"I feel safe here"

Misrah was constantly afraid that her family would lose their home. Today, the 13-year-old is relieved: they can stay.

Misrah is helping her little brother with his math homework. When nine-year-old Reyan gets stuck, his big sister helps him. Misrah is especially good at math: the 13-year-old is second in her class.

Their new home is a large room with mud walls; a synthetic-fiber rug covers the floor. Everything is clean. For the past month, the family has been living in a social housing unit provided by Menschen für Menschen. “I feel safe here,” says Misrah.

You only understand what she means when she talks about the past. The siblings lived with their mother, Alayaka Shurala, in a shack barely six square meters in size. “We couldn’t play there.” There was barely even room to sleep. But worse was the fear of the landlord. When Alayaka fell behind on the rent, he would yell at the family. He cut off the electricity several times.

“That was my biggest fear,” says Misrah. “Does my mother have enough money for the rent?” One day, she didn’t. The landlord put the family’s few belongings out on the street. Alayaka cried and begged. To no avail. The mother and her two children were left without a place to live. Other people helped them find an even more modest dwelling. They lived there for a year. A month ago, they were able to move into the public housing provided by Menschen für Menschen .

Today, that fear is gone. After finishing her homework, Misrah plays “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with Reyan. Of course, the siblings argue sometimes, too. “For example, when I ask my little brother to clear away the plates and he refuses,” Misrah explains. Just normal sibling love.

But there’s one worry Misrah no longer has: the panic of losing her home. “I know: Tomorrow we’ll still be living here.”