Amidst the backdrop of brutal violence in Sudan and military action, normal people, just like you and me, are still just looking to survive. Their hopes and dreams for a better future have been put on the back burner as they focus their energy on finding food or shelter.

Alrisala is a mother of three whose livelihood and ability to support her family have been affected by this war. Her story is similar to that of countless other women in Sudan. After the war broke out, Alrisala worked in a local market as a tea seller, then began washing clothes to make ends meet. Neither of these paid enough to support her family.

Things got so dire that, at one point, Alrisala had to sell a pair of the family’s mattresses just to make ends meet. Even when she took them to market, what she received was hardly enough. She had to pull her kids out of school. Some days, she had to make painful decisions on what meals to eat; if they had breakfast, they couldn’t afford food for lunch or dinner. Other days, she didn’t have enough money to buy water.

Alrisala, though, never gave up. When the work she was doing wasn’t paying the bills, she dug deep and decided to start her own business. It wasn’t anything fancy; she went about making incense and perfumes from local materials like sandalwood. But it was a start.