Photo by Jean Pierre Amigo

From Rhoda, 24 years old, in South Sudan: “I was going to the health clinic in Bor town during my pregnancy. When we had to flee the area, I ran for my life, but being eight months pregnant, it was not easy. This was the toughest time of my life. My husband was stuck in Juba and I was in the bush convinced I was going to lose our child. One night, my mother and I got into one big boat with 100 others crossing to Awerial county. …The journey was awful, lying in dirty water mixed with animal feces. When we arrived to Minkaman, my mother found a small area with a few trees, big enough for the two of us to settle. Soon I started having some persistent pains and my mum helped me deliver a baby boy.” Saturday is International Women’s Day. On that day, and every day, thousands of women worldwide will leave their homes to flee war or persecution. The fact that they are women makes their ordeal even more harrowing. Read this and other stories: http://bit.ly/1fLR5fE