Tori Ferenc photographs Martha in her new commission for the British Red Cross.

Words by Tori Ferenc:

Martha is resilience, personified.

She fled conflict in South Sudan in 2013, taking a last look at her home and siblings, without knowing if she’d ever see them again. Her journey took her to a refugee camp in Kenya when she was just 17, and a mother to a two-year-old. Here, she spent three hard years, where food and water were scarce. During that time, Martha volunteered as an interpreter, and also gave birth to two children.

She arrived in the UK in 2016 under a resettlement scheme, but never forgot about her family overseas – wondering where they were and what had happened to them since she left.

In 2019, she turned to the Red Cross family tracing service to help track them down. Incredibly, her two brothers, sister and niece were found – in the exact same refugee camp in Kenya where Martha had been. It was a gruelling few years of paperwork, logistics, and complex hurdles before Martha was reunited with her family. The Red Cross helped to fly them over, and with navigating systems when they arrived, like healthcare and accommodation. After an emotional reunion at Manchester airport, Martha took her family to celebrate at a restaurant with her church friends.

The separation of being apart and the difficult years spent in the refugee camp have left deep scars on Martha and her family. But she continues to lead the family – looking after them, cooking with them, helping with homework, and being there for them.