By Anne Soy
Without food or water, they trudged on and met a woman who told them they could find water in a nearby village.
The family set off after midnight for the village, but little did they know that they were walking into an area controlled by RSF fighters.
“We greeted them, but they did not answer. They told us to sit on the ground and they searched our belongings,” Alawia recalled.
The fighters took the 20,000 Sudanese pounds ($33; £24) that was all the family still had, along with the clothes and shoes that they were carrying.
“My shoes weren’t good, but they still took them,” Alawia said.
She added that the RSF gunmen refused to give them water, so they all pressed on until they reached el-Koweim village. There, they spotted a well guarded by RSF fighters.
“We asked for water for at least the orphaned child, but they refused,” Alawia said, adding that she tried to push her way to the well, but the men assaulted her and beat her back.
Thirsty and exhausted, the family kept walking until reaching Tawila, where Alawia said she collapsed and was rushed to hospital.
She was discharged after being treated. Marwan was also treated for the injuries he had sustained during the beating.
Alawia said they then searched for relatives of the infant they had rescued, and after finding some of them, handed over the child.
Alawia and her family are now living in Tawila, where a family has welcomed them into its home.
“Life is OK, thank God, but we worry about the future,” Alawia told the BBC.
Marwan said he wanted to go abroad so that he could continue with his education and start a new life.
This is something that millions of Sudanese have done, as their lives have been shattered by a war that shows no sign of ending.