Adisu Abba is a 45-year-old widow and the mother of five children. She comes from Dikwa, Borno State, in Nigeria’s North East. Long before violence disrupted her life, she had already begun learning the work that would define her role in her community. She had learned how to help women deliver their babies.

Adisu was taken into captivity by terrorists for three years, during which she delivered five babies.

In this episode of #VOV, she tells her story and what it means to work as a midwife while being held captive by the Boko Haram terror group.

Christie Garba is a 38-year-old mother of seven who lives in Billiri, Gombe State, in Nigeria’s North East. She lived in Yobe State with her family before the Boko Haram insurgency hit the region. At that time, attacks had happened in nearby places, and they had not reached her community directly.

Christie and her family had stayed about four months after the attacks started, but as the violence escalated, the soldiers warned residents that the situation had become too dangerous to remain. The curfews that followed made everyday life almost impossible.

In this episode of VOV, we tell the story of how Christie and her family moved to Gombe State and how she survived starting a new business.

Gina Bashir is a 46-year-old farmer from Askira Uba, in Borno, northeastern Nigeria. At the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency, she lived in Benisheik, a small town in Borno, with her husband and six children.

During the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, she lost her brother, nephew, and six other relatives.

In this video, we talk about her survival and the ambition she has for her children