ACT/Caritas raises awareness on Aid Work as Darfur Crisis Continues

As the peace dialogue in Darfur remains in deadlock, emergency humanitarian aid from all over the world has been spearheaded by all kinds of aid works which have been attempting to provide relief to the pain of victims. ACT/Caritas, an international network of Protestant and Catholic aid agencies, yesterday reported on the recent situation in Darfur.

It was said that continued attacks and general insecurity in Darfur are forcing people to leave their homes. In one of the ACT/Caritas refugee camps in Bashum, assessment teams monitoring the situation have recorded 574 newly arrived households.

ACT/Caritas staff are extremely concerned about the massive inflow of people to the camp. ACT/Caritas Darfur programme Manager Jose Simsa said, “Most of the new arrivals come without any of their belongings. They are for the time being totally dependent on aid from the international community. We have to monitor the situations in all our operational areas when it comes to new arrivals. In most places it is necessary to do follow-up distributions.”

Up until now, the aid agencies have already raised a total of £6.4 million. This enables ACT/Caritas to set up bases in Nyala and Zalingi, with 30 staff and 80 volunteers.

The ACT/Caritas programme is working to address the urgent challenges facing the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Darfur. Priorities are:

Health
Emergency health clinics have been set up and medicines provided in a number of camps. ACT/Caritas is also focusing on hygiene promotion activities to reduce the danger of epidemics. For example, the team and local partners have organised workshops to train volunteers how to assess health needs and promote good practices in the camps.

Education
The team is supporting schools in the camps, and has helped improve and extend school buildings and restore toilets.

Supplies
Thousands of much-needed items have been distributed, largely in collaboration with local partners, including plastic sheeting, soap, jerry cans, blankets and mosquito nets – all helping to make life more tolerable for the victims.

Sanitation
ACT/Caritas is working with Sudanese partner, SUDO (Sudan Social Development Organisation) to dig latrines in camps close to Nyala and around Zalingi. Water tanks and handpumps are being installed.

Nutrition
Feeding centres are being equipped and stocked with food for under-fives and other vulnerable groups.

Protection
Two protection officers are in Darfur to assess security needs. The lack of security in the region is hampering aid efforts, and means that four out of five of the displaced people are afraid to travel home to their villages.

Currently, to feed the massive number of refugees in the camp is one of the main problems for the aid agency. The harvest this year was lost due to the ongoing conflicts in the region. It is expected that the people will have to rely on aid for at least one more year.

In facing the desperate need of the refugees, aid agencies have been tenser in their works. ACT/Caritas Darfur programme Manager Jose Simsa said, “People are going to places where they can be secure and their basic needs can be met. The continued insecurity and sporadic fighting continues to engulf the South Darfur region, and we have to scale up activities all the time to meet the needs.”

Information Officer Hege Opseth added, “ACT/Caritas seeks to identify areas where other NGOs have little or no activities, to make sure we reach the most vulnerable people.”

Last but not the least, it has been reported that local aid partners are cooperating well with ACT/Caritas. Leaders of several participating agencies recently visited Darfur to review the activities. "The work of the local partners is very impressive,” Leo Siliamaa, Head of International Operations at Finnchurch Aid commented.