Getting essential aid to Fungom sub-division

This is our biggest humanitarian aid project yet, in terms of numbers of people who will be helped – and the impact will be huge.

SHUMAS has identified 506 IDP households – a total of 3050 people – who are  very isolated and vulnerable, living in abject poverty and squalor, and in desperate need of help.  This project is currently underway, funded by our supporters and delivered by an army of SHUMAS staff and volunteers who know the area well.

Items on their way to the beneficiaries are:

• Shelter Kits – tarpaulins, mattresses and treated mosquito nets
• Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) items – buckets, jerry cans, cups, aqua tabs etc. for the collection and storage of clean water.
• Health – treatment for malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia for the under 5s and pregnant women.  Also delivery kits and baby kits for the pregnant women.
• Food Security – farm inputs for female headed households to enable them to grow vegetables to eat and sell at market.

Training will be given to the IDPs in

• gaining and maintaining access to clean water and water purification:
• Essential Family Practices:
• The importance of personal hygiene for women and the production of reusable sanitary pads and materials provided for starting up businesses making these:
• Ensuring a good harvest from the vegetable seeds and farm implements given as part of this project:
• Community Health Workers will be trained in helping to maintain the general health of the IDP adults and in caring for the specific needs of the 350 under 5s, and the pregnant women and girls:
• The promotion of social harmony and peace-building through focussed group discussions

This has been an extremely difficult project to deliver because of the continued fighting, the atrocious state of the roads, the continuous rain and the lengthy negotiations with leaders on both sides of the war.  However, we fully expect that the impact on the lives of these poor displaced people will be enormous – and we are hoping to follow up with the provision of some safe spaces for the children to catch up with their missed years of education.  The whole project will take approximately 6 months to deliver and we will be reporting as often as possible on its progress.