The emergency humanitarian relief project for 1000 Internally Displaced People, which BSFA funded earlier this year, has been such a great success that we are now able to repeat it, on a smaller scale, thanks to additional funds donated by our wonderful supporters.

The beneficiaries will be 30 households (171 people) who fled the NW region and have settled in a camp called Kourap in the West Region.  These are Mbororo families, with many children, from a very marginalised tribe of largely nomadic pastoralists.  Because of the war, they are now also Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and they have nothing.  There are high levels of both malnutrition and food poverty in this community and they have almost no Non-Food Items in their households.  They sleep on the ground on grass mats and there is no latrine in the camp and no clean water.  There is a high level of water borne diseases and no access to a health centre.  There is no school for the children.  The majority do not have birth certificates or identification, so they cannot roam freely and live in constant fear of persecution. Child marriage is common.

This water hole is the only source of water for the 170 families. It is far into the bush and it is shared with their animals

We shall be providing these families with Water and Sanitation/Hygiene kits (including buckets, jerry cans, cups, soap, aquatabs),  two new VIP latrines – and training in stock rearing and vegetable growing, in order to re-establish livelihoods.  SHUMAS’ Community Health Workers will test for malnutrition and provide food and vitamin supplements, as well as establishing a mobile clinic to serve the community.

We would eventually like to fund a pop-up community school for the children as well.

Please keep watching this blog for news of progress – and please keep supporting our efforts!