Thank you from the DEC for generous donations of £13.6 million
Darfur and Chad Crisis Appeal - Launched 24 May 2007
This appeal fund closed at end February 2008.
Information Update - December 2007
In May 2007 we asked for your help with what the United Nations described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Four and a half million people were brought to the brink of disaster in the Darfur region of Sudan, with the conflict spilling over into neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic.
Violence caused thousands of families to flee their villages, seeking safety in overcrowded, makeshift camps.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal hoped to raise at least ten million pounds. The good news is, we’ve topped 13 million. Your response to the crisis was immediate, and incredibly generous. Thank you so very much!
The money you donated provided emergency food, shelter, clean water, and medical care for thousands of people. Many simply had nothing, so basic supplies like blankets, buckets and soap have been vital. All this has been distributed by DEC members and their partners.
And looking to the future, families with access to land have been given seeds and tools. In villages and camps, money has been earmarked for the repair and maintenance of water systems. And children are going to school – in Chad, in one camp alone, 5,000 children now have the chance to gain an education.
The crisis is by no means over. What the Sudanese people really need is peace, but finding a political solution is taking time. With the violence in Darfur showing no sign of ending, many people remain uprooted and reliant on international aid.
Click on the links below to find out what life in the camps is like.
A Lifeline for the Displaced in Darfur – Merlin
Sheltering from the blistering heat, around 200 people sit patiently under a large acacia tree while they wait to be seen at Merlin’s clinic in Hijer, South Darfur. There are more than 10,000 people in this community who have been displaced by the Darfur conflict and who are currently living in makeshift shelters in desperate conditions. Read more...
Saving Nazradeen – British Red Cross
Penny Connley, a Red Cross nurse, supervises a British/Australian Red Cross therapeutic feeding centre for severely malnourished children in a camp for over 100,000 people displaced by fighting near the remote town of Gereida in South Darfur. Here Penny recounts one boy’s story of survival. “I want to share an encounter I had with a 13-year-old boy called Nazradeen. Read more ...
Averting Disaster in Darfur – British Red Cross
Armed with little more than a weathered clipboard and a bamboo cane, Abdullah is keeping children alive in Darfur. Huddled around the remote town of Gereida, South Darfur, over 100,000 people, many of whom are women and children, have been displaced to a dusty, rubbish-strewn camp. Their number has increased eight-fold in the two and a half years since the camp was opened as a steady stream of traumatised people poured out of the bush, fleeing violent armed clashes. Read more ...
Amina's Story – Save the Children
Learn about the internally displaced people (IDP) site near Koukou in eastern Chad.
Amina, 14, fled her village after her husband was killed. With her eight-month old son, she hid in the bush and eventually reached an IDP camp near Koukou. Even in the camp, Amina doesn't feel safe and is concerned about how she will feed her baby. Read more...
Making Fun of a Serious Issue – Oxfam
In Darfur’s camps, where disease is a constant threat, good hygiene is vital. But how do you get thousands of children to wash their hands after going to the loo? Oxfam staff hit upon an ingenious solution – make lessons in basic hygiene serious fun... Read more...
Life as a Refugee – Oxfam
At the heart of Africa lies a big country, largely empty, between the sandy deserts of Libya in the north and the lush forests of central Africa in the south. Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world, yet violence in neighbouring Sudan has made thousands of people flee Darfur and cross the border to seek refuge in Chad. Can you imagine what it is like to have to leave your home and live as a refugee in another country? Read more ...
Mother Caring for Eighteen Children in Darfur Camp – World Vision
Khadija is a recent arrival at the Otash camp for people displaced in the fighting in Darfur. She is taking care of 12 orphans along with six children of her own. The parents of the 12 orphans were killed in the fighting across the region. To help Khadija, her children and the thousands who have fled their homes, World Vision has set up a medical clinic which is currently receiving more than 100 patients a day. Read more ...
