September 3, 2026At 85, alone in his fight to shelter five dependents, one man’s story shows what it means when humanitarian aid arrives not a moment too soon.
Oldman Jackson Matahn, 85, examines a mosquito net from his relief package in Fiaplay Community, Nimba County.
At 85 years old, Oldman Jackson Matahn, a resident of Fiaplay Community in Zoe-Geh District in Nimba -had already lived through more hardship than most. But nothing prepared him for the night the wind tore the roof from over his family’s heads, leaving him, physically challenged and aging, responsible for five dependents with nowhere safe to sleep.
For a man with limited mobility and no reliable income, the windstorm did not just destroy a house. It stripped away the one thing he had left to offer his family: shelter, and with it, his sense of purpose as the head of his household.
“I had already lost hope,” Jackson would later say, holding back tears as he unfolded a mosquito net from the relief package in front of him. “I keep asking myself what would have happened to my family if the Red Cross had not come to help us at this point. I had nowhere else to turn.”
| “I had already lost hope. I keep asking myself what would have happened to my family if the Red Cross had not come to help us at this point. I had nowhere else to turn. — OLDMAN JACKSON MATAHN, 85, Fiaplay Community |
The Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRCS), with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF), identified Jackson as one of the most vulnerable survivors of the windstorm that swept through Fiaplay Community. Given his age, disability, and the number of dependants relying on him, he was prioritized for an integrated package of humanitarian assistance designed to meet both his physical and emotional recovery needs.
The support included USD 202 as unconditional cash assistance to meet urgent household needs, two bundles of zinc roofing sheets, assorted nails, and bags of cement to repair his shattered home, insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect his family from malaria, and continuous psychosocial support to help him process the trauma of losing everything almost overnight.
When the materials arrived, Jackson sat quietly for a long moment before reaching for the mosquito net closest to him. As he examined it, turning it over in his weathered hands, the weight of the past weeks seemed to catch up with him all at once.
“Even today, I still look at these materials as if I am dreaming,” he said.
For Jackson, the assistance was never just about replacing what the storm had taken. The cash meant his family couldn’t go hungry while he found his footing again. The zinc and cement meant a roof his grandchildren could sleep safely under. The mosquito nets meant that mosquitoes wouldn’t cause his children to get malaria. And the psychosocial support meant that, for the first time since the storm, someone was checking not just on his house, but on him.
| “The Red Cross did not only give us materials; they gave us hope when we believed there was none. This support has given me the strength to move forward again. — OLDMAN JACKSON MATAHN, 85, Fiaplay Community |
His story is one of thousands playing out across Nimba and Lofa Counties in the aftermath of this year’s windstorms, but it captures something the statistics alone cannot: what it means to be the last line of protection for a family, at 85 years old, with nothing left to give — and then to be reminded that you are not facing it alone.
The Windstorm DREF operation was built on that same principle: that recovery is not just about rebuilding roofs, but restoring the dignity and confidence of the people beneath them. For Jackson, an integrated response combining cash, shelter materials, health protection, and emotional support did more than repair a house. It gave an old man permission to believe, once again, that he could still care for the people who depend on him.
Today, as Jackson begins rebuilding his home in Fiaplay Community, he carries with him a story that Red Cross volunteers say they will not forget — a reminder of why they do this work, one family, one roof, one act of humanity at a time.
