An internally displaced person (or IDP) is someone forced to flee their home but who stays in their home country.
IDPs face many challenges. For example, they often go without necessities like food and medical care and often lack critical protection.
Compassion works to serve those internally displaced by caring for their needs and introducing them to the hope found in Jesus.
Internally Displaced Definition: What Does It Mean to Be Displaced?
According to Merriam-Webster, to “displace” means “to expel or force to flee from home or homeland.” Internal displacement means being displaced within your home country.
People who are internally displaced might flee from their homes to neighboring communities, from villages to larger cities or from one province to another.
Who Is an Internally Displaced Person (IDP)?
An internally displaced person (also called an IDP) is someone forced to flee their home but who stays in their home country. Why must they flee? There are many reasons, including:
Armed conflict: War and violence force many people to flee physical danger. Their homes or communities may even be destroyed in the conflict, making it impossible to return. During some conflicts, armed groups force entire communities away from their homes for regional power or resources.
Natural disasters: Disasters like hurricanes, typhoons and earthquakes destroy homes, critical infrastructure (like water or transportation systems) and even crops, leaving many families no choice but to go elsewhere in search of shelter, food and other necessities.
Persecution: When people are targeted with discrimination and violence due to their race, nationality or even religion, they must also leave their homes to find safety.
According to the UNHCR, an estimated 68.7 million people are internally displaced around the world.
IDPs vs. Refugees vs. Asylum Seekers
There are many terms used to describe people moving from place to place. But there are key differences between them.
Just like those internally displaced, a refugee is someone forced to flee their home. However, refugees cross international borders to find safety in other countries. Asylum seekers do the same but haven’t yet secured legal refugee status.
The key difference is location: IDPs are those displaced within their home countries, while refugees and asylum seekers are displaced outside their home countries.
Challenges the Internally Displaced Face
Because an internally displaced person is still within their home country, they face unique challenges, including:
A lack of critical protection: Some families may not have anywhere else to go or the means to travel. They must remain in or around conflict zones, keeping them vulnerable to physical harm. Those internally displaced also fall under the legal protection of their own governments. If those governments are a source of persecution, they will lack protection.
Limited access to necessities: When you’re forced to leave your home, you must take only what you can carry. And if you lose your home completely, you lose everything inside of it, like food and other necessities. Those displaced often must go without regular meals, medical care and other critical needs, keeping them susceptible to malnutrition, disease and other threats.
Extreme poverty: Even families with adequate resources can overnight find themselves living in extreme poverty after being displaced. Many lose their homes, their jobs and their assets. According to the World Bank, 421 million people live on less than $3 a day in economies suffering conflict or instability. That’s more than in the rest of the world combined.
How Compassion Cares for Those Displaced
Some of the world’s most vulnerable children and their families are internally displaced, living without access to necessities like food, safe water, shelter and education.
At Compassion, we care for those displaced in the communities we serve by meeting their critical needs while introducing them to the hope found in Jesus.
Displaced But Not Defeated in Burkina Faso
Sixteen-year-old Kissira from Burkina Faso knows what it means to be displaced and without hope. But he also knows what it’s like to be cared for and loved by the One who never leaves his side. This is his story, told in his own words.
The Day Darkness Fell
Several months ago, terrorist groups intruded my village, shooting at unarmed civilians. I wasn’t there. I was in the nearby city, studying for my junior high school exams.
On the day of the attacks, I traveled back home to visit my family like I often did. But this time, on my way to the village, I saw children, women and elderly people on the road, running to escape the violence behind them.
Some relatives I met on the road warned me to stop. To return to the city. I refused to believe them and kept riding my bicycle toward my hometown. I was desperate to see my family.
A few minutes later, I saw my mother and my siblings, their faces covered with dust, fear and despair. I asked them, “Where is my daddy? I want to see him.” My mother told me I should go back to town with them, as everyone was running to escape gunfire in the village.
“Dad is behind; he’s coming! Let’s rush to save our lives!” — Kissira’s mother
Losing a Pillar of the Family
As soon as I returned to town with my family, I received a phone call from my brother who lives abroad. After confirming that we were doing well, he shared terrible news: My father, together with a dozen others, had been killed by the extremists. This news left all of us in great sorrow.
I spent the days and nights after not knowing what to do. My father was the pillar of my family, working hard to provide for and protect my siblings and me. He was only 59 when he was killed.
I remember him telling me when I was younger that I should be brave and never give up. And although I missed him, I decided I would give my best in everything I did to please him from where he is now.
That is still the way I feel — and the way I live — today.
A Leader Supported
I am one of 16 other children, so my father’s death left a heavy burden on my mother. Most of my elder brothers have already married and moved to neighboring countries to seek better lives. So today, I am one of the family’s leaders who must step into the gap my father left.
Fleeing conflict and violence is not a desired situation for anyone, especially when you are forced to abandon all your belongings. And living in the city is challenging because many displaced families like mine lack the resources to afford the cost of meals, safe water, transportation, housing, education and medical care.
Thankfully, the local Compassion center is helping my family and me navigate our situation, as well as the other participants who are internally displaced.
It is in hard times that one recognizes one’s best friends. I still remember the first day the center director visited me, bringing gift packs for my family. It warmed my heart, and I realized I was not alone. It was truly comforting to receive bags of rice, cooking oil and soap. — Kissira
Not only did the center staff stand with me during the burial and mourning of my father, but they also encouraged me to keep working on my school exams.
I was about to give up, but I persisted with their support. — Kissira
Today, I dare to face life’s challenges and fight for justice, freedom, love and respect for human beings. I learned at the center that God is love and that his love endures forever, even in times of trial.
Hope for the Future
After settling into town, I am learning to be content in any circumstance — to trust God and to keep navigating life as my family now counts on me. I want to work hard to overcome any adversity and manage the agricultural activities that my father left.
The church and Compassion continue to work to gather all the registered children and youths, despite us all being spread across the city. I am happy to reconnect with my friends here in town. It helps us share our burdens and worries and encourage each other in prayer.
Your prayers for the internally displaced in Burkina Faso are greatly appreciated too. I have a dream that one day my family, my village, the Compassion center and the church will go back to our homes and fields.
Compassion continues to serve those who have been displaced around the world. Will you join us by praying? Pray for the millions of children and families, including Kissira’s family, who have been forced to flee their homes. Pray that those who are internally displaced will be reached with care and the hope of the gospel.