010), the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (2019) and the Borno State Transitional Justice Framework, all of which emphasise that victims should remain at the centre of recovery efforts while reintegration programmes continue for former fighters.<\/p>\n

For Fati Hamza, however, the debate about policy and justice felt distant as she carefully lifted the grinding machine she had waited years to own.<\/p>\n

Her immediate concern was much simpler.<\/p>\n

Getting home, grinding beans, and giving her seven children another chance to go back to school.<\/p>\n

Alhaji Bunu Tijani\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Bama, a grinding machine becomes a symbol of hope for a widow, while raising questions about justice and peace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,11,50,16,8,79,52,12,72,18,44],"tags":[327,154,131,137,61,328],"class_list":["post-54165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gender","category-humanitarian","category-investigation","category-lake-chad-basin","category-local-news","category-media","category-news-en","category-peace-and-security","category-politics","category-regional-news","category-religion-en","tag-allaminfoundation","tag-bama","tag-boko-hamar","tag-humanitarian","tag-idps","tag-womenempowerment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54165"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54171,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54165\/revisions\/54171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}