KATHLEEN CAULDERWOOD

Yola, Nigeria. March 7 2015. Hadiza Ibrahim, 22 and Rukayya, 20 stayed in their hometown after Boko Haram militants attacked and their husband fled for his life. 

“They both wanted to marry me,” Hadiza said. “They said that, since he left, I was part of their property.” 

Yola, Nigeria. March 6 2015. Aisha, 17, poses for a photo after sending SMS messages on her cell phone. She sits in the one-room house her family now rents after fleeing Boko Haram violence in her hometown.

Yola, Nigeria. March 1 2015. A group of women joke with one another after a food distribution at a local church. Many of the internally displaced people (IDPs) are living with friends and family from their hometown, even though they have settled in a new city

Yola, Nigeria. March 1 2015. Women who have fled Boko Haram violence wait for a food distribution after Sunday mass at a local church.

Yola, Nigeria. March 1, 2015. A young girl collects what remains after a food distribution to IDPs who have fled Boko Haram. The militant group has killed thousands of people in a series of attacks in northeast Nigeria, leaving many children without parents

Yola, Nigeria. March 1 2015. Internally displaced people (IDPs) who have fled Boko Haram territory wait in line at a food distribution at a local church. Sometimes the process can take hours.

Yola, Nigeria, March 3, 2015. Women carry bags of donated food after a distribution at a local church. Though aid groups have been providing massive amounts of supplies, there is never enough for everyone.

A man tries to organize a group if internally displaced persons waiting for a food at a church in Yola, Nigeria, March 1, 2015.

Yola, Nigeria. March 1 2015. A woman holds her daughter after a food distribution food distribution for IDPs. The vast majority of people collecting food donations are women struggling to feed their own children, plus others who have lost their parents. Many young children did not survive the long trek from Boko Haram-controlled areas to safe zones.

Yola, Nigeria. March 1 2015. Three women who have fled Boko Haram violence look through a window at a local church as aid groups distribute food donations. Many woman fled the militant's attacks while pregnant, and now are taking care of their small children whilst living in informal camps or with relatives.

Yola, Nigeria. March 4 2015. Hundreds of thousands of people have settled in the city after fleeing Boko Haram violence, staying with friends, relatives or even strangers. A local widow, right, took in more than a dozen women and their children after finding them living in army barracks nearby. During the day their husbands go into town looking for work, and some of their children attend a local school if they can afford the fees

Yola, Nigeria. March 5 2015. Two children wait in line for lunch at an informal camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in an empty school building.

A retired Nigerian military soldier is seen in Yola, Nigeria, on March 4, 2015, at an informal camp for people displaced by Boko Haram violence. He says he's disappointed in the government's response to the insurgents. "They're habitual criminals," he said. "Why are we not fighting them as such?