Crisis in Darfur

Supporting those affected by conflict

Abdulah Ahmad Salih and his wife Khartouma in front of their home in a camp near Bilel, Darfur. More than two million people have been forced from their homes in Darfur, Sudan since fighting began in 2004 and are now living in makeshift camps.

Hawa Abdall Nola Adam wraps her baby to her as she adjusts her garments at the edge of the Hassa Hissa camp, outside Zalingei, where Hawa and her family arrived in July 2007.Women, children and men are forced from their homes daily as villages continue to be attacked across the region.

A woman puts on her toob, the common garment worn by women in Darfur, in the wind in Dereig Camp. She and other residents of the camp receive a variety of support services from ACT/Caritas, a joint programme by the main Protestant and Catholic church-based organisations (including CAFOD) responding to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Fatna does her washing in a public laundry in Kubum camp, south Darfur.The camp is supported by ACT/Caritas, which provides shelter materials and household kits to displaced families containing essential items such as a washing bowl and cooking utensils.

Fatna (right) brings home wood that she and some neighbours have harvested from outside the camp in Kubum, south Darfur. Collecting wood is traditionally the role of women, although in many places they are afraid to leave the camp for fear of attack.

Farmah Adam Ibrahim (left) and Sit-Eldoma Atiya pray in a camp near Bilel.

A boy pumps water at a well provided by ACT/Caritas in a camp outside Um Labassa in Darfur. As the camps continue to grow, access to water is a necessity. ACT/Caritas has equipment to drill boreholes.

Um Labassa is an Arab village in Darfur that is hosting a camp for displaced people. As well as providing a range of services for those in the camp, ACT/Caritas provides wells for the village community. Many are supporting extended family members that have been displaced, so it is important to offer them support as a contribution towards reconciliation and peace.

The height and weight of children living in the camp is carefully monitored at a nutrition and health centre in Kubum run by ACT/Caritas. Mothers with at risk babies are given supplementary food. Health clinics set up by ACT/Caritas are the only means of accessing basic healthcare for most people.

An expectant mother is examined at a health and nutrition centre funded by ACT/Caritas in Um Labassa.

Girls study at the camp school in Dereig camp, Darfur. Many children were unable to travel to school for fear of attack but, at camp schools such as this one set up by ACT/Caritas, both girls and boys can continue their education. This also helps by giving structure to the lives of the children.

Displaced families can farm land only within sight of the camp where they are living as many fear to travel further for fear of attack. ACT/Caritas provides seeds and agricultural tools to families living in the camps, so they can grow some of their own food which provides variety in their diet and keeps alive the sense of self-sufficiency.

A man bakes bread in a community centre, run by ACT/Caritas in Khamsadegaig camp.The centre helps people living in the camp to come together, and find ways of earning an income. Other activities include basket weaving, sewing training and adult literacy classes.

A woman carries water back to her home in Hassa Hissa camp, outside Zalingei. There is some hope for the crisis in Darfur, but only if all the parties involved in the conflict take part in an inclusive peace agreement.

Photo credits Paul Jeffery

For more info, please seewww.cafod.org.uk/darfurcrisis